Hycroft Mining Highlights Brimstone, Vortex High-Grade Silver Finds, $189M Cash at Gold Forum

• Hycroft says it has discovered two high-grade silver systems, Brimstone and Vortex, defining more than 100 million ounces of silver and roughly 300,000 ounces of gold after just 8,000 meters of drilling, with standout intercepts such as 85 m averaging >500 g/t Ag (including 40 m >1,000 g/t) and 21 m of 2,800 g/t Ag with 33.7 g/t Au.

• The project hosts a very large resource base—over 16 million ounces of gold and more than 500 million ounces of silver in measured & indicated categories (with substantial inferred ounces)—and Hycroft reports resources have increased about 55% in the past two years.

• Financially strong with $189 million in cash and no debt, Hycroft is funding an expanded >20,000‑meter 2024 drill program, advancing a PEA and metallurgical work for sulfide milling, and targeting an initial underground high‑grade start at roughly 3,500–5,000 tpd while considering a heap‑leach restart as a near‑term revenue bridge.

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Diane Garrett, president and CEO of Hycroft Mining (NASDAQ:HYMC), told attendees at the European Gold Forum that the company is repositioning the Hycroft Mine in northern Nevada from its legacy as an intermittently operating heap-leach producer into what she described as a growing story centered on newly identified high-grade systems.

Garrett said Hycroft has “discovered not one, but two very, very high-grade silver systems,” which she identified as Brimstone and Vortex, following what she called two years of technical work aimed at understanding what fed the site’s large, historically low-grade resource.

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She highlighted the scale of Hycroft’s reported resources, saying the company has more than 16 million ounces of gold and more than 500 million ounces of silver. Garrett added that gold stands at 16 million ounces in the measured and indicated (M&I) category with more than five million ounces inferred, while silver exceeds half a billion ounces M&I with an additional 132 million ounces inferred. She also referenced equivalency figures, stating the project totals nearly 23 million ounces gold-equivalent in M&I and another seven million ounces inferred, and “almost 2 billion ounces of silver” on a silver-equivalent M&I basis, plus about 600 million ounces inferred.

On the high-grade discoveries specifically, Garrett said that after “only 8,000 meters of drilling in 14 months,” Hycroft had defined a resource of more than 100 million ounces of silver and 300,000 ounces of gold, and that the company’s resources have increased by 55% over the last two years.

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Garrett emphasized that the Hycroft site has a long operational history and that the company has “all of our permits for heap leach and milling,” while continuing to modify permits as operational plans evolve. She also said the operation carries “no reclamation environmental liabilities.”

She described substantial on-site infrastructure, including an operational lab, maintenance facilities, and “three stages of crushing,” as well as two processing facilities, which she referred to as the Brimstone processing facility and a Merrill-Crowe processing facility. Garrett also noted that an operational Union Pacific rail line runs through the property, which she said could help with shipping concentrate and receiving reagents. In addition, she said a “brand-new leach pad” is ready to receive ore.

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Garrett explained that the prior operation shut down as oxide material for heap leaching depleted and mining moved into sulfide ore, and she said Hycroft is now advancing engineering work to build a milling operation for sulfides.

Garrett characterized recent drill results as the best in the mine’s history, citing a discovery hole of 85 meters averaging over 500 grams of silver, including “40 meters” over 1,000 grams, with multiple intercepts above 2,000 grams and one cited at 10,000 grams. She also referenced another hole with 21 meters of 2,800 grams of silver, and said that within that hole there were “80,000 gram intercepts.” She directed investors to the company’s website and presentation materials for full drill tables.

Discussing Brimstone, Garrett said the company is conducting step-out drilling to test the size of the system and plans to incorporate results into an updated resource, followed by economics and a technical study. She said Hycroft’s near-term objective is to “start mining on the high grade,” and that the company is studying Brimstone from an underground perspective. She noted that Brimstone begins within about 30 meters of the bottom of the Brimstone pit, which she said provides “very easy access.” Garrett added that Hycroft is working with an engineering firm on an exploration decline that could support both underground drilling and potential production.

For 2024 work, she said Hycroft is expanding drilling significantly, with plans for over 20,000 meters—about three times the scale of the discovery-year program—using four core rigs (two on site and two en route), in addition to an RC rig. She said both Brimstone and Vortex remain open “in all directions and at depth,” and described step-outs of 100 to 200 meters while maintaining continuity.

On Vortex, Garrett said the system differs from Brimstone, describing it as flatter-lying and more brecciated, with less discrete veining. She also said Hycroft has identified at least three mineralizing events on the property. Garrett reported that deeper drilling at Vortex is showing high-grade gold, including an intercept of 2,890 grams of silver and 33.7 grams of gold over about a meter. She said the drill hole twisted off after encountering a structure and the company plans to redrill, adding that Hycroft does not believe mineralization is confined to that one meter.

Garrett said Hycroft has $189 million in cash and no debt, and that the company trades on multiple indices, including SILV (Solactive Silver) and GDXJ. She added that while she expects “60%” of revenues to be generated from gold and “40%” from silver, the company “trade[s] more like a silver company.”

She also discussed the shareholder base, stating that Eric Sprott “owns 43% of the company,” and that BlackRock sought a 10% position, which she associated with Evy Hambro in the U.K., alongside other institutional investors. Garrett said Hycroft was “extremely undervalued” previously due to inherited debt and described a past market capitalization increase after clearing that debt; she also referenced the company’s current market cap during her remarks.

Looking ahead, Garrett said the company has completed a new resource and completed metallurgical work for pressure oxidation, which she said delivered “fantastic recoveries” and was disclosed in February. She said Hycroft is completing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), noting it began before the high-grade discoveries. Garrett said the PEA timeline was impacted after the updated resource increased materially, requiring engineering firms to redesign the tailings storage facility to accommodate additional material. She said the work was expected to be finished soon, followed by mine planning and final cost work before releasing economics.

Garrett said Hycroft does not intend to build a massive operation at the outset and instead aims to start mining high-grade material at approximately 3,500 to 5,000 tons per day, with the potential to scale up later. She also said the company is assessing a restart of heap leaching as a potential revenue bridge to sulfide milling, citing remaining leachable material and the current commodity price environment.

In addition, Garrett said Hycroft is completing metallurgical work on roasting, which she said could allow the company to become a meaningful producer of sulfuric acid due to the site’s sulfur content, creating a potential third revenue stream alongside gold and silver. She cited recent news that China has limited or banned exports of silver and that it is banning exports of sulfuric acid beginning in May, which she said could affect fertilizer and the copper industry and potentially create broader commodity supply shocks.

Garrett closed by describing Hycroft as an “evolving, developing story,” saying the company has “only just scratched the surface” of the opportunity at Hycroft.

Hycroft Mining PLC is a precious metals company focused on the exploration, development and operation of the Hycroft Mine, a large oxide gold and silver deposit in northwestern Nevada. The company’s primary activities include open-pit mining, heap leach extraction and carbon adsorption/desorption processing designed to recover gold and silver from crushed ore. Hycroft’s technical team employs conventional mining methods and metallurgical processes to advance resource conversion and optimize recovery rates.

Located on approximately 28,800 hectares in Humboldt County, Nevada, the Hycroft Mine ranks among the largest undeveloped oxide gold-silver deposits in North America.

The article “Hycroft Mining Highlights Brimstone, Vortex High-Grade Silver Finds, $189M Cash at Gold Forum” was originally published by MarketBeat.