Gold Co. Continues to Target Major Breakthrough in South Dakota

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Dakota Gold Corp. (DC:NYSE American) announced assay results from an additional 32 infill and metallurgical drill holes as part of its ongoing 2025 campaign for the Richmond Hill Oxide Heap Leach Gold Project in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota, the company said in a release October 16.

Drilling continues to encounter high-grade gold in the northern area of the project, aligning with the company’s strategy to commence initial mining operations in the north. The company said it currently has two drills in operation at Richmond Hill and anticipates drilling 27,500 meters for the 2025 campaign.

"We are encouraged to see assay results from metallurgical drilling that support the mine plan proposed in the July 7, 2025, Initial Assessment with Cash Flow," said VP Exploration James Berry. "The 2025 core drilling campaign is providing critical data enhancing our geological resource understanding supporting our transition to Feasibility Study. The consistency of mineralization across the northern project area is particularly promising as we target this area for the initial stages of mining."

According to the release, infill drill holes in the northwestern section of the project area have revealed future step-out drilling opportunities, with drill hole RH25C-241 intersecting 3.72 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 20.5 meters, including 28.2 g/t Au over 1.5 meters (41 gram meters) at the edge of the Measured and Indicated resource cone boundary. These results underscore the potential for further resource expansion drilling in the area.

Metallurgical drill holes across the northern project area continued to intercept high-grade gold, reducing risk for the project and enhancing confidence in the resource, Dakota said. Notable results include RH25C-209 with 1.40 g/t Au over 73.5 meters and RH25C-211 with 1.55 g/t Au over 52.3 meters. The metallurgical drilling results highlight the low-risk nature of the deposit with widespread mineralization.

Core Drilling Underway in Northeast Project Area

The company said its core drilling is currently underway in the northeast project area, where assay results from expansion and infill of the unconstrained mineralization are expected before year-end.

The proposed expansion drilling in this area has the potential to increase the resource based on previous drilling and current resources. The mineralization in the northeast is only limited by drilling and remains open.

Analyst Peter Bell with Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets said in an updated research note on October 16 that he found the results to be "positive" for the company.

In the release, Dakota Gold noted it is conducting core drilling in the northern section of the project area to support the completion of a Feasibility Study.

This core drilling aims to gather metallurgical samples for column testing, perform condemnation drilling beneath proposed site infrastructure for mine planning, conduct infill drilling to enhance the existing resource, and carry out expansion drilling where the resource remains open.

The drill results will contribute to updates for both the oxide and sulfide resources in the Feasibility Study. The assay results reported in the release were primarily from metallurgical drilling in the northern project area.

These drill results will help refine the modeled boundaries and enhance the accuracy of the geometallurgical domains for the Feasibility Study and mine planning. Additionally, the drilling was designed to collect samples for metallurgical tests across a range of grades, rock types, and oxidation states — oxide, transitional, and sulfide — so that composites can be prepared for heap leach column tests, Dakota said.

Results Will Refine Boundaries, Improve Geometallurgical Model

Analyst Peter Bell with Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets said in an updated research note on October 16 that he found the results to be "positive" for the company.

"The results reported today are from the north central Project area and will refine the modelled boundaries and improve the precision of the geometallurgical model for the feasibility and mine planning," Bell wrote in the note.

With Thursday's results, drilling continues to encounter high-grade gold in the northern project area, supporting the company’s strategy to begin mining in the north.

Bell said Canaccord calculates an average grade and width of 1.30 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) and approximately 13 meters, respectively, which are slightly better than previous drilling results and higher than the average Measured and Indicated resource grade of 0.463 g/t Au. Overall, the results validate the current resource at Richmond Hill and support potential resource growth, in our view.

With a strong cash position of US$41.2 million (as of June 30, 2025), Bell said the company is fully funded through the Initial Assessment with Cash Flow (IACF) and the subsequent completion of its Feasibility Study.

"We have a SPECULATIVE BUY rating and US$14.00 target price," wrote Bell. "Our target is predicated on a 0.9x multiple applied to our forward curve-derived operating NAV less net debt and other corporate adjustments."

The Catalyst: Gold Continues Its Rise

The price of gold soared past US$4,100 per ounce on Wednesday for the first time, marking an extraordinary rally of over 50% this year, wrote Luke Hartigan, a lecturer in economics at the University of Sydney, in an October 15 piece on The Conversation.

The rapid pace of this upswing has outstripped analysts' predictions, bringing total gains to nearly 100% since the current surge began in early 2024. The skyrocketing price of gold has captivated investors, leading to long queues outside gold dealers in Sydney as people rush to acquire the precious metal.

Hartigan said several factors have been suggested to explain the current record-breaking run for gold. These include increased economic uncertainties due to rising government debt levels and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. Additionally, there are growing concerns about the independence of the US Federal Reserve. If political interference leads to lower U.S. interest rates, it could trigger a resurgence in inflation. Gold is traditionally viewed as a hedge against inflation.

After climbing nearly 50% this year, gold could soar by 150% as soon as 2028 if it maintains its current trajectory, according to Jason Ma writing for Fortune on October 11.

In a note on Monday, seasoned market analyst Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, reviewed his previous optimistic predictions for gold, which has consistently hit his targets ahead of time. During that period, he highlighted gold's traditional role as a safeguard against inflation, the move by central banks to reduce reliance on the dollar after Russia's assets were frozen, the collapse of China's housing market, and Trump's trade war along with his efforts to disrupt the global geopolitical landscape. "We are now aiming for US$5,000 in 2026," Yardeni stated. "If it continues on its current path, it could reach US$10,000 before the end of the decade." Based on gold's trajectory since late 2023, the price could hit the US$10,000-per-ounce mark sometime between mid-2028 and early 2029.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, 12 insiders own 12.8% of Dakota Gold and numerous institutions hold 47.45% of Dakota in aggregate. The top institutions include Orion Resource Partners (USA) LP with 8.64%, The Vanguard Group with 4.25%, BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. N.A. with 4.24%, and Van Eck Associates Corp. with 3.09%. The rest is in retail.

Dakota Gold has 112.34 million outstanding shares, and its market cap is US$576.32 million. Its 52-week range is US$2.05–5.31 per share.