Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) has entered into a deal with Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) to acquire the Deadman Flat Project in Western Australia.
This project acquisition will expand the Karlawinda Gold Project’s tenure by 270km2 in the Pilbara region.
Under the agreement, Capricorn Metals, which has a market capitalisation of $3 billion, will issue $1.5 million worth of shares to Peregrine Gold.
Further consideration includes the grant of a 1% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the sale of all precious minerals and a 1.5% NSR royalty on the sale of non-precious minerals extracted from the Deadman Flat area.
Capricorn Metals will also pay $750,000 to Peregrine upon announcing a JORC-complaint resource in excess of 200,000 ounces of gold at Deadman Flat, and $750,000 upon announcing a decision to begin a stand-alone commercial mining operation on the project area.
The transaction is expected to be completed next month.
Peregrine Technical Director George Merhi says the transaction maintains exposure to exploration success on what the company believes to be prospective ground.
“It also comes at a fortuitous time for the company as we look to expedite our efforts pursuing further discoveries at the exciting Tin Can Trend,” Merhi says.
Capricorn Executive Chairman Mark Clark says the acquisition will complete the consolidation of the southern margin of the Sylvania Inlier, including tenements directly along strike of the Central Zone prospect.
“This provides Capricorn with an outstanding exploration opportunity with a view to finding meaningful additional ore sources for the Karlawinda operation,” Clark says.
The Deadman Flat Project sits in proximity to the Sylvania Inlier and Pilbara-Yilgarn Craton margin, which is considered a high strain zone with high prospectivity for gold mineralising fluids.
Exploration for gold in the tenements has generally been limited with only early-stage work conducted during the mid-1990s. There has been limited focus on gold and very few drillholes completed outside of the Deadman Flat prospect, despite the substantial evidence for widespread gold mineralisation.
In Q3 2025, Capricorn will begin high-resolution airborne gravity surveys, broad-scale geological and regolith mapping, and geochemical sampling in currently defined target areas. This work is designed to generate targets for drilling in FY26.
Capricorn Metals is an Australian gold producer headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. The company’s asset portfolio includes the Karlawinda and Mt Gibson projects, which collectively host a resource base of 4.4 million ounces and 1.3 million ounces of reserves.
Peregrine Gold is a gold and lithium explorer focused on its project portfolio in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Peregrine Gold
