Renames Herbert Gold, reveals mine plan, and partners with Goldbelt for direct shipping ore infrastructure, all toward developing the next Alaskan gold mine.

Grande Portage Resources Ltd. announced strategic moves to advance its New Amalga Mine project in Southeast Alaska toward production, unveiling a conceptual mining plan and signing a partnership with Goldbelt Inc. to develop key infrastructure. Building on years of exploration, regulatory approvals, and resource growth, these recent announcements mark a shift from exploration to production for the next Alaskan gold mine.

"We are extremely pleased to deliver a few key milestone developments thus far in 2024," said Grande Portage President and CEO Ian Klassen.

Signaling the next stage of its development, Grande Portage opted to rename its Herbert Gold project to the New Amalga Mine project, to pay tribute to the region's rich mining heritage. This change honors the historic Amalga Gold Camp, about four miles from the current project site, which produced tens of thousands of ounces of lode gold during the early 20th century.

Located about 16 miles north of Juneau, Alaska, New Amalga is a high-grade gold project that is part of the historic Juneau Gold Belt, a 99-mile-long region that produced over 7 million oz of gold from the late 1800s and mid-1900s.

Advancing the project for over a decade, the company reported an updated mineral resource estimate in June to reflect its perseverance in bringing another mine online in Alaska.

"Our updated mineral resource estimate continues to confirm that the deposit has grown and is open to future expansion," said Klassen. "Importantly, the deposit has continued to mature and expand whilst maintaining world-class high gold grades."

According to this calculation, Herbert Gold hosts 4.72 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 9.47 grams per metric ton (1.4 million oz) gold, and 5.86 g/t (891,600 oz) silver; plus 1.8 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 8.85 g/t (515,700 oz) gold, and 7.33 g/t (390,600 oz) silver.

The updated and expanded resources, along with the continued expansion potential, have set the stage for Grande Portage to move forward with mine development options.

As part of this next phase, the company announced a conceptual mining plan on Sept. 9, which envisions a selective underground mining operation focused on extracting high-grade material while minimizing dilution.

"The now completed Conceptual Plan was a comprehensive and time-consuming undertaking," Klassen added. "The company wishes to thank OreLogic and Kyle Mehalek for their underground mining development expertise."

With its proximity to tidewater and an existing paved highway, New Amalga's location provides an ideal opportunity for offsite processing.

This approach not only significantly reduces the environmental footprint by eliminating the need for a mill, tailings storage facility, and permanent waste rock storage at the site but also minimizes the use of processing chemicals.

Instead, all waste rock generated from underground development would be returned as backfill, simplifying the post-mining closure and reclamation process.

Grande Portage Resources Ltd.

To support this strategy, on Sept. 10, Grande Portage announced a partnership with Goldbelt Inc., the urban Alaska Native corporation for the Juneau area, to develop an ore terminal at Cascade Point, roughly 15 miles from New Amalga.

"We are exceptionally pleased to partner with Goldbelt for planning the development of an ore terminal at their property," said Klassen. "This is a key step towards implementing our DSO (direct shipping ore) strategy, enabling ore processing and tailings storage to take place offsite while keeping the New Amalga Mine facilities to an extremely small footprint."

If realized, this terminal would allow for efficient transport of ore to third-party processing facilities around the Pacific Rim or smelters in East Asia, reducing environmental impact and minimizing costs.

"We will be integrating lessons learned from other nearby export terminals, such as those at Skagway, to ensure that the design and operation of the facility adheres to the highest level of environmental protection," added Klassen. "In addition to the benefits for Goldbelt shareholders, future development of the Cascade Point ore terminal and the New Amalga Mine would create hundreds of new job opportunities for the residents of Juneau and surrounding communities."

In addition to its focus on offsite processing and minimizing the environmental footprint, Grande Portage's mine plan also includes underground mine design, production scheduling, and logistics for transporting ore to offsite facilities.

"The plan is an important step forward to better understand how to best maximize this gold asset whilst continuing to focus on what's in the best interests of the local community and the regulatory regimes in Southeast Alaska," added Klassen.

The plan further considers surface facilities, ore marketing strategies, and internal financial modeling to ensure the overall viability of the New Amalga Mine project.

Beyond the technical aspects of mine design, Grande Portage is actively exploring strategic partnerships to support processing and transportation needs. The potential development of the Cascade Point ore terminal would enable the company to implement a streamlined DSO platform, which could significantly lower upfront capital costs while reducing long-term environmental liabilities.

Looking ahead, the company plans to continue advancing New Amalga through further exploration and refinement of the mine plan. With the project's continued growth, Grande Portage anticipates that the New Amalga Mine will play a crucial role in Southeast Alaska's mining future, providing economic opportunities for the region and creating hundreds of new jobs for the local community.

"Our commitment is to exceed all regulatory requirements and environmental expectations while also contributing to the local economy and creating valuable, long-term job opportunities for the hard-working residents of the Juneau area," Klassen said.