Liberty Gold Corp.

CEO Jon Gilligan (appointed June 2025) brings 35+ years of international mining experience, having held senior technical and project roles at Torex Gold Resources, SSR Mining, and BHP. He served as Liberty Gold's COO since July 2021 and President since November 2023 before taking the top seat, representing continuity rather than an outside hire. Chair Greg Etter and new board member Lauren Roberts (former Hecla Mining, Kinross Gold) add credible operating experience. The leadership transition is orderly and developer-focused.

Insider ownership is modest to low. Historically, insiders held approximately CA$30M in a ~CA$464M company (roughly 6%), and with subsequent heavy dilution (multiple bought deals, the April 2025 C$0.33 bought deal for 69.7M units, and the September 2025 Centerra private placement at C$0.56 for 50M shares), the total D&O ownership percentage has likely diluted below 5%. No significant open-market insider buying was found in public sources. Centerra Gold's strategic 9.9% stake (50,025,230 shares at C$0.56, closed September 30, 2025) provides meaningful institutional alignment, with Centerra holding board representation and financing participation rights — this is a positive alignment signal for a mid-tier gold company investing at a 10% premium to market.

The score is held at 3 rather than 4 due to absence of documented recent insider buying from management and the low D&O ownership percentage relative to the Verdict Framework's 10% threshold for a higher score. However, the track record of Gilligan, the addition of Roberts, and the Centerra strategic anchor are genuine positives.

Black Pine is an oxide gold heap-leach system in Cassia County, southeastern Idaho — a brownfields site with historical production of ~435,000 oz Au from 1992–1997. The October 2024 Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) established Probable Mineral Reserves of 3.11M oz Au at 0.32 g/t, providing the first reserve classification and confirming economic viability. The PFS resource underpinning the reserve was 4.16M oz Indicated at 0.32 g/t. The updated MRE published February 10, 2026 (effective date of new model) grew the Indicated to 502.7M tonnes at 0.30 g/t totalling 4,882,000 oz Au, and the Inferred to 157.1M tonnes at 0.21 g/t totalling 1,050,000 oz Au — nearly 5.93M total oz. The 2026 MRE added 700,000+ Indicated oz and 338,000 Inferred oz compared to the 2024 PFS resource base, reflecting a successful 2025 drill program.

The existence of Probable Reserves (3.11M oz) is a key differentiator from most junior developers — reserves require economic analysis, feasibility-level metallurgy, and geotechnical studies. A Feasibility Study commenced November 2025 (M3 Engineering as lead consultant), targeted for Q4 2026 completion, which will update the reserve estimate and economics. The deposit is a low-grade, high-tonnage oxide system amenable to run-of-mine heap leaching without crushing, screening, or agglomeration — a technically straightforward and well-understood extraction method. SEDAR+ Technical Report for the PFS was filed November 22, 2024 (NI 43-101). High-grade subset within the 2026 MRE pit shell: 60.1 Mt at 0.99 g/t for 1,907,000 oz Indicated at 0.50 g/t COG.

The main caveat is that the current Feasibility Study is still in progress (targeted Q4 2026), so Proven Reserves have not yet been established. The 2026 MRE growth (700K+ new Indicated oz) adds uncosted material that could expand the FS reserve base. Grade is low at 0.30 g/t, but this is typical for large-scale oxide heap-leach projects. The jurisdiction (Idaho, USA) is mining-friendly, and the FAST-41 federal designation and Idaho SPEED Act alignment are strong indicators of regulatory supportability.

At December 31, 2025 Liberty Gold held US$28.08M in cash and short-term investments with working capital of US$26.01M and no debt. The company reported a loss from continuing operations of US$23.32M for full-year 2025, implying a cash burn rate of approximately US$19M/year (the difference accounting for non-cash items). At that burn rate the year-end cash position represented approximately 17–18 months of runway — on the lower edge of the 18-month threshold for a score of 4.

However, in March 2026 Liberty Gold signed a definitive agreement to sell the Goldstrike project in Utah to Heliostar Metals Ltd. for US$72.5M total (US$10M cash at closing + approximately US$60M in staged and milestone cash payments + approximately 1.6M Heliostar shares valued at ~US$2.5M). The transaction was expected to close April 2026, meaning the US$10M closing cash receipt significantly extends near-term liquidity, with additional staged payments following. Combined with YE2025 cash, total accessible liquidity moves to approximately US$38M+ immediately post-close. Earlier in 2025, Centerra Gold's C$28.01M strategic placement (September 2025) at C$0.56/share had already bolstered the balance sheet.

The share count is large: approximately 511.3M basic shares as of April 2026, reflecting a history of dilutive bought deals. The April 2025 bought deal raised C$23M at C$0.33/unit (69.7M shares + ~34.85M warrants at C$0.45, expiring April 22, 2027). With warrants struck at C$0.45 well below the current C$1.52 trading price, warrant exercises could add ~34.85M shares and ~C$15.7M in cash proceeds, which is dilutive but funded. The feasibility study and permitting costs (FS engineering plus environmental baseline work) will consume additional capital — historically FS programs for projects of this scale run US$10–25M. The Goldstrike proceeds provide a meaningful bridge, but construction-scale financing (US$327M initial capex from PFS) will require project financing or a joint venture partner. Score of 3 reflects adequate near-term liquidity post-Goldstrike close and no debt, offset by high share count, warrant overhang, and the capital-intensive development path ahead.

Liberty Gold has an exceptional near-term catalyst stack concentrated in 2026. The Feasibility Study commenced November 2025 with M3 Engineering, and the company has guided to Q4 2026 delivery — approximately 6 months from the date of this analysis. An FS release at elevated gold prices (spot ~US$4,860/oz at time of writing vs PFS base case of US$2,000/oz) would produce dramatically higher NPV figures and will be a major re-rating event. The 2026 updated MRE (February 10, 2026) already demonstrates resource growth from the 2025 drill program, setting up the FS with a larger resource base than the PFS used.

Permitting catalysts are also firing in rapid succession. On April 3, 2026 the United States Forest Service published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) — the key milestone initiating formal NEPA review. Black Pine holds FAST-41 Covered status (one of a very limited number of US mining projects), and Idaho aligned state permitting with FAST-41 via the SPEED Act on February 19, 2026, meaning federal and state permits will run on a coordinated single schedule. The coordinated FAST-41 schedule projects EIS completion and a Record of Decision by January 2028. The Goldstrike sale to Heliostar (expected to close April 2026) is an imminent capital event providing US$10M+ immediately.

The Final Infill and Step-out Drill Results were published April 8, 2026, providing the last dataset to feed the FS resource model. The combination of FS delivery (Q4 2026), permitting advancement (EIS through 2027, RoD January 2028), and ongoing resource delineation creates a clear 12-18 month catalyst timeline. Score is 4 rather than 5 because the FS is still 6+ months out and construction approval is 2028.

The PFS (filed SEDAR+, NI 43-101 Technical Report, November 22, 2024) established after-tax NPV at 5% discount rate of US$550M, IRR of 32%, and a 3.3-year payback at a base case gold price of US$2,000/oz. Initial capital was US$327M with LOM AISC of US$1,380/oz. At publication, this was a strong set of economics for a heap-leach project. However, gold spot at the time of this analysis is approximately US$4,860/oz — more than 2.4x the PFS base case — which renders the PFS NPV materially understated relative to current economics. A 25-35% PFS tier discount is applied per the framework. Using the PFS NPV of US$550M with a 30% discount for PFS study tier: discounted NAV = US$385M. At 511M shares and USD/CAD of 1.369, NAV/share = US$0.75 = C$1.03. Current price C$1.52 implies P/NAV of ~1.47x on the PFS base case at US$2,000/oz — which would score 2.

However, applying a long-term gold price of US$2,500/oz (more conservative than spot but realistic for project planning), and noting that heap-leach economics are highly leveraged to gold price (the PFS showed 32% IRR at $2,000/oz implying very high operating margins above AISC of $1,380/oz), a rough NPV sensitivity yields approximately US$750-850M after-tax NPV5. Applying 30% PFS discount: ~US$525-595M discounted NAV = C$1.41-1.60/share. At C$1.52, P/NAV = 0.95-1.08x — squarely in the 0.5-1.0x range that scores a 3. When the FS is delivered in Q4 2026 at presumably US$2,800-3,000/oz long-term gold (a reasonable FS assumption given the current price environment), the NAV re-rating should be substantial. EV/oz Probable Reserve (3.11M oz): market cap ~C$776M (US$567M) less ~US$38M cash = ~US$529M EV / 3.11M oz = US$170/oz reserve, which is in line with PFS-stage heap-leach comparables.

For comparable transactions: US oxide heap-leach gold acquisitions in 2024-2025 have transacted at US$130-400/oz depending on project stage and quality. Black Pine at US$170/oz Probable Reserve is modestly valued relative to its scale (3.1M oz reserve, 17-year mine life) and jurisdiction (Idaho, USA). The Goldstrike sale to Heliostar at US$72.5M for ~1.5-2M oz resource base (US$36-48/oz resource) is not directly comparable but confirms strategic value in the region. nav_per_share is set to the C$ equivalent of the discounted NAV at US$2,500/oz long-term gold assumption (US$0.91/share = C$1.25/share, applying 30% PFS discount).