What began only a few years ago as an “ambitious exploration thesis” in Nevada’s Beatty Mining District has evolved into one of the largest and most significant greenfield gold discoveries of the century in the US, with the Arthur gold project now advancing from discovery into a substantial, high-return development opportunity.

“The holy grail for any gold company is a Tier 1 discovery in a low-risk jurisdiction with long life and strong growth potential. Our Arthur gold project is just that,” AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon said on Friday.

A recently completed prefeasibility study supports an initial nine-year mine life, with average production of about 500 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of $954/oz. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $3.6-billion.

Arthur integrates the Merlin and Silicon deposits into what the company describes as a large-scale, continuous mineralised system. On Friday, AngloGold declared a first-time Merlin gold reserve totalling 4.9-million ounces, which Calderon described as “just the tip of the iceberg given the much bigger resource in the project area”.

Beyond the declared reserve, Merlin hosts a further 6.5-million ounces in mineral resources, with the company targeting the conversion of an additional 1.4-million ounces this year through ongoing drilling. Longer term, management has indicated that materially larger inventories could be defined, without necessarily requiring additional capital beyond the current development plan.

Baseline environmental, hydrological and community studies at feasibility level are already under way.

TIMELINES AND PERMITTING
During a question-and-answer session with analysts, management outlined the expected development pathway.

On permitting, Calderon said AngloGold would seek FAST-41 status, adding that the project had support from the national and state governments.

“We have made a lot of good progress. We do not want to give you timelines because it is always so many things out of our control. But we are quite encouraged, as I said, by the support.”

Chief technology officer Marcelo Godoy added that AngloGold was aiming for a record of decision before the end of the decade, targeting production at the start of the 2030s.

“That's the rough time lines we have at the moment, capitalising on this fast-track process for the NEPA process.”

Godoy confirmed that the feasibility study would start in the second quarter of 2026 and was expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2027. The environmental impact assessment process could begin in the first quarter of 2027, once the mine plan of operations had been sufficiently advanced.

Responding to questions about water use in Nevada, Godoy noted that the group had a multi-tier process to manage risks related to water for the project. “We have very constructive relationships and collaboration right now with the NGOs to get to a common understanding of the water situation in the region. We have very sophisticated hydrogeological models for the region, and we believe that we will be able to overcome those issues.”