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Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) is fast emerging as one of the most compelling gold development stories on the ASX, underpinned by a large-scale resource base, disciplined execution, and multiple near-term catalysts, according to a new report from analyst firm East Coast Research. With production ramping up and a pivotal definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the horizon, investors are increasingly focused on the company’s potential to transition into a +200,000 oz per annum gold producer by 2029.
The Fish 2025 MRE coloured by Grade
Key Highlights:
- Strong Valuation Upside – East Coast Research lifted Brightstar’s 12-month target price to AU$1.787 per share, representing a 227.94 percent upside from the current price of AU$0.545. The base case valuation of AU$1.746/share and bull case of AU$1.828/share reflect rising gold prices, robust project fundamentals, and a clean capital structure following a 1-for-25 share consolidation.
- Production Momentum – The Fish underground mine development is running ahead of schedule and under budget. First ore is expected in June 2025, with production expected to double current output to 40,000 oz per annum. Ore from Fish will be processed through an ore purchase agreement with Genesis Minerals, providing early cash flow without the need for capex-heavy infrastructure. To support this phase, Brightstar secured an US$11.5 million (AU$18 million) stockpile finance facility with Ocean Partners, adding financial flexibility without diluting equity holders.
- DFS to Define Laverton-Menzies Development – A major catalyst for Brightstar is the upcoming DFS on its Laverton-Menzies gold project, scheduled for completion in the first half of FY2025. This study will cover key deposits including Cork Tree Well, Lord Byron, and Alpha, and is expected to significantly de-risk the company’s path to sustained production.
- Sandstone: A Transformational Third Hub – Brightstar’s Sandstone gold project is a high-potential growth asset with a current JORC resource of 1.05 Moz @ 1.5 g/t gold. The company has launched a fully funded 80,000 metre drilling campaign, part of a broader 134,000 metre exploration strategy across its portfolio. With a pre-feasibility study due in FY2026 and first production expected in 2H FY2028, Sandstone is expected to become the company’s third production hub.
For the full analyst report, click here.
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Brightstar Resources
Investor Insight
With multiple catalysts ahead, including resource upgrades, expanded production, and further development of its Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone hubs, Brightstar Resources presents a compelling investment case in a rising gold market.
Overview
Gold has continued to demonstrate its resilience as a store of value, with prices peaking at US$3,500.05 per ounce, its all-time high. Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, including inflationary pressures, rising geopolitical tensions, and volatile interest rate environments, investors have turned to gold as both a safe haven asset and a hedge against macroeconomic instability.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) is strategically positioned to capitalize on this environment as a low-cost, multi-asset gold developer with near-term production potential. The company controls over 1,500 square kilometers of highly prospective ground across three of Western Australia’s most prolific gold belts: the Laverton Tectonic Zone, the Menzies Shear Zone, and the Sandstone Greenstone Belt.
Unlike many junior exploration companies, Brightstar has a key differentiator: it owns a fully permitted, strategically located processing facility near Laverton. This existing infrastructure offers the company a critical advantage, enabling a low-capex restart scenario and faster time to cash flow compared to peers who must first secure permits and fund costly plant construction. This plant is subject of a DFS due for announcement in June 2025.
Through a focused multi-hub strategy, Brightstar has built a robust pipeline of development-ready and resource-growth projects, supported by:
- Over 3 million ounces of gold resources across Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone;
- Ongoing high-grade drilling success in 2024 and 2025, including intercepts of up to 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold;
- A track record of low-cost, value-accretive acquisitions, such as Linden Gold Alliance and Alto Metals;
- A dedicated, in-house technical team executing on aggressive exploration, fast-tracked studies, and staged development.
With global gold demand remaining strong, Brightstar is well-positioned to deliver material shareholder value through its integrated production plan, supported by scalable infrastructure, a growing resource base, and access to capital. The company’s strategic approach includes combining brownfields development, organic exploration, and corporate M&A, placing it at the forefront of a new generation of Australian gold producers.
Company Highlights
- ASX-listed gold exploration and development company with a consolidated mineral endowment of 3 Moz of gold across Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone hubs in Western Australia.
- Owns and operates 100 percent of project areas: 300 sq km in Laverton Tectonic Zone, 80 sq km in Menzies Shear Zone, and 1,200 sq km in Sandstone Greenstone Belt.
- Gold processing operations at the Laverton facility have commenced under an Ore Purchase Agreement (OPA) with Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX:GMD), marking a significant milestone in transitioning from exploration to production.
- Recent drilling campaigns have yielded strong high-grade results, including:
- 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold at Second Fortune (Laverton)
- 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold at Musketeer (Sandstone)
- 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold at Yunndaga (Menzies)
- Following the successful Linden Gold Alliance acquisition, Brightstar has commenced a DFS for the wider development of its Laverton and Menzies assets which is due for release imminently in June 2025.
- Ongoing Sandstone drilling continues to return high-grade intercepts, further supporting project advancement and MRE conversion.
- In 2024, Brightstar signed a $4 million drill-for-equity deal with Topdrill to fast-track exploration at Sandstone.
- The company has successfully executed a US$11.5 million (AU$18 million) revolving stockpile finance facility with Ocean Partners Australia.
Key Projects
Laverton Hub
Brightstar’s Laverton hub is comprised of the Cork Tree Well, Jasper Hills, Second Fortune, Beta and Alpha project areas.
Highlights:
- Combined, the Laverton Hub JORC mineral resource estimate is 15.7 Mt @ 1.7 g/t gold for 848 koz (49 percent measured and indicated category). All mineral resources are on granted mining leases
- Cork Tree Well (6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 292 koz gold)
- Alpha (1.4 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold for 106 koz gold)
- Beta (1.9 Mt at 1.7 g/t gold for 102 koz gold)
- Lord Byron (5.2 Mt at 1.5 g/t gold for 251 koz gold)
- Fish (376 kt at 4.0 g/t gold for 49 koz gold)
- Second Fortune (92 kt at 13.4 g/t gold for 40 koz gold)
- Gilt Key (168 kt at 1.3 g/t gold for 8 koz gold)
- Main project area Cork Tree Well is open at depth and along strike with recent drilling results of 34.4 meters at 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 meters (CTWMET004) and 27.6 meters at 17.8 g/t gold from 51 m (CTWMET003)
- Second Fortune has a mineral resource estimate head grade of ~11g/t gold with an average ore body width of 0.6 meters.
- Jasper Hills is located 50 km from Brightstar’s existing processing facility along a wholly-owned private haul road, allowing unimpeded, direct access to both projects
- Permitted, previously mined and production-ready
- Last mined by current owners in 2020 with 23,000 oz gold mined
- Growth Drivers:
- Second Fortune: Consistent, stable production and cash generation through 2025
- Fish: Mining activities have commenced and site establishment is continuing.
- First ore production targeted in June
- Open pits development: Large scale production opportunities through mining Lord Byron and Cork Tree Well as multi-year base load ore sources
- DFS: due for delivery in June 2025, including design and costs for expansion of BTR-owned processing infrastructure to 1Mtpa.
Menzies Hub
The Menzies Hub comprises a tenement holding of a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of more than 20 km. The majority of deposits hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone are located adjacent to the Goldfields Highway in Menzies (130km north of Kalgoorlie).
Highlights:
- Total Current Resource: 12.7 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 589 koz gold (37 percent measured and indicated)
- DFS: due for delivery in June 2025, including design and costs for open pit and underground mining for toll processing/ore sales to a regional Kalgoorlie-Menzies mill.
- Growth Drivers:
- Lady Shenton Open Pit: Proposed multi-year consistent open pit production to provide cash generation. Targeting approvals received and ‘mine ready’ in 2025
- Yunndaga Underground: Planned infill drilling targeting conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to M+I to support inclusion in future mining operations – recent results from this program include 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold
- Development: Advancing discussions with regional mills for 3rd party processing capacity in the Kalgoorlie-Menzies region, targeting a mining decision.
Sandstone Hub
The consolidated Sandstone project is over 100 km from existing third-party milling operations in the Murchison. This third processing hub boasts Alto’s Sandstone project with a mineral resource of 1.05 Moz at 1.4 g/t gold and Gateway’s Montague gold project with a mineral resource of 0.5 Moz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
Growth Drivers:
- Sandstone: Upgrade the Lords, Vanguard, Indomitable and Havilah camps to Indicated classification (40,000m RC+DD)
- Montague: Infill Montague and Whistler to Indicated classification (5,000m RC and 1,200m DD) – RC
- Greenfields: Follow up drilling of priority prospects across Sandstone Hub (West Hacks, Hancocks, Bulchina, Lords Corridor, Duplex) – recent drilling success includes exceptional intercepts at the Musketeer prospect yielding 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold
- Pre-Feasibility Study: Incorporation of 2025 drilling results into MRE upgrades to then factor into 1H 2026 Sandstone PFS
Management Team
Alex Rovira - Managing Director
Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.
Richard Crookes - Non-executive Chairman
Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.
Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.
Andrew Rich - Executive Director
Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
Ashley Fraser - Non-executive Director
Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.
Jonathan Downes - Non-executive Director
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.
Dean Vallve – Chief Development Officer
Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).
Nicky Martin – Chief Financial Officer
Nicky Martin is an experienced finance and accounting professional holding tertiary qualifications in accounting and finance and is a qualified CPA. Martin was previously the Head of Finance at Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) where she oversaw and was actively involved in a rapidly growing mining success story.
Emerging gold producer and district-scale resource developer in Western Australia
What Does the GDX Index Change Mean for Gold Investors?
It’s been a long time coming, but it seems gold-mining stocks are finally responding to record gold prices.
The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ARCA:GDX), whose holdings include the biggest global gold-mining companies, was up by 103.54 percent year-to-date as of Thursday (September 18).
The GDX has tracked the price and yield performance of the NYSE ARCA Gold Miners Index since its inception in May 2006. That came to an end on Friday (September 19) as it switched to the MarketVector Global Gold Miners index.
What does the GDX index change mean for gold investors?
It may seem counterintuitive for global investment management firm VanEck to make a change to the index for the popular US$20.5 billion GDX, but there are plenty of good reasons.
The switch was planned a few months ago in conjunction with housekeeping that’s a routine component of exchange-traded fund (ETF) management. The move to the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index is happening at the same time that the firm would normally rebalance the weight of its positions in GDX's underlying securities.
And the move makes sense. Not only is MarketVector a subsidiary of VanEck, but it is based on free-float market-cap-weighted methodology that many major stock indexes now use.
“By focusing only on shares available for public trading, excluding those held by insiders or restricted from the market, this method offers a more accurate reflection of market dynamics than the full-market capitalization method,” explains Investopedia, noting that this approach is used by indexes like the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX).
It seems VanEck is joining the rest of the global financial community, which has transitioned away from full market-cap-weighting methodologies like that used by NYSE ARCA Gold Miners Index.
So what can GDX investors expect from this change?
They probably won’t see much difference right away besides slight adjustments to how some stocks are weighted in the fund, or which stock listing is used for companies with multiple stock listings.
For example, major miner Newmont (TSX:NEM,NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM) — which is among the ETF’s top five holdings — will be weighted at 6.95 percent from 12.99 percent.
Chart via VanEck.
Over the long term, however, GDX may see a boost in performance, including less volatility and better liquidity, as the dead weight is cut away and the largest companies are no longer concentrated at the top. This could represent a major growth opportunity for GDX investors, especially if this bull run on gold and gold-mining stocks continues.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Lahontan Gold Corp.
Investor Insight
Lahontan Gold is on track to become a leading gold developer in Nevada’s Walker Lane district, presenting a compelling investment opportunity by combining a high-quality resource base with a clear path to production in Nevada’s premier mining jurisdiction — all in a rising gold price environment.
Overview
Lahontan Gold (TSXV:LG,OTCQB:LGCXF) is focused on advancing its portfolio of high-quality gold and silver projects in Nevada. The company’s flagship Santa Fe mine was a past producer that operated from 1988 to 1992, yielding 356,000 ounces of gold and 784,000 ounces of silver. Lahontan aims to unlock the mine’s full potential by expanding its resources and pushing forward on permitting.
The company recently completed a robust preliminary economic assessment (PEA) outlining a clear pathway to production. Permitting efforts are progressing with the Bureau of Land Management, and Lahontan anticipates being in a position to break ground by 2026.
Additionally, strategic drilling campaigns are planned to further expand the existing resource base.
The company's strategy to unlock shareholder value is to advance the Santa Fe mine toward production by derisking the project through permitting and feasibility studies, while optimizing heap leach processing for maximum recoveries and economic efficiency. Concurrently, it is unlocking value from satellite deposits, including West Santa Fe, which has high-grade oxide potential, and Moho, an early-stage project with promising historic gold and silver intercepts.
Positioned as a low-cost developer in a top-tier jurisdiction, the company maintains strong institutional support with minimal dilution risk, ensuring capital efficiency and sustainable growth.
Company Highlights
- Flagship Santa Fe Project: 100 percent owned, past-producing open-pit heap leach mine with an updated resource estimate of 1.54 million ounces indicated and 0.41 million ounces inferred pit constrained resource
- Strategic Nevada Location: Situated in Walker Lane, one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions, with excellent infrastructure, water access, and a mining-friendly regulatory environment.
- Strong Resource Growth Potential: The Santa Fe Mine and its satellite projects, West Santa Fe and Moho, offer exploration upside, with further drilling planned to expand resources.
- Advancing Toward Production: With a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed in late 2024, Lahontan is aggressively moving toward permitting and development.
- Experienced Leadership: The company is led by an experienced management team with a proven track record in mine development, permitting, and value creation for investors.
Key Projects
Santa Fe Mine
The Santa Fe mine, located in Mineral County, Nevada, spans 26.4 sq km and represents Lahontan Gold’s flagship development project. With an updated mineral resource estimate of 1.95 Moz gold equivalent, the project hosts multiple oxide and sulfide zones that remain open for expansion.
Historical production from the Santa Fe mine yielded 356,000 oz gold and 784,000 oz silver from an open-pit heap leach operation. Modern exploration and metallurgical testing have identified additional high-grade mineralization that could support an expanded operation.
The recently completed PEA indicates strong economic potential, with favorable heap leach recoveries and low operating costs. Lahontan is actively working with the Bureau of Land Management to advance the permitting process, with the goal of achieving production readiness by 2026.
Lahontan has received confirmation from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that its Santa Fe Exploration Plan of Operations (POO) is now complete, paving the way for the project to enter the full environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The completion marks over two years of baseline studies, including biological, cultural, and historical assessments, and covers more than 12 sq km of the Santa Fe project with provision for over 700 drill sites. With this milestone, Lahontan expects to secure final POO approval in Q4 2025, enabling an expanded and robust drilling campaign in 2026.
West Santa Fe
The West Santa Fe project, situated just 13 km from the Santa Fe mine, is a highly prospective satellite project that could serve as an extension of the main operation. Historic drill data suggest the presence of a shallow oxide deposit, with early resource modeling indicating a potential gold equivalent resource of 0.5 to 1 Moz.
West Santa Fe’s excellent resource growth potential
Lahontan is preparing for an extensive drill program in 2025 to validate and expand this resource. Geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling have identified strong structural controls on mineralization, further supporting the potential for economic extraction. Given its proximity to Santa Fe, West Santa Fe offers a compelling low-cost, high-margin opportunity for future production.
Moho Project
The Moho project is another 100 percent owned asset within the Walker Lane district in Nevada, presenting a longer-term growth opportunity for Lahontan. The project is characterized by historic high-grade gold and silver intercepts from past drilling, with reported grades exceeding 20 g/t gold and 300 g/t silver. Initial exploration has confirmed the presence of oxidized tertiary epithermal vein systems, which are ideal for conventional heap leach processing. Core drilling in 2019 further validated the high-grade nature of Moho’s mineralization, with significant intercepts occurring at relatively shallow depths. Lahontan plans to conduct additional exploration drilling to refine resource estimates and assess potential economic viability.
Management Team
Kimberly Ann – Founder, Executive Chair, President and CEO
Kimberly Ann is a seasoned mining executive who has founded multiple junior mining companies and held senior roles, including CEO, president, CFO, and board member. Over the past 12 years, she has raised more than $210 million in project financing and participated in three junior mining M&A transactions. At Prodigy Gold, she led corporate communications, equity financings, and analyst engagement, playing a key role in the company’s $340 million acquisition by Argonaut Gold. As CFO and VP corporate development at PPX Mining, she successfully advanced the high-grade Callanquitas gold-silver underground mine into production in Northern Peru. In 2017, Kimberly founded Latin America Resource Group, transforming Jasperoide from two small concessions into a 57 sq km copper-gold project in Peru’s most prolific mineralized belt. Following LARG’s 2020 merger with Carube Copper to form C3 Metals, she positioned the company for significant portfolio growth and value creation.
Brian Maher – Founder and Vice-president of Exploration
Brian Maher is an economic geologist with over 45 years of experience in the international mining and exploration industry. Prior to Lahontan, Maher was the president, CEO and director of Prodigy Gold, where he guided the company through a period of expansive growth, exploring and developing the 6.6 Moz Magino gold deposit in northern Ontario, culminating in the $341 million acquisition of Prodigy Gold by Argonaut Gold in 2012. In 1982, he began a 16-year career with ASARCO, exploring for gold and copper deposits in a variety of geologic environments throughout North and South America. From 1998 and 2004, he was project manager for Metallic Ventures Gold, supervising underground and surface exploration, mine development and operations at an underground gold mine in Nevada.
John McNeice – CFO
John McNeice is a chartered professional accountant registered in Ontario, Canada, with over 30 years of experience in public company reporting, financial management, accounting and audit. Currently McNeice is the CFO of Gold79 Mines (TSXV:AUU), C3 Metals (TSXV:CCCM) and Northern Graphite (TSXV:NGC), where he is responsible for financial and regulatory reporting as well as day-to-day financial management. He has held CFO roles in seven public resource companies over the past 17 years and has overseen IPOs, RTOs and many quarterly, annual and periodic public company filings. From 2004 to 2007, McNeice was CFO of Ur-Energy, a uranium exploration and development company now a US-based producer of uranium. During his tenure, Ur-Energy raised an aggregate of $150 million in a series of private placements, the IPO and several significant secondary financings.
Josh Serfass – Independent Director
Josh Serfass is the executive vice-president of corporate development and investor relations at Integra Resources. Previously, he was the manager of corporate communications at Integra Gold. He was a key member of the team at Integra Gold that grew, developed and sold the past producing Lamaque mine in Val-dOr, Québec to Eldorado Gold for C$590 million in 2017. Committed to thinking differently about mining, Serfass worked with the team at Integra Gold to host the 2016 Integra Gold Rush Challenge and the 2017 #DisruptMining Challenge, initiatives that encouraged innovation and technology disruption in the mining industry.
Shane Williams - Independent Director
Shane Williams is president, CEO, and director of West Red Lake Gold Mines, leading the restart of the Madsen Gold Mine. He was previously COO of Skeena Resources, advancing Eskay Creek, and VP of Operations and Capital Projects at Eldorado Gold, where he brought the Lamaque Gold Mine from PEA to production in just 18 months. As project director, he also oversaw Eldorado’s Skouries and Olympias projects with a combined US$1 billion capex, and earlier led development of Sweden’s Kaunis Iron open-pit mine from exploration to operation in 3.5 years. Williams holds a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and an M.Sc. in Project Management.
Evan Pelletier - Independent Director
Evan Pelletier is a mining executive with over 30 years of underground mining experience in North America, Mongolia, Argentina, and Africa. He is currently the interim general manager of the Galena Mine with Americas Gold & Silver, and previously served as VP of Mining at Kirkland Lake (2020–2022) and mine manager at the Macassa Mine (2016–2020). At Kirkland Lake, he helped grow the company from $400 million in 2016 to $13 billion in 2022, including oversight of a nearly 2,000-metre shaft with a $450 milliom budget, delivered on time and on budget.
Max Pluss - Independent Director
Max Pluss is an investment professional with experience across hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital. He is the Founder of Rhea Capital Management, backing and incubating mission-driven companies. Previously, he was an analyst at Extract Capital, a hedge fund focused on natural resource investments, and earlier advised public company CEOs on corporate development and market positioning. pluss holds a B.A. from Colorado College and M.B.A. degrees from Columbia University and London Business School.
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