Lode hires advisory group for permitting at Fremont
Lode Gold Takes First Permitting Step at Fremont Amid Minor Legal Snag, as Post-Spinout Strategy Unfolds
The most recent news (February 13, 2026) announces that Lode Gold has engaged a legal and permitting advisory group to initiate the permitting process for a surface drilling program at its flagship Fremont gold mine in California. The planned program consists of 10 holes totaling 1,500 metres to collect metallurgical and geotechnical data for a prefeasibility study (PFS). Concurrently, the release discloses a legal notice from a business partner (1475039 BC Ltd. and a partner) who has filed a claim seeking compensation due to a disagreement over certain contractual terms. Lode Gold states it has retained legal counsel to respond and considers the claim non-material pending resolution.
The news is a routine operational step. Initiating the permitting process is a necessary, low-impact administrative action to advance the Fremont project towards a PFS, as previously outlined. It does not represent a new discovery, resource upgrade, or financial transaction. The disclosed legal claim is a minor negative contingency, but the company's assessment that it is non-material aligns with its early stage. In the context of the company's recent major corporate event—the successful spin-out and distribution of shares in subsidiary Gold Orogen to shareholders on February 11, 2026—this news is immaterial. The primary shareholder value driver recently was the completion of the tax-efficient spin-out, unlocking the value of Canadian assets.
Lode Gold Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on gold projects in North America. Its flagship project is the Fremont Gold Mine, a past-producing, brownfield asset located in the Mother Lode Belt of Mariposa County, California. The project is on 100% owned, private patented land (3,351 acres) with significant infrastructure nearby. - Resource: A 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate reported 1.19 Moz Au at 3.97 g/t (at a 3 g/t cut-off). - Economics: A 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlined robust economics with an after-tax NPV(5%) of USD $370M and an IRR of 31% at a $2,000/oz gold price. - Strategy: The company is pivoting to evaluate a 100% underground bulk mining scenario to optimize economics and minimize environmental footprint, with a target of 2Moz at ~5 g/t. - Other Assets: The company recently spun out its Canadian assets (Golden Culvert/WIN in Yukon; McIntyre Brook/Riley Brook in New Brunswick) into a separate public company, Gold Orogen (CSE: OROG), distributed to Lode Gold shareholders.