CSE-listed Headwater Gold’s Spring Peak project, in western Nevada, has been selected for inclusion in the US Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council’s FAST-41 programme, a federal initiative aimed at streamlining approvals for key infrastructure and mining projects.

The Burnt Rock Plan of Operations, which governs exploration at Spring Peak, will now appear on the FAST-41 transparency dashboard.

The currently contemplated exploration programme is funded by Newmont under Stage 2 of an earn-in agreement, through which the major can earn a 65% interest in the project by sole funding $40-million over 36 months.

“We are thrilled by the inclusion of our project into the Fast-41 programme,” said Headwater president and CEO Caleb Stroup. “The continued support of the federal government for mining and exploration projects underscores the growing recognition of the importance of a domestic mineral supply chain. FAST-41 is the track that high-quality, federally recognized projects are placed on, providing the transparency and predictability that are so critical to advancing exploration in the United States. With permitting clarity and a funding partnership in place, we’re well positioned to progress exploration at Spring Peak.”

The proposed Burnt Rock Plan of Operations would allow up to 266 drill sites and 47 km of new access roads, expanding exploration along mineralised trends beneath volcanic cover.

Located in the Aurora mining district of west-central Nevada, adjacent to Hecla Mining’s past-producing Aurora mine, the Spring Peak project sits within the Walker Lane belt, about 50 km south-west of Hawthorne. Previous drilling at the Disco zone returned intersections of 15.92 g/t gold over 2.38 m and 10.43 g/t gold over 2.01 m within a broader interval of 2.73 g/t gold over 34.72 m.

Headwater holds an option to acquire a 100% interest in Spring Peak from Orogen Royalties, while Newmont may earn up to 75% of the project through further investment and completion of a prefeasibility study.