Galleon Gold Completes Repurchase of Royalty on the West Cache Project

On December 31, 2025, Galleon Gold (GGO) announced the successful repurchase and extinguishment of a 3% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty held by Newmont Corporation on its flagship West Cache Gold Project. The transaction involved paying $1,000,000 CAD to exercise an existing right for 1% of the NSR and an additional $10,000,000 CAD to acquire the remaining 2%. This transaction was funded via the initial draw of a recently announced $46 million USD senior secured credit facility with Pan American Silver Corp.

This news is a significant de-risking event and a direct upgrade to the project’s Net Present Value (NPV). - Economic Improvement: Eliminating a 3% NSR at the pre-development stage significantly boosts the project’s internal rate of return (IRR). At a gold price of $2,000/oz and the projected LOM production of ~893,000 ounces, a 3% royalty would have represented roughly $53.5M USD in payments. Buying it out for ~$8.2M USD (equivalent) is highly accretive. - Strategic Alignment: This fulfills a key objective stated in the November 24 and December 30 news releases. It demonstrates management's ability to execute complex financial restructuring. - Cost of Capital: While the royalty removal is positive, it was funded by high-interest debt (Prime + 7%). The company has essentially traded a variable production cost (royalty) for a fixed financing cost (debt), shifting the risk profile toward the balance sheet.

Galleon Gold is focused on the West Cache Gold Project in the Timmins Mining Camp, Ontario. - Flagship Project: West Cache Gold Project (11,570 hectares). - Location: 13km West of Timmins, adjacent to the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone. - Stage: Advanced Exploration/Bulk Sampling. - Economics (2022 PEA): 11-year mine life, 85,470 oz/year average production, AISC US$987/oz. Note that these PEA numbers likely did not account for the removal of the 3% NSR, meaning the project is now fundamentally stronger than the 2022 study suggests.