West Point Gold Buys Back 2% Royalty, Secures 100% Ownership of Black Dyke and Bull 8 Discoveries
Rhea-AI Summary
West Point Gold (TSXV: WPG, OTCQX: WPGCF) announced Purchase and Sale and Royalty Termination Agreements covering 107 BLM lode claims at its Gold Chain Project in Arizona, including the Black Dyke, Bull 8 and Gold Chain Hill targets. The deals accelerate remaining option payments, eliminate a future resource-based bonus payment and extinguish a 2% net smelter return royalty on gold and silver production from these claims. Total consideration is a US$960,000 cash payment. The 107 claims form the western portion of Gold Chain, which in total comprises 614 BLM claims over about 4,539 hectares plus 15 patented claims over about 114 hectares. The company also highlighted recent drilling at Black Dyke and Bull 8, where multiple reverse-circulation holes intersected near-surface oxidized gold mineralization with reported intervals up to 36.6 m at 1.04 g/t Au from surface.
Positive
- Elimination of 2% NSR royalty on gold and silver from 107 claims
- Removal of contingent future bonus cash payment tied to resource determination
- Agreements consolidate economic interest in Black Dyke and Bull 8 discoveries
- Total consideration limited to US$960,000 cash payment
- Black Dyke drilling: up to 36.6 m at 1.04 g/t Au from surface
- Bull 8 drilling: standout hole 21.4 m at 1.01 g/t Au from 71.6 m depth
Negative
- Upfront cash outlay of US$960,000 to complete buyback and termination
- Acceleration of existing cash payments may increase near-term cash requirements
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2026) - West Point Gold Corp. (TSXV: WPG) (OTCQX: WPGCF) (FSE: LRA0) ("West Point Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement and a Royalty Termination and Release Agreement (the "Agreements") which accelerate the remaining payments, eliminate a future bonus payment, and eliminate the royalty related to 107 Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") lode mining claims forming part of the Company's Gold Chain Project located in Mohave County, Arizona. These claims include the Black Dyke target where the Company has had recent exploration success (press releases from March 17, 2026 and August 11, 2026), the Bull 8 target (June 4, 2026 press release) and the Gold Chain Hill target.
"The completion of these Agreements starts the process of simplifying the ownership structure of our landholdings at Gold Chain and eliminates future potential royalty and bonus payments related to these 107 claims. With the recent exploration success that we have had at Black Dyke and at Bull 8, the elimination of these future payments is expected to add long-term value," stated Derek Macpherson, President and CEO.
These Agreements resulted in the acceleration of existing cash payments under the Option Agreement; the extinguishment of the
The 107 BLM claims relating to the Agreements comprise the western portion of the Gold Chain Project which hosts the Black Dyke, Bull 8, and Gold Chain Hill prospects. In total, the Gold Chain Project consists of 614 BLM claims covering approximately 4,539 hectares and 15 patented claims covering approximately 114 hectares, including the Tyro, Banner and Sheep Trail claim groups.
Black Dyke Target
Black Dyke has evolved from a historical prospect into a credible second potential resource-development area at Gold Chain, separate from Tyro. Its shallow, oxidized geometry could make it particularly attractive for potential open-pit development if additional drilling establishes sufficient scale and continuity. The zone is located approximately 4km west of the Tyro Main Zone along the Roadside Mine fault, which borders the southwest flank of the Katherine Horst. Geologically, Black Dyke contains a shallow, southwest-dipping vein-breccia system with fragments of chalcedony-rich hydrothermal breccia in a late-stage calcite matrix; the vein is hosted by Precambrian granite and spatially associated with rhyolitic intrusive/volcanic rocks. Alteration and vein textures observed in the shallow drilling suggest additional potential exists at depth, which remains largely untested. Initial RC drilling has defined a shallow-dipping zone of quartz veinlets and breccia approximately 7.6 to 36.6 m thick, extending for at least 200m along strike and approximately 250m down-dip. Importantly, mineralization begins at or near surface, is largely oxidized, and remains open to the west and down-dip to the southwest. Initial drilling returned encouraging, relatively consistent widths and grades, highlighted by 36.6 m at 1.04 g/t Au (GC26-095) from surface, 21.3 m at 0.92 g/t Au (GC26-098), 7.6 m at 1.56 g/t Au (GC26-099), and 12.2 m at 1.09 g/t Au (GC26-101).
Bull 8 Target
Bull 8 is an early-stage gold discovery located approximately 6 km northwest of the Tyro Zone. The prospect occurs along the northwest-trending Union Pass Fault Corridor characterized by strongly sheared, brecciated and altered Precambrian granite cut by fault-bounded dikes. Historical pits, adits and trenches occur throughout the prospect, with surface samples returning up to 2.09 g/t Au. Widespread quartz veining, hydrothermal alteration and anomalous gold occur along the broader Union Pass Fault Corridor, which extends for roughly 12 km across the property and is interpreted as a major structural control on the broader Gold Chain mineralizing system. The 2026 drilling consisted of six RC holes totalling 856 m, with gold mineralization intersected in every hole. The standout result was GC26-136: 21.4 m at 1.01 g/t Au, including an estimated 18 m true width, beginning at 71.6 m depth. A second hole, GC26-130, returned 12.2 m at 0.41 g/t Au from only 6.1 m depth, demonstrating that mineralization also occurs close to surface.
Gold Chain Hill Target
Gold Chain Hill is a historical gold prospect within the broader Roadside Mine structural corridor and represents another potential near-surface bulk-tonnage target outside of the Tyro Main Zone. Historical drilling returned a notable intercept of approximately 52.0 m grading 0.53 g/t Au (Fischer Watt, 1986), demonstrating broad gold mineralization at potentially economic grades. The target is characterized by quartz-chalcedony stockwork and breccia hosted within strongly silicified rhyolite and surrounding Precambrian granite. Mapping has identified a close relationship between gold mineralization and rhyolite dikes, a feature also observed throughout the Gold Chain project area. Gold occurs in surface exposures while historical drilling indicates that the mineralized system continues at depth.
Qualified Person
Robert Johansing, M.Sc. Econ. Geol., P. Geo., the Company's Vice President, Exploration, is a qualified person ("QP") as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release. Mr. Johansing has also been responsible for overseeing all phases of the drilling program, including logging, labelling, bagging and transport from the project to American Assay Laboratories of Sparks, Nevada. Drillholes have a diameter of about 10cm, and samples have an approximate weight of 5 to 10kg. Samples were then dried, crushed and split, and pulp samples were prepared for analysis. Gold was determined by fire assay with an ICP finish, and over-limit samples were determined by fire assay and gravimetric finish. Silver plus 15 other elements were determined by Aqua Regia ICP-AES (IM-2A16), and over-limit samples were determined by fire assay and gravimetric finish. Both certified standards and blanks were inserted on site along with duplicates, standards and blanks inserted by American Assay. The results summarized above have been carefully reviewed with reference to the QA/QC results. Standard sample chain of custody procedures were employed during drilling and sampling campaigns until delivery to the analytical facility.
The QP has not completed sufficient work to verify the historical information received on the Black Dyke, Bull 8 and Gold Chain Hill targets, particularly with regard to historical drill results. However, the QP believes that prior drilling and analytical results were completed to industry standard practices at the time they were drilled.
About West Point Gold Corp.
West Point Gold is an exploration and development company focused on unlocking value across four strategically located projects along the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Nevada and Arizona, USA, providing shareholders with exposure to multiple discovery opportunities across one of North America's most productive gold regions. The Company's near-term priority is advancing its flagship Gold Chain Project in Arizona.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact:
Aaron Paterson, Corporate Communications Manager
Phone: +1 (778) 358-6173
Email: info@westpointgold.com
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events including, among others, assumptions about future prices of gold, silver, and other metal prices, currency exchange rates and interest rates, timing of the Company's maiden resource estimate, favourable operating conditions, political stability, obtaining government approvals and financing on time, obtaining renewals for existing licenses and permits and obtaining required licenses and permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of equipment, availability of drill rigs, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to West Point Gold's ability to complete any payments or expenditures required under the Company's various option agreements for its projects; and other risks and uncertainties relating to the actual results of current exploration activities, the uncertainties related to resources estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections in relation to production, costs and expenses; risks relating to grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; uncertainty related to the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results may vary from those expected; statements about expected results of operations, royalties, cash flows, financial position may not be consistent with the Company's expectations due to accidents, equipment breakdowns, title and permitting matters, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions. The possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with adjacent properties and the Company's expectations; operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); metal price fluctuations; environmental and regulatory requirements; availability of permits, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; fluctuating gold prices; possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, exploration cost overruns, availability of capital and financing, general economic, political risks, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the filings on SEDAR made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this corporate press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities legislation.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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