VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG, OTCQB: HWAUF) (the "Company" or "Headwater") is pleased to announce it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with a subsidiary of OceanaGold Corporation (“OceanaGold”) (TSX: OGC, OTCQX: OCANF). The parties propose to enter into a definitive agreement (the “Agreement”) within 90 days for OceanaGold to acquire an option to earn up to a 75% interest in Headwater’s TJ, Jake Creek and Hot Creek projects in Nevada (collectively, the “Projects”) through staged exploration expenditures totalling up to US$65,000,000 and the completion of Pre-Feasibility Studies.
Highlights:
- OceanaGold proposes to fund a firm minimum commitment of US$2,500,000 in exploration expenditures across three Projects within the first two years of the Agreement;
- OceanaGold may elect to earn up to a 65% interest in each Project by funding exploration expenditures of US$25,000,000 on each of TJ and Jake Creek and US$15,000,000 on Hot Creek within an 8-year period;
- OceanaGold may elect to earn an additional 10% interest (to 75%) by completing a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) on each Project and granting Headwater a 1% NSR royalty upon completion of the PFS;
- Under the partnership, Headwater will be the initial operator of the Projects and will receive a 10% management fee; and
- Headwater and OceanaGold are preparing to initiate drilling programs at the TJ project immediately following the execution of the Agreement.
Caleb Stroup, Headwater’s President and CEO, states: “We are excited to announce this LOI with OceanaGold, a highly respected technical partner and a successful epithermal gold explorer and mid-tier gold miner. The LOI outlines a clear framework to advance our TJ, Jake Creek and Hot Creek projects through significant exploration funding and drilling, while allowing Headwater to retain meaningful carried interests and royalties. This deal aligns with our strategy of partnering with strong corporate partners to aggressively accelerate exploration on our high-potential projects in Nevada, one of the world’s premier mining jurisdictions. We look forward to working with OceanaGold and initiating the various programs which will supplement another busy year of exploration for the Company.”
Table 1: Principal Structure of the Proposed Transaction:
| Stage | Project Specific Expenditures (US$) | OceanaGold Interest (%) | Time for Each Stage | ||||||
| TJ | Jake Creek | Hot Creek | |||||||
| Minimum Commitment | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | 0% | 2 Years from Execution Date of Agreement | ||||
| Stage 1 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 51% | 4 Years from Execution Date of Agreement |
||||
| Stage 2 | +$15,000,000 | +$15,000,000 | +$10,000,000 | 65% | 4 Years from commencement of Stage 2 | ||||
| Stage 3 | Completion of PFS |
Completion of PFS |
Completion of PFS |
75% | 2 Years from commencement of Stage 3 | ||||
LOI Commercial Terms:
The LOI outlines the proposed terms for the definitive agreement under which OceanaGold would make cash payments and incur exploration expenditures to acquire up to a 75% interest in each of the three Projects through a three separate staged earn-in process (Table 1). As consideration for entering into the LOI, OceanaGold shall advance a non-refundable payment of US$150,000 to Headwater that will be used to fund pre-drilling expenses on the Projects.
Upon execution of the Agreement (the “Execution Date”), OceanaGold will pay US$100,000 to Headwater and an additional US$100,000 on the first anniversary of the Agreement if OceanaGold elects to continue into the second year on at least one Project.
Earn-in Structure
Stage 1: OceanaGold may elect to earn a 51% interest in each Project by sole funding expenditures of US$10,000,000 per Project for each of TJ and Jake Creek and US$5,000,000 for Hot Creek within 48 months of the Execution Date. Stage 1 includes a firm commitment to fund a minimum of $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures on both TJ and Jake Creek and $500,000 at Hot Creek within the first two years.
Stage 2: OceanaGold may elect to earn an additional 14% interest (to 65%) in each Project by sole funding additional expenditures of US$15,000,000 per Project for each of TJ and Jake Creek and US$10,000,000 for Hot Creek within 48 months following the completion of Stage 1.
Stage 3: OceanaGold may earn an additional 10% interest (to 75%) in each Project by completing a Pre-Feasibility Study for the respective Project and granting a 1% NSR royalty to Headwater, within 24 months following completion of Stage 2.
About the TJ Project:
The TJ project is located on Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) land in a relatively underexplored area of northeastern Nevada, approximately 25 km southeast of the town of Jackpot. The project area contains indications of a fully preserved epithermal system, including a thick and laterally extensive accumulation of silica sinter in the core of the property. Epithermal alteration is localized along a series of steeply inclined faults that bound a graben filled with Miocene-age sedimentary rocks.
Limited historic exploration on the property included shallow Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drilling that confirmed the presence of a broad zone of high-level epithermal alteration. The Company completed an initial round of scout drilling in 2024 which confirmed the project has potential for high-grade epithermal vein-style mineralization at depth (Headwater news release - January 16, 2025). A follow-up core drilling program is being planned with the objective of testing prospective epithermal structures identified during the 2024 program at depth.
The TJ project is subject to an underlying exploration lease and option to purchase agreement under which the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the project for US$1,500,000 inclusive of annual minimum payments. A portion of the project is subject to NSR royalties ranging from 1.5% to 2.5% with Headwater retaining the right to buy-down 80% of the NSR.
About the Jake Creek Project:
The Jake Creek project is 100% owned and consists of 189 unpatented lode mining claims on BLM land in Humboldt County, Nevada, located 65 km northwest of Winnemucca and 8 km east of the Nevada Gold Mines’ Turquoise Ridge Mine Complex. Historic drilling by Evolving Gold Corp. in 2010 and 2011 (13 RC holes) intersected widespread epithermal mineralization at the Tertiary unconformity, with notable intercepts1 such as 11.3 g/t Au over 1.52 m within 45.72 m grading 0.96 g/t Au in hole JC-005. This mineralization, associated with silicification, clay alteration and banded quartz veining, suggests a robust low-sulfidation epithermal system with potential for high-grade feeder zones at depth or along strike. A portion of the project is subject to a 1% NSR, half of which can be purchased for $1,000,000 at any time. For further information see Headwater news release - March 3, 2025.
About the Hot Creek Project:
The Hot Creek project is 100% owned and royalty-free and consists of 52 unpatented mining claims staked by Headwater in the Tuscarora District in Nevada. The project hosts a widespread zone of silica flooding in Tertiary sediments in the immediate hanging wall of a silicified range front fault. Historical shallow drilling1 results include grades up to 1.04 g/t Au over 12.2 m and 0.34 g/t Au over 117.3 m along a range front fault. The majority of the historic drill holes at Hot Creek were relatively shallow and did not adequately test for the presence of high-grade feeders at depth along the range front fault or subsidiary structures. Future exploration at Hot Creek will focus on refining the geological model, identifying new high-potential targets and conducting additional geological mapping and surface sampling. For further information see Headwater news release - September 4, 2024.
About OceanaGold:
OceanaGold Corporation (TSX: OGC, OTCQX: OCAND) is a growing intermediate gold and copper producer committed to safely and responsibly maximizing the generation of free cash flow from its operations and delivering strong returns for its shareholders. OceanaGold has a portfolio of four operating mines: the Haile Gold Mine in the United States of America; Didipio Mine in the Philippines; and the Macraes and Waihi operations in New Zealand. For more information, please visit investors.oceanagold.com.
About Headwater Gold:
Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG, OTCQB: HWAUF) is a technically-driven mineral exploration company focused on exploring for and discovering high-grade precious metal deposits in the Western USA. 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. Further information about NewQuest can be found on its website at www.nqcapitalgroup.com.
For more information about Headwater, please visit the Company's website at www.headwatergold.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Caleb Stroup
President and CEO
+1 (775) 409-3197
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For further information, please contact:
Brennan Zerb
Investor Relations Manager
+1 (778) 867-5016
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Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Scott Close, P.Geo (158157), an independent “Qualified Person” (“QP”) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
1Historical drill intercepts and surface samples cannot be relied upon and are treated by the Company as historical in nature and not current or NI 43-101 compliant.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the negotiation and entering into of the Agreement, future exploration expenditures by OceanaGold,, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Company's projects and mineral properties, completion and timing of the Agreement, , OceanaGold’s anticipated funding of the minimum commitment and the payment by OceanaGold of the pre-drilling expenses, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company and OceanaGold, including the Company's and OceanaGold’s exploration plans and the proposed expenditures for exploration work on the Projects, the ability of OceanaGold to obtain sufficient financing to fund the proposed exploration programs, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange) for the Agreement, the risk that OceanaGold will not elect to obtain any additional interest in the Projects in excess of the minimum commitment, the ability of the Company to obtain the required permits, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed in the Company's filings with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.
