Headwater continues Lodestar drill permit process

Jul 25, 2025

2025-07-24 16:09 ET – News Release

Mr. Caleb Stroup reports

HEADWATER GOLD ADVANCES DRILL PERMITTING AT LODESTAR PROJECT, NEVADA

Drill permitting has advanced through the formal public scoping phase on Headwater Gold Inc.’s Lodestar project, located in Western Nevada. Project scoping marks a significant step toward securing final drilling approval following the submission of a plan of operations to undertake a proposed 3,500-metre drill program.

The Lodestar project is being explored in partnership with Newmont Corp. through an earn-in agreement announced on May 9, 2023.

Highlights:

Scoping phase completed: The United States Forest Service has concluded the scoping phase of the environmental review process, paving the way for a final decision on the plan of operations. Project approval is anticipated by early fall 2025.
Drill program currently planned to commence in Q4: Following final project approval, the company expects to commence its planned drill program, fully financed through the $2-million minimum expenditure commitment by Newmont. The program is expected to consist of up to 3,500 metres across 10 to 15 holes.
Zodiac target is high priority: The geology of the Zodiac target, including thick silica sinter, indicates near complete preservation of an epithermal system analogous to the geological setting of the Disco zone discovered by Headwater on the Spring Peak project, approximately 10 kilometres south of Lodestar. The Zodiac target is the highest-priority untested target within Headwater’s greater Lodestar/Spring Peak project area.

Caleb Stroup, president and chief executive officer of the company, states: “We are thrilled to see the Lodestar project progress through the formal scoping stage, bringing us closer to a maiden drill program on the high-priority Zodiac target. Final public scoping is the concluding stage of the federal permitting process and sets the stage for currently anticipated drilling in Q4 2025. Every effort has been made to refine our exploration plans to ensure responsible and efficient development and it is great to see the project moving ahead. We remain confident in the geological potential for Lodestar to host high-grade epithermal vein systems, building on the success of our nearby Spring Peak project. Our partnership with Newmont continues to provide significant value, funding this exciting exploration while minimizing dilution for our shareholders.”

2025 Lodestar currently planned drilling

Following project approval of the Lodestar plan of operations, the 2025 drill program is currently expected to consist of up to 3,500 metres across 10 to 15 holes. The primary objective is to test for high-grade veins in steeply dipping feeder structures beneath the Zodiac sinter target, a prominent silicified and brecciated ridgeline capped by a thick accumulation of silica sinter. The Zodiac target features laminated silica sinter with palisade textures, algal mats and geyserite, suggesting potential prolonged hydrothermal activity and high-level preservation of the system. Headwater believes the system has potential for high-grade veins at depth. The Lodestar sinter is similar in character and size to the sinter overlying the Disco zone at Headwater’s Spring Peak project where high-grade epithermal veins were discovered at approximately 150 m depth. The Lodestar program is designed to leverage Headwater’s successful exploration model from Spring Peak, utilizing geophysical and geochemical data to target high-grade epithermal veins within the interpreted boiling zone approximately 150 m below surface. Additional scout holes will test undercover geophysical targets adjacent to the Zodiac target, beneath a thin veneer of postmineral basalt, to explore for blind mineralization.

About the Lodestar project

The Lodestar project is located in the Aurora mining district in the Walker Lane belt, west-central Nevada, approximately 10 km north of Headwater’s Spring Peak project and adjacent to Hecla Mining Company’s past-producing Aurora mine complex, which hosts existing infrastructure including a 350-ton-per-day mill, production water wells and high-voltage three-phase power. The project features a prominent silicified and brecciated ridgeline capped by a silica sinter, similar to the sinter overlying the Disco zone at Spring Peak, where Headwater intersected high-grade gold mineralization, including 15.92 grams per tonne Au over 2.38 metres and 10.43 g/t Au over 2.01 m. Historic shallow drilling at Lodestar encountered anomalous gold but did not test deeper feeder structures, leaving significant exploration potential untested. Headwater holds an option to acquire a 100-per-cent undivided interest in the Lodestar project from a private vendor, subject to retained royalties and Newmont’s option to acquire up to 75 per cent of the project following certain expenditures and preparation of a prefeasibility study within a designated time frame.

About Headwater Gold Inc.

Headwater Gold is a technically-driven mineral exploration company focused on exploring for and discovering high-grade precious metal deposits in the Western United States. Headwater is actively exploring one of the world’s most well-endowed, mining-friendly jurisdictions, with a goal of making world-class precious metal discoveries. The company has a large portfolio of epithermal vein exploration projects and a technical team with diverse experience in capital markets and major mining companies. Headwater is systematically drill-testing several projects in Nevada and has strategic earn-in agreements with Newmont on its Spring Peak and Lodestar projects. In August, 2022, and September, 2024, Newmont and Centerra Gold Inc. acquired strategic equity interests in the company, further strengthening Headwater’s exploration capabilities.

Headwater is part of the NewQuest Capital Group which is a discovery-driven investment enterprise that builds value through the incubation and financing of mineral projects and companies.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Scott Close, PGeo (158157), an independent qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

We seek Safe Harbor.

https://headwatergold.com/