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Revival Gold’s (TSXV: RVG, US-OTC: RVLGF) Mercur project in Utah offers a quicker route to first gold than the more developed Beartrack-Arnett property in Idaho, CEO Hugh Agro said.

“It’s about stacking the deck in our favour,” Agro told The Northern Miner Monday in an interview. “Mercur is a near-term opportunity with a two-year permitting horizon, heap leach production potential and exceptional leverage to the gold price.”

As gold goes from record to record, miners like Revival are looking for ways to cut development times to capture favourable market conditions.

While Beartrack-Arnett holds a larger and more advanced resource, Mercur is closer to production because of its simpler open-pit, heap-leach design, its history as a past-producing mine and its location on patented land with existing infrastructure. In contrast, Beartrack-Arnett’s scale and sulphide component require more complex engineering, permitting, and capital investment, pushing its development timeline further out.

Companies such as Liberty Gold (TSX: LGD), Integra Resources (TSXV: ITR), and Perpetua Resources (TSX, NASDAQ: PPTA) are developing oxide heap-leach and sulphide deposits in the northwestern part of the Carlin Trend. Beartrack-Arnett offers longer-term scale and exploration upside to push the company towards eventual mid-tier status, Agro said.

Dundee funding

Revival published a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in March on Mercur, about 60 km by paved road from Salt Lake City, Utah. It described an open-pit, heap-leach operation with a $295-million (C$406 million) after-tax net present value at a gold price of $2,175 per oz., producing about 95,600 oz. gold annually over 10 years. All-in sustaining costs came in at $1,363 per ounce.

The PEA followed a $3.7-million private placement led by Dundee Corp. (TSX: DC-A).

Revival shares have gained 73% since the start of the year, adding more than 13% on Tuesday at 47.5¢. Shares have ranged between 22.5¢ and 52¢ over the past 12 months, giving the company a market capitalization of $94 million.

Gold revival

Mercur holds the distinction of being the first Carlin-type gold deposit identified in the western United States, placing it within a region known for major mineral systems, Agro said. The Oquirrh Range hosts the famous Bingham Canyon copper-molybdenum-gold mine, and also includes the former Barney’s Canyon gold mine and historic lead-zinc-silver areas at Ophir and Stockton.

Osisko Development (TSXV, NYSE: ODV) and Ivanhoe Electric (TSX, NYSE: IE) are moving forward with their respective Trixie Mine and Tintic projects, highlighting the area’s active exploration and production scene.

The Mercur project, bought through the $21.9 million all-stock takeover last May of Ensign Minerals, taps into a historic gold camp. It produced 2.6 million oz., including 900,000 oz. at an average grade of 7 grams gold per tonne. Revival’s PEA models mining 66 million tonnes at 0.6 gram gold per tonne with 75% average recovery.

Mercur sits on patented land, has grid power, water access and is only 57 km from Salt Lake City, Agro pointed out.

“We have a large gold system, straightforward metallurgy and the benefit of a past-producing site with an excellent environmental record,” the CEO said. “You don’t get that combination very often.”

Permitting, led by Utah’s Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, is expected to take about two years — relatively fast by North American standards.

Mercur hosts an indicated resource of 35.3 million tonnes grading 0.66 gram gold per tonne for 746,000 oz. gold, and an inferred resource of 36.2 million tonnes grading 0.54 gram gold per tonne for 626,000 oz. of metal. The deposit has over 3,000 drill holes, covering 280,000 metres.

Revival plans to drill nearly 20,000 metres starting in June. This will cover the Rover, Main Mercur and South Mercur zones. The goal is to convert inferred resources and explore blue-sky targets like Porphyry Ridge and West Dip.

The company aims to complete an updated resource estimate and release its permitting schedule by late September.

Beartrack-Arnett repositioned

At Beartrack-Arnett in Idaho, Revival has a resource of 4.1 million ounces. The company changed its earn-in deal with Pan American Silver (TSX: PAAS; NYSE: PAAS) and extended bonding requirements to 2027. While the project once carried Revival’s growth ambitions, it now plays a supporting role.

“Beartrack-Arnett remains critical to our portfolio,” Agro said, “but with Mercur we have a clearer path to first gold.”

Including heap-leachable and underground sulphide material, Beartrack-Arnett has total resources of 86.2 million tonnes. The measured and indicated grade is 0.87 grams of gold per tonne, totalling 2.4 million ounces. It also has 50.7 million tonnes inferred at 1.34 grams gold per tonne for 2.2 million ounces.

The project benefits from existing infrastructure, including a permitted ADR plant and access to grid power. 

Recent exploration at Beartrack-Arnett focused on expanding oxide potential at Haidee and testing high-grade sulphide zones near Joss. “We’ve just scratched the surface,” Agro said. “There’s huge upside in the sulphides and we’ll be back with the drill.”

Meanwhile, technical de-risking work and further drilling on the sulphide potential near the Joss zone are expected to continue through the second half of the year.

“This is how you create value in a junior: advance the portfolio, build the resource and keep the market engaged,” Agro said.

Macro tailwinds

Asked about the disconnect between gold prices and equity valuations, Agro said: “You have gold holding over $3,000 an oz., yet junior valuations are scraping the bottom. Investors are still looking for the catalysts that will break that logjam.”

Capital discipline is key, the executive stressed. “We raised money without over-diluting the stock,” he said. “That’s critical in a market like this.”

A passionate cyclist, Agro likens managing a junior miner to grinding up a long climb. “It’s about patience, pacing yourself and knowing when to push,” he said. “We’ve been patient — now it’s time to push.”