Dakota Gold targets gold production at Richmond Hill by 2029

The developer is advancing a major US heap-leach gold project, eyeing transition to producer status

The site retains key infrastructure, including a water treatment plant, access roads, power supply and other facilities. | Credits: Dakota Gold Corp.Dakota Gold Corp is advancing its flagship Richmond Hill gold project, one of the largest undeveloped heap leach gold resources in the US, with production targeted as soon as 2029. Dakota Gold is a South Dakota-based responsible gold exploration and development company focused on revitalising the 145-year-old Homestake Gold Mining District.

The Richmond Hill gold project is in the western part of Lawrence County, South Dakota, approximately 5 miles (8km) from the towns of Lead and Deadwood, where Dakota Gold is headquartered and operates its office and core processing facilities. It is also within 20 miles (32km) of Spearfish and 40 miles (65km) of Sturgis and Rapid City, providing access to established infrastructure and regional services. The site retains key infrastructure, including a water treatment plant, access roads, power supply and other facilities, providing a strong foundation for future development.

Richmond Hill covers more than 3,000 acres (1,215ha) of private surface and mineral rights and includes the past-producing Richmond Hill mine and historical Carbonate Mining District in South Dakota's Black Hills. Gold mining at Richmond Hill dates back to the 1870s gold rush, when the Carbonate camp was primarily mined for lead and silver, with minor gold production also recorded. Modern mining resumed in 1988 under Bond Gold (later acquired by LAC Minerals), with production continuing until 1993, when the operation closed and reclamation began.

Barrick acquired the property in 1994 following the mine's closure. In October 2021, Dakota Gold secured an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Richmond Hill project from Barrick. The agreement has since been amended to expand the project area and extend the option period to December 31, 2028, giving Dakota Gold additional time to complete the acquisition while increasing the project's total area to approximately 3,002 mineral acres.

Robust economicsRichmond Hill is a large, near-surface, low-grade oxide gold deposit, with measured and indicated heap-leachable resources averaging approximately 0.566g/t gold, making it well suited to low-cost, open-pit, heap-leach mining. The deposit is centred on a series of gold-bearing Tertiary breccia pipes and carbonate replacement deposits within the historic Homestake District. Mineralisation occurs primarily in oxide gold systems hosted in breccias and Precambrian rocks, with the deposit sharing geological similarities to the nearby producing Wharf gold mine owned by Coeur Mining, supporting its potential for future open-pit mining.

On February 6, 2025, Dakota Gold released an S-K 1300 Initial Assessment for the Richmond Hill gold project, outlining heap-leachable measured and indicated mineral resources of 3.65Moz of gold and 38.1Moz of silver, plus inferred resources of 2.61Moz of gold and 22.8Moz of silver. An updated technical report incorporating projected cash flow was published on July 7, 2025, confirming the project's robust economics. Based on its development assumptions, Dakota Gold estimates the project could support annual gold production of approximately 150,000oz, with an initial 17-year mine life, extending to 28 years if inferred material is included, and a potential enterprise value of around US$2.7 billion.

Becoming a gold producerCredits: Dakota Gold Corp. At present, the company is advancing the project towards a pre-feasibility study in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a feasibility study in the first half of 2027. To support these studies, Dakota Gold is undertaking a comprehensive metallurgical testing programme, scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026, together with infill and expansion drilling, baseline environmental studies for permitting, and the filing of a Notice of Intent.

"Once the pre-feasibility study is complete, we'll have the information needed to submit our Notice of Intent, which marks the start of the permitting process. Because Richmond Hill is located entirely on private land, permitting is managed at the state and county levels. We've been very deliberate in building the project around private land to streamline that process," Shawn Campbell, Dakota Gold's CFO, explained to Mining IQ.In parallel, expansion drilling completed in 2025-2026 has already returned several high-grade gold intercepts northeast of the current measured and indicated resource, highlighting further resource growth potential.

"With US$107 million in cash, as at March 31, 2026, and a clear development roadmap, we are well positioned to advance Richmond Hill through feasibility and towards near-term production," Campbell added. "At the same time, we're building the team with the expertise needed to successfully execute the project. "Looking ahead, Campbell said the company's long-term ambition is to evolve from a developer into a gold producer.

"We're not just advancing Richmond Hill through the study phase. We're building the capability to become a gold producer. That's our long-term objective, and we've brought in experienced operators to help deliver it."Dakota

Gold controls more than 48,000 acres (19,425ha) of prospective mineral properties surrounding the historical Homestake mine, one of the largest and deepest gold mines in the western hemisphere, which produced over 40Moz of gold over 125 years of continuous operations before closing in early 2000s. In addition to Richmond Hill, its key assets include the Maitland gold project, also located on private land in South Dakota and contiguous with the Homestake mine, where the company is defining a high-grade underground gold resource. Dakota Gold's project portfolio also comprises the following projects: City Creek Gold, Blind Gold, Tinton Gold, Cambrian Unconformity, West Corridor Gold, Ragged Top Gold, South Lead/Whistler Gulch Gold, Poorman Anticline Gold, and the Homestake Barrick Option, all located within the company's extensive land package in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota.