Contango Ore, Inc. (‘CORE’) engages in the exploration for and development of gold ore and associated minerals in the State of Alaska.
On January 8, 2015, CORE Alaska, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company (‘CORE Alaska’), and a subsidiary of Royal Gold, Inc. (‘Royal Gold’), formed Peak Gold, LLC (the ‘Peak Gold JV’).
The company conducts its business through the following primary means:
The company’s 30.0% membership interest in Peak Gold JV, which leases approximately 675,000 acres...
Contango Ore, Inc. (‘CORE’) engages in the exploration for and development of gold ore and associated minerals in the State of Alaska.
On January 8, 2015, CORE Alaska, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company (‘CORE Alaska’), and a subsidiary of Royal Gold, Inc. (‘Royal Gold’), formed Peak Gold, LLC (the ‘Peak Gold JV’).
The company conducts its business through the following primary means:
The company’s 30.0% membership interest in Peak Gold JV, which leases approximately 675,000 acres from the Tetlin Tribal Council, and holds approximately 13,000 additional acres of State of Alaska mining claims (such combined acreage, the ‘Peak Gold JV Property’) for exploration and development, including in connection with the Peak Gold JV’s production from the Main and North Manh Choh deposits within the Peak Gold JV Property (‘Manh Choh’ or the ‘Manh Choh Project’);
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Mining Canada Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of British Columbia (‘Contango Mining Canada’), which holds the company’s 100% equity interest in HighGold Mining Inc., a corporation existing under the laws of the Province of British Columbia (‘HighGold’). HighGold holds the company’s 100% equity interest in JT Mining, Inc., which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 21,000 acres (‘Johnson Tract’ or the ‘Johnson Tract Project’), located near tidewater, 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, from Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (‘CIRI’), one of 12 land-based Alaska Native regional corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971;
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Lucky Shot Alaska, LLC (‘LSA’), an Alaska limited liability company, which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 8,600 acres of State of Alaska and patented mining claims (‘Lucky Shot’ or the ‘Lucky Shot Property’), located in the Willow Mining District about 75 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, from Alaska Hard Rock, Inc.;
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Minerals Alaska, LLC (‘Contango Minerals’), which separately controls the mineral rights to approximately 145,280 acres of State of Alaska mining claims for exploration, including approximately 69,780 acres located immediately northwest of the Peak Gold JV Property (the ‘Eagle/Hona Property’), approximately 14,800 acres located northeast of the Peak Gold JV Property (the ‘Triple Z Property’), approximately 52,700 acres of new property in the Richardson district of Alaska (the ‘Shamrock Property’), and approximately 8,000 acres located to the north and east of the Lucky Shot Property (the ‘Willow Property’ and, together with the Eagle/Hona Property, the Triple Z Property, and the Shamrock Property, collectively the ‘Minerals Property’); and
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Avidian Gold Alaska Inc., an Alaskan corporation (‘Avidian Alaska’), which separately controls the mineral rights to approximately 11,711 acres of State of Alaska mining claims and upland mining leases for exploration, including approximately 1,021 acres (the ‘Amanita NE Property’) located in the Fairbanks Mining District approximately three miles east of the Fort Knox Gold Mine and 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska, and approximately 10,690 acres (the ‘Golden Zone Property’) located in the Valdez Creek Mining District on the eastern edge of the Alaska Range, located approximately 150 miles southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, along the George Parks Highway; and which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 3,380 acres of State of Alaska mining claims, leasehold locations, and an upland mining lease, located in the Fairbanks Mining District approximately five miles southwest of the Fort Knox Gold Mine and about 10 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska (the ‘Amanita Property’ and together with the Amanita NE Property and the Golden Zone Property, collectively the ‘Avidian Properties’).
The Johnson Tract Project, Lucky Shot Property, Minerals Property, and Avidian Properties are collectively referred to as the ‘Contango Properties’.
The company’s Manh Choh Project is in the production stage, while all other projects are in the exploration stage.
Strategy
The company’s strategies are partnering with strategic industry participants to expand future exploration work and mining operations; structuring incentives to drive behavior; and acquiring exploration properties.
Property
On January 8, 2015, the company and a subsidiary of Royal Gold formed the Peak Gold JV, and the company contributed its leasehold interest in a mineral lease with the Native Village of Tetlin, whose governmental entity is the Tetlin Tribal Council (‘Tetlin Tribal Council’), for the exploration of minerals near Tok, Alaska, on a currently estimated 675,000 acres (the ‘Tetlin Lease’) to the Peak Gold JV. In addition to the Tetlin Lease, the Peak Gold JV also holds 159 State of Alaska mining claims covering approximately 13,000 acres for the exploration of gold and associated minerals (together with the Tetlin Lease, the ‘Peak Gold JV Property’). As of December 31, 2024, the company held a 30.0% membership interest, and KG Mining held a 70.0% membership interest in and operates the Peak Gold JV. The Peak Gold JV Property contains the Main and North Manh Choh deposits (the ‘Manh Choh Project’), which the company currently considers its only material property.
The company also separately controls the mineral rights to approximately 168,970 acres of State of Alaska and patented mining claims and upland leases for exploration through its wholly-owned subsidiaries LSA (consisting of the Lucky Shot Property), Contango Minerals (consisting of the Eagle/Hona, Triple Z, and Shamrock prospects, and additional state mining claims in the Willow Mining District), Contango Mining Canada (consisting of Johnson Tract), and Avidian Alaska (consisting of the Golden Zone, Amanita, and Amanita NE properties), and has begun allocating more annual resources to the exploration of those properties and other new opportunities. Encumbrances on each property, such as royalties, are discussed within the property descriptions.
As is customary in the mineral industry, the company conducted only a preliminary title examination at the time it entered into the Tetlin Lease. The Peak Gold JV conducted a title examination prior to the assignment of the Tetlin Lease to the Peak Gold JV and performed certain curative title work.
Mining Activity
The Peak Gold JV’s Manh Choh mine is now actively mining from an open pit. The ore is currently being transported and stockpiled at the Fort Knox mill for future processing. Other than the former-producing mines located on the Lucky Shot Property, which are not currently active, there are no existing mines on any of the other Contango Properties. The company is developing an underground mine at Lucky Shot by enhancing underground access for exploration and development drilling.
History
Contango Ore, Inc. was founded in 2009. The company was incorporated in 2010.
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