$20M Kinross Earn-In Drives Riley Gold’s Nevada Exploration | Hilditch

Riley Gold (TSXV: RLYG) is advancing exploration at its Pipeline West/Clipper (PWC) project along Nevada’s Cortez trend, where partner Kinross can earn up to 75% by spending $20 million USD. CEO Todd Hilditch said the project is located in “elephant country,” within a district that hosts “50 million ounces of past production, current reserve,” alongside major deposits such as Cortez and Pipeline.

Early drilling has intersected mineralization ranging from “half a gram up to two and a half grams per ton” in the upper plate, with exploration focused on targeting higher-grade zones in the lower plate. Hilditch said the program is designed to confirm that “we're vectoring in on the source,” as drilling continues to step out across a largely underexplored extension of the trend.

Kinross is expected to finalize its 2026 drill plan in May, with drilling anticipated in late spring or early summer and results expected in the fall. A Plan of Operations submitted to the Bureau of Land Management could allow for up to 400 drill holes over time.

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To learn more about Riley Gold, visit: https://rileygoldcorp.com/

Sponsored content. This video was produced with support from a Kitco sponsor. Kitco does not endorse or recommend any company, security, investment product, or investment strategy. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

00:21 - Riley Gold Overview and Nevada Focus
01:02 - Carlin-Type Gold System Explained
01:57 - Why PWC Could Host a Major Deposit
04:32 - How Riley Gold Acquired the PWC Project
05:26 - Company Strategy and Potential Endgame
06:43 - Kinross Partnership and JV Origins
08:09 - Kinross Earn-In Terms and Structure
10:06 - What Exploration Success Looks Like
11:35 - Exploration Strategy and 2026 Timeline
14:17 - Key Risks and Geological Challenges
15:48 - Riley Gold’s Role Beyond Kinross JV
18:51 - Cash Position and Funding Runway
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Hello and welcome to Kitco Mining with me, Paul Harris. Today is Thursday, April the 30th, and we're talking about gold exploration in Nevada. Joining me is Todd Hilditch, CEO of Riley Gold, which trades on the TSXB under the ticket RLYG. Todd, welcome to Kitco.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Good morning. Thank you for having me today.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Todd, let's uh start right at the top. What or who is Riley Gold and how do you differentiate Riley from the dozens of other Nevada-focused junior exploration companies?

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Well, we started Riley oh 10, 15 years ago, but it wasn't until the last uh three, four that we found the project that made the most sense for us, uh, and that being our PwC project in the Cortez trend. Um but we've got a history within our management team and our board of directors of working within the state, and uh it's one of the best states in the uh in the uh universe, really, to for discovery of gold and its gold endowment. Um we're excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Okay, now the Pipeline West Clipper or PWC project as you sort of call it in short, at that adjoins Nevada Gold Mines, Cortez and Pipeline Complex. PWC is a Carlin-type disseminated gold target. Um, what is a Carlin type disseminated gold target?

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Yeah, different than uh, you know, vein structures that we we see in different parts of the world, including Nevada. This is a microscopic style of gold, intrusive-related, um, you know, finding its way through pathways and structures, uh, and then hitting a trap uh where there's you know hopefully an enormous amount of gold trapped uh between the lower plate and the upper plate, and uh, you know, sort of pools, if you will, cools, and you've got a you know larger tonnage, uh, you know, not necessarily low grade, but certainly uh, you know, big style of a deposit that gets trapped.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Okay, thank you. And what is the evidence that PWC hosts or potentially hosts a major deposit like Cortez?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Well, there's a few items to hit there, Paul. Um in fact, part of it's the people. Uh we have, we're very fortunate enough to have a gentleman by the minute by the name of Mr. Paul Dobak, who was a chief geologist for Berwick in the Cortez district as well as other areas. Um but when we first picked up this project, the opportunity to join the, well, NGM, the joint venture with uh Barwick and Newmont, and look at these string of pearls or these deposits that lie across this Cortez trend from Cortez, as you mentioned, but all the way through across the valley, the pipeline, uh gold acres, etc. Um, there there hadn't been a lot of work on the west side of the trend or adjoining uh the NGM uh claim boundary. And we were fortunate enough when we picked it up to identify the fact that it hadn't had a ton of work yet. This you know, trend continued to the southeast, including four-mile discovery, which as Barrick owns, is you know, that's generational, 16 million ounces, you know, half ounce material, 16 grams per ton. So, you know, our analogy was, uh, and including with discussions with Paul Dobak uh prior to Kim Ross coming on to joint venture with us, was well, why can't that extend to the Northwest? Why can't Cortez pipeline gold acres continue uh along this geological trend? And there's a few things that we've completed on. Um, in fact, uh soil geochem at surface, which most people don't get excited about. You know, you get a little bit of soil gold. Well, what does that mean? Well, it obviously didn't come from the sky. So how do you track that back to its origins? And, you know, interesting fact, and one of the analogies that we're looking at from being geologically akin is four mile was discovered, which a lot of people don't know, based on soils at surface. So we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying to use the same science that was very successful in the Cortez four mile and then across the valley to where we are. Um, and our soil grid popped. Uh, we had a second soil grid that extended up to four to six kilometers that also popped as well. So, you know, really that's what intrigued, I think, Ken Ross to get involved with this. So we're not trying to reinvent a wheel, we're just trying to look at an extension to a string of pearls that already exist.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Okay, so uh you've got the right address, you've got a valid hypothesis. Uh, given the neighborhood, how did Riley get to acquire this project?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah, Paul, it's relationships. You know, I've done most of my uh work uh in Nevada. So you meet lots of geologists, you meet lots of people, you meet lots of lawyers, um, and uh we were introduced to it uh as a result of it becoming available, um, yet adjoining the NGM project boundary. And that happens, as you know, over you know decades and centuries, you've you have projects that sometimes sit on the books of other companies, but you know, gold price might have been$800. You know, something in this district, you're drilling deep holes. So a few things had to come together, including the right introduction to the right property owner, and uh that's how we became uh you know uh an owner here.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Okay, I want to talk about the Kim Ross joint venture in just a moment, but before we get to that, what is the overall strategy of the company? What do you, you know, ideal situation, what is the end game for you for Riley in this project?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Right. You know, uh it's a good question because you know, typically you've got a junior that tries to take a project from you know zero to you know ounces to uh a point where you either sell to a major or you continue development, you know, sell to a mid-tier, or you take it all the way through. Uh I can't say at this point what our strategy hasn't been completely defined, other than you know, we've been fortunate enough to for Kinross to show up after we had improved the science of the project. Um there's a few scenarios. You know, we either have a discovery or we're onto a discovery and um you know we get tapped on the shoulder by by a major or you know, we continue the development. Uh fortunately, our our management team and our board of directors have the ability to raise capital. So um in this environment of four to five thousand dollar gold, uh as well as the opportunity with uh the project we have, we're not we're not shy about pushing this as far along as we have to.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Okay, fair enough. Um let's talk about Kinross, let's bring them into the conversation. Kinross obviously operates gold mines already in Nevada with round mounting and board mounting. How did they uh get to the you know agree an earning or negotiate an earning with you on PWC?

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Right. Well, as all things do in our industry, it started at PDAC. Um, you know, a meeting a few years ago with uh the folks that uh run Kim Ross's Nevada operations, you know, we had a breakfast and uh you know I opened up our presentation and brought up some extra science that we had we had completed on and explained what our thinking was and and this extension that we talked about at the get-go of uh the possible deposits out to the northwest and west that hadn't been discovered because they hadn't had any work on it. Our early soil survey, I think, really showed Kinross that not only we had the right you know zip code, if you will, but we we improved the science. The only drilling that had been done there was 20 some odd years ago uh off to the east side and nothing further to the west. So I think it intrigued them. You know, I can't put words in their mouth, but obviously it intrigued them enough to come to the table and we negotiated a deal with them. And I have to say, they that as a partnership, amazing people. You know, obviously the pedigree is is is amazing, but but just working with them day to day has been has been great.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

In in broad strokes, what is the the earning agreement and you know for what period of time, payments, exploration commitments, etc.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Right. Well, the full picture is to uh for Kinross to earn up 75% by spending$20 million USD. Um it's split in two stages. The first stage is$10 million uh for 60%, and we're about two years into that. Uh they're ahead of schedule, mind you. And then the second stage is for another$10 million invested in the ground uh for another 15% to round it out at 75%.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Geodologically, you know, I think I'm correct in saying this is quite different to what Kimros is mining or where Kimros is mining at uh Bould Mountain and Round Mountain. What is it you think that Kimros is interested in with this project?

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Well, the the Cortez, as you mentioned, out the gate, um and and the pipeline structure that's between sort of Cortez and where we are across the valley. You know, the gold endowment there is special. It's uh you know, 50 million ounces of pass production current reserve within the NGM uh land packages and operating and resource. Um and that, by the way, does does not include what Beric discovered in the uh four-mile deposits. So you could argue that it's 60, 70 million ounces of pass production current reserve. So, you know, we're an elephant country there. And for uh a group like Kinross to to get involved in in that area, which they they don't currently have a uh a toe hold or a foothold, you know, I guess was important to them. You know, I can't challenge uh their decision making in any way, uh, but you know, we're we're just we're we're next to you know pipeline pit is over 15 million ounces of of production, and that's a kilometer and a half away from our property boundaries. So it's just the gold endowment and it's special there.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Okay, to extend your elephant country metaphor at four mile, I think uh four mile really is an anomaly. That's perhaps more of a woolly mammoth than an elephant. Um that said, um, what would a home run drill result look like in terms of grade width, scale, et cetera, um on PWC?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Well, that's a tough one to answer this early in the game. Uh, we're three holes in. Um, we've had Millerization in uh the drilling in 2025 that that uh you know excited us and our partnership with Kinross. Um so you know, we've we've seen anything from half gram up to two and a half gram per ton through the upper plate. Um and uh you know, really the the the area to be drilling is in the lower plate. So I I don't know if I can answer that from a from uh you know an investor standpoint or from uh a Kinross uh standpoint, but you know, I think that if we can start to see some grade that's uh you know not akin to four mile, because that's a pretty special scenario. But if we can start to see three, four, five, six, seven, eight gram per ton. And I don't think the width, you know, Paul has to be, you know, you know, it has to doesn't have to be 100, 200 meters. It just needs to show that we have vector we're vectoring in on the source. And if we can do that, you know, a discovery hole at four mile might look different than a discovery hole from where we are. So tough one to answer, but you know, we're on the right track.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Tell me about the exploration program that Kim Ross has developed and is deploying to try and find the potential at uh PWC.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Sure, yeah, I mean you know it's iterative. So the first level uh that late 2024 and 25, it was a matter of you know, understanding the soils, understanding, you know, where they line up on structure, um, the idea of framework drilling, you know, get a hole into an area that's never been drilled, what does it look like down to 40,500 feet, call it, um, and then step off of that, you know, a kilometer, kilometer and a half, do a big step out, and get another drill hole. So we're early stages in understanding, you know, where to vector in on. And when I say we, I mean uh Ken Ross and ourselves. Um, so programs going forward will be learn from the science at surface, learn from the three drill holes, and then step out again. Um, I we haven't had our uh 2026 drill hole planning session, which is expected in May uh in Reno, but my suspicions are at that point they'll be you know taking in all of the science, whether it's downhill, geochem, that was very successful by the way, at four mile, um, as well as uh soil surface, and then look at our two holes on the north side and then and then vector from there. So really it's vectoring and then stepping in, stepping in, stepping in, and and uh trying to chase the gold. So um know a little bit more in the next few weeks as to as to what our 2026 uh 2026 drill hole um you know holes are gonna look like in terms of where they're gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Okay, thank you. In in that context of sort of venturing in, what would exploration success look like in say 12 to 24 months?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Well, it'll be drill uh oriented, of course. Uh that's the truth serum. Um I think the surface work that we've done, um, you know, maybe a little bit more mapping uh to be included. I think we've done what we need to do on surface. It's it's gonna be a matter of now, you know, stepping out and then stepping in, like you say, on the on the vectoring. Um next 20, 12 to 24 months is, you know, I can't tell you how many holes Ken Ross is planning on drilling at this point. But really, I mean, get a little sniff here, you know, get a second hole, another sniff, get a third hole, fourth hole, fifth hole, sixth hole. So there's no limit as to what uh how much drilling. We have a plan of operation um that has been uh put into the BLM that'll take probably uh year, year and change um to in order to be able to drill up to 400 drill holes in the area. So in the meantime, we'll continue to step out drilling and then uh have an opportunity over the 12 to 24 months to to really start to get in and do a lot of holes.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Okay. Now, this is obviously an early stage exploration project. So let me ask you, what do you see as the biggest technical risk? Would that be the as and when drilling starts? You don't hit that or you don't encounter that lower plate horizon?

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yeah, so well we have hit it, and actually the the fluids that we've we've hit down in the lower plate are indicative of a Carlin system. So from a risk mitigation standpoint, I think we could argue that we're seeing the fluids. Um, where are they coming from? Where are they trapped is the next step. So, you know, the risk profile for us, I think, is mitigated in A, we found some of the fluids, B, we've got um you know, we've got you know significant gold at surface in our soils. Um, you know, the next two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight drill holes starting to identify where the gold is sort of being trapped through these high-angle brittle faults is is the risk. And certainly there is risk. We're talking about you know, 3,500 to 4,500 foot drill holes, and you know, you you don't always hit it on the first half dozen, you know, dozen holes. So the risk would be that the fluids uh are there, uh the gold is there at surface, but it takes a little longer to you know identify where the deposit is. But we know there's gold in the in the lower plate, we know there's gold in the upper plate, we've already hit that. So it would be timing and it would be just more drawholes.

unknown 15:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Now, in terms of Riley Gold specifically, it does very much seem that um with PwC, Kimros is the the company that's beating the drum on the exploration and the speed of the exploration. What is under, you know, for your investors, what is under Riley Gold's control in terms of being able to add value, grow your share price, etc., um, during the exploration phase?

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Well, there's two ways to answer that, actually, and interesting, and glad you brought it up, because uh Paul Dobak, who I've mentioned who uh you know, former Barrick uh chief geologist, his experience out here for Kinross, actually, and for Kinross's you know, Nevada experience is is really important. You know, Paul has been there, he's he's he's been out at Cortez, he's been at Formel, he's involved in the discovery of deposits out there. So his value to the joint venture is more than just you know the big Kin Ross working with the junior or a big Barrick working with the junior. Um he's very valuable to our work out there, uh including the JV. Um beyond that, we do have a group of you know directors that have been there. You know, uh Mr. Tom Patton was involved in the led to discovery for Penosquito, which is now owned by Newmont, and it's you know Mexico's uh largest gold and silver producing um you know mine. Uh we've got permitting experts, which are very helpful in our relationship with with Ken Ross. Um, you know, we've got numerous people that are very value-added. I'm very fortunate to have a board like we do with the experience I do in in Nevada. So, you know, I think if you take all of that, put it together with our joint venture and and and uh working together with Ken Ross, you know, our our our upside is is there. I think everybody sees that. It's just more matter of of time and rocking up the time with um with more draw holes.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Okay, but again, I'm gonna repeat the questions. Um, what can you do to add value to sort of Riley Gold? You've got this great team, very experienced team. Are you out looking for other projects to bring other projects in, perhaps get some exploration, excuse me, underway on your own, or are you sort of you know basically waiting on what uh what Kim Ross does and the results Kim Ross generates?

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Um well, sorry, yeah. The answer to the guy question is obviously we've got a lot of eggs in that basket with Kinross. Um, but we are uh in the process of reviewing other opportunities and other assets. You know, we're they're not easy to find. Um we have the team that that has certainly been there and done that in Nevadas. So we do review um you know other assets that are coming in. We too we do also try to generate our own. Um and there's one that we're we're we're more likely in the process of of uh it's a an asset that we've had in the past um that we'll be working on. But um, you know, until we find the right opportunity, you know, we're relying on you know PwC at this moment.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Okay. Now um looking through your recent news releases, you just raised$1.7 million Canadian from the exercise of warrants. How much cash do you have now? And how far does your current cash position take you? What's the sort of work run rate that you've got with that?

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Right. So with the warrants that were recently exercised, uh we have a very tight structure, so we've only got 48 million shares issued and out, fully diluted 54 million. Um, but we've got about$2.7 million in the Treasury. Um, that from a runway, subject to bringing on other assets, as we just discussed, and other opportunities, you know, that runway lasts for you know numerous years, so we're not in any uh issue with uh raising more capital. Um, and then again, subject to bringing in other assets.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Okay, so bringing in another asset, that'll probably be or perhaps be the catalyst for be having to raise more money to fund uh work programs and potential auction payments, etc. Uh, there.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Right, depending on the project, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Okay, fair enough. Um now we've covered quite a bit of ground during our conversation, Todd. So maybe um you can leave our viewers with uh what are going to be some of the key catalysts they can watch out for from the company for this year.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Right, well, it's drilling. Uh and uh typically the way the last two years have been in terms of weather and in terms of planning, uh, we typically get drilling starting late spring, um, early summer, and uh typically results come out in the fall. So we're we're continuing up along that that path. Uh, and really those are those are the key elements. I mean, if you're looking at us from a shareholder and investment standpoint, it's who are you partnered with, where's your property, the people running the process, and uh you know, hopefully we get you know lots of comfort out of that in terms of you know what we've put together.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Well, I wished you the best of luck with the drilling program as that continues. Um, as a reminder, Riley Gold trades on the TSX B under the ticker RLYG. Todd Hilditch, thank you very much for joining me today.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Thank you, have a great time.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

And of course, if you like what you see, don't forget to hit that subscribe button. I'm Paul Harris, and this is Kit Go Mining.