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Grande Portage Resources
Investor Insight
With an established mineral resource and further significant exploration upside, the New Amalga gold project presents substantial opportunities for Grande Portage to advance the project, generate cash flow, and create shareholder value. The company’s ongoing exploration efforts and strategic partnerships enhance the potential for long-term growth and value appreciation.
Overview
Grande Portage Resources (TSXV:GPG,OTCQB:GPTRF,FSE:GPB) is a junior resource company focused on the exploration and development of its high-grade gold asset in southeast Alaska. The company’s flagship project, the New Amalga Gold project (formerly known as the Herbert Gold project), is located approximately 25 kilometers north of Juneau, within the prolific Juneau Gold Belt.
This historic 160-kilometer-long belt has yielded nearly eight million ounces of gold to date, and New Amalga represents one of the most prospective undeveloped gold systems in the region. The rebranding from Herbert Gold to New Amalga Gold reflects the company’s commitment to advancing and expanding its exploration and development efforts in this promising district.
Over the years, Grand Portage has significantly expanded its resource base through extensive exploration and drilling campaigns. The current mineral resource estimate, published in June 2024, outlines an indicated resource of 1.44 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 9.47 grams per ton (g/t) gold, and an inferred resource of 515,700 ounces at an average grade of 8.85 g/t gold. Additionally, the project hosts significant silver mineralization, with indicated resources of 891,600 ounces at 5.86 g/t silver and inferred resources of 390,600 ounces at 7.33 g/t silver. The deposit has demonstrated exceptional metallurgical recoveries of up to 98.2 percent, reinforcing its economic viability.
Grande Portage is led by an experienced management team with a strong background in exploration and project development. The team’s focus is on creating shareholder value through the advancement of the Herbert Gold Project while maintaining a commitment to environmental and community responsibilities.
Company Highlights
- Grande Portage Resources is a junior resource company advancing its high-grade New Amalga Gold project, located in a prolific gold belt in SE Alaska.
- Strong management team led by Ian Klassen who has 30 years’ experience in business management, public relations and government affairs, and Kyle Mehalek, former chief mining engineer at Hecla Mining’s Greens Creek Mine.
- The flagship New Amalga Gold project, located near Juneau, Alaska, boasts a measured and indicated resource of 1.44 million ounces at 9.47 g/t gold, and inferred resource of 515,700 ounces at 8.85 g/t gold.
Key Project
New Amalga Gold Project
The New Amalga Gold project (formerly, Herbert Gold project) is a high-grade mesothermal quartz vein system containing six or more known parallel gold-bearing vein structures. The project consists of 91 unpatented lode claims covering approximately 2,000 acres.
Grande Portage has completed extensive drilling campaigns, with more than 54,000 meters of diamond drilling across 240 drill holes from 55 platforms, confirming a large, structurally complex gold-quartz system. The deposit remains open at depth and along strike, highlighting strong potential for further resource expansion. Historical production in the broader district, including previous operations at the historic Amalga Mine, has demonstrated the potential for high-grade ore shoots. Modern exploration drilling has intersected robust mineralization in multiple vein structures, supporting the project's continued development.
Primary veins with geology
Grande Portage is committed to responsible mining practices that minimize environmental impact. The company prioritizes low-impact mining methods and is exploring off-site processing solutions to align with community concerns regarding environmental preservation in the Juneau area.
The company has filed its 2025 Plan of Operation, proposing up to 10,000 meters of diamond drilling, along with detailed geological mapping and trench sampling. These initiatives aim to expand the known mineralization, refine geological modeling, and identify new high-priority targets. To further optimize project economics, the company is advancing sensor-based ore sorting testwork to improve processing efficiency.
Additionally, a Letter of Intent has been signed with Goldbelt, Juneau’s Alaska Native Corporation, to explore strategic collaborations that could enhance the project’s development and operational sustainability.
Management Team
Ian Klassen – President and Director
Ian Klassen brings almost 30 years experience in business management, public relations, government affairs and entrepreneurship to the company. He has extensive experience in the administration of public companies, government policy, media relations strategies, business/government project management, and legislative decision-making. Klassen is an (Honours) B.A. graduate from Western University and is a recipient of the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, in recognition of his significant contribution to his community and country.
Kyle Mehalek – Lead Mine Planning Consultant
Kyle Mehalek is the lead consultant at OreLogic, providing underground mine planning and project development services. Mehalek is the former chief mining engineer of Hecla Mining Company’s (NYSE:HL) Greens Creek Mine. More recently he was the chief technical officer for Talon Metals, a TSX-listed company advancing the Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota.
Michele Pillon – Chief Financial Officer
Michele Pillon has 25 years of experience in the junior mining exploration sector, providing accounting and regulatory assistance to public companies. Since May 1988, she has worked as an accountant to public companies in the resource sector.
Carl Hale – Director of Exploration
Carl Hale received his Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the University of Washington in 1972. He has worked the majority of his career on mineral exploration projects in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest for various mining companies and consulting groups. He supervised massive sulfide exploration projects in the Brooks Range, Alaska, mineral reconnaissance programs in the Alaska Range and Southeast Alaska, and is presently the project manager on a gold exploration venture in the United States. Mr. Hale spent several years as a mine geologist at the Cannon Mine, a large gold mine in Wenatchee, Washington, as a geologist at the Sunshine silver mine in Idaho, managed a copper exploration project at Bornite, Alaska for three years for Kennecott and served as a geologist on a gold exploration project in Myanmar.
Alistair MacLennan – Director
Alistair MacLennan has been working in the junior resources sector (oil/gas/minerals), in various capacities, for over 30 years. He has gained industry knowledge through founding, investment in and serving on the boards of a number of public and private exploration companies. MacLennan is also the chairman and director of Helijet International, a helicopter airline operating a fleet of Sikorsky S76 helicopters throughout the Pacific Northwest since 1986. MacLennan is actively involved in a number of private companies which are involved in leasing, manufacturing and natural gas production.
Ronald Handford – Director
Ronald Handford is a professional engineer (non-practicing) and is president of Handford Management, a private management services company. He has been a senior executive of Sixty North Gold Mining since September 2016. He was formerly the executive vice-president, corporate development for Yellowhead Mining. Handford holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Western University (1979) and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia (1974). He has over 20 years of international experience as a mining and technology entrepreneur, executive and advisor, plus 15 years as an international mining project finance and corporate banker, including Barclays Bank and the International Finance Corporation; and six years as an engineer/project manager related to mining and resource projects.
Douglas A. Perkins – Director
Douglas Perkins is a geology graduate from the University of British Columbia. Perkins has served on public company boards for over 25 years involving the promotion and representation of their geological properties. He has been involved in several start-ups of both public and private companies not only geological but including manufacturing, wholesale and developmental industries. From an exploration standpoint, Perkins has worked on the Gataga Trend for Cyprus Anvil, where several multi-million-ton deposits were discovered. He also worked for UTAH, UMEX, Cominco and oversaw Freeport/ Stryker's exploration project in northern BC near the Windy Craggy deposit. Perkins has tropical experience in the jungle of the Darien Gap in Panama during 1988 to 1989. For the last two years he has been senior vice-president and director of GMV Minerals in Guyana South America.
Advancing the high-grade New Amalga Gold project in the prolific Juneau Gold Belt in SE Alaska
Navigating Uncertainty: How Trump's Tariffs Are Affecting the Gold Market
Read on to learn how tariffs have affected the gold market and price so far.
How have tariffs affected the gold price?
The gold price has been on the rise since the beginning of the year. After briefly touching the US$3,500 per ounce level in May, it has pulled back and was trading just under US$3,400 as of Tuesday (August 26).
Gold price, January 1 to August 26, 2025.
Chart via TradingEconomics.
Although some of its increase is attributable to the points mentioned above, a significant portion is owed to a lack of information surrounding US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Initially there was no clarity on what or who was being tariffed, or when the levies would ultimately be implemented, and investors started to move into gold for greater stability and portfolio diversification.
Uncertainty about whether gold would be tariffed also had an effect, prompting traders in the US to import physical gold; this created a price differential between New York futures and the London spot price.
Concerns dissipated as the Trump administration began to nail down tariffs, but were reignited once again when US Customs and Border Patrol posted a ruling on July 31 indicating that the 39 percent tariffs against imports from Switzerland would include 1 kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars.
The news caused spot gold to spike more than 3 percent, from US$3,290 to US$3,398, and sent December futures to an all-time high of US$3,549. Meanwhile, traders halted imports of Swiss bars.
After several days of turmoil, Trump said the ruling was incorrect, and the bars would not be included in the tariff measures being applied to other Swiss imports; the gold price then retreated.
How would gold tariffs have impacted the market?
Gold functions as both a commodity and an essential part of the world’s financial system.
One kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars are used to back futures trading, and regular shipments of the metal are needed to settle contracts once they come due. A 39 percent tariff on gold from Switzerland would have been particularly disruptive, as Swiss refineries account for approximately 70 percent of the world’s gold.
According to the UN Comtrade database, in 2024, Switzerland exported more than 1,400 metric tons of unwrought gold worth more than US$106 billion, representing nearly 30 percent of the country’s total exports. Tariffs would have forced US buyers to pay a significant premium for the precious metal versus buyers in London or Shanghai.
Because gold is often used as a store of value in times of uncertainty, any kind of disruption could have had broader implications for investors looking to add stability to their portfolios.
In an email to the Investing News Network (INN), Lauren Saidel-Baker, CFA, an economist with ITR Economics, explained that gold stands out as a unique investment mechanism:
“There are psychological nuances to gold, which is commonly viewed as a safe store of value during uncertain times and an inflation hedge. Overall, the tariff would have added another facet to the already elevated policy uncertainty."
If the tariffs had remained in place, the US gold price would have had to rise to around US$4,700 per ounce to cover levies, while international prices would have remained closer to the US$3,500 mark.
“Tariffs have already complicated supply chains across industries, and this gold tariff would have been another example of added cost and complexity — but in this case, one with the potential to more directly impact investment activities,” Saidel-Baker went on to explain, emphasizing that US investors would have felt the pinch.
Could gold tariffs happen in the future?
Given Trump's unpredictability, especially when it comes to tariffs, it's possible that gold levies could enter the conversation again. However, by and large experts agree that the matter is closed.
“I think it’s pretty clear at this point that there’s no intention to put tariffs on physical gold imports, and I think that would be very damaging and destructive if they did,” Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals, told INN.
Keith Weiner, founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, offered another perspective, saying that although the gold tariff threat is over, the tumult could have long-term effects on the market.
"Once you've put the scare into everybody, you can't just say, 'Oh, sorry, just kidding.' You can't really do that. And so now we've done damage, and we'll see what happens to that spread over time. We'll see how users of the futures market adapt. There are other markets in the world that would be competing for," he explained.
"This hedging business, you know, maybe it moves to Singapore, maybe it moves to Dubai, maybe it moves to London, and the US loses not only a little more trust, but also a little bit of volume on what had been the biggest — or what is currently the biggest — futures market," Weiner added to INN.
Market participants will be watching closely for future impacts on the yellow metal.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Grande Portage Resources Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects