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White Gold: Largest Drilling Campaign Ever to Grow High-Grade Multi-Million Ounce Resource

CEO.CA Oct 5, 2026 9:07

Summary

CEO David D'Onofrio says the maiden PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early economic study) shows a $1.9 billion after-tax NPV at a conservative gold price.

It draws on just 60% of the company's 3-million-ounce resource, which management calls the highest-grade deposit amenable to open-pit mining in the Yukon.

An 18,000-metre drill program — the largest in company history — is fully focused on growing the four-zone deposit, which stays open in every direction.

Shareholders will receive one W2 Critical Minerals share per White Gold share as copper, tungsten and antimony finds are spun into a separate listing.

Management expects a new roadway from the Talamore project through its properties to unlock the district, with drill results due through year-end.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • The CEO describes Agnico Eagle as an excellent partner and a big validation, saying it has opened access to its technical teams and that the two sides are in very frequent conversation with input on White Gold's work.
  • He says that access is especially valuable because Agnico's miners are, in his view, among the best in the country for northern climates like the Yukon's.

Key points on White Gold

  • The CEO says the maiden PEA delivered a $1.9 billion after-tax NPV at a conservative gold price while using only 60% of the company's 3-million-ounce resource.
  • The company is drilling 18,000 meters — its largest exploration program ever, 100% focused on growth — across four zones open in every direction, and the CEO says growing the resource, not advancing a feasibility study, is the path it will pursue.
  • White Gold plans to spin out its copper and critical-minerals finds into W2 Critical Minerals, with shareholders receiving one W2 share per share held; as of the late-September 2026 interview it was in exchange approvals, with a listing hoped for within about a month and the record date still to be announced.
  • The CEO says the 3-million-ounce deposit is the highest-grade open-pittable in the Yukon and, he claims, the highest-grade open-pittable project in Canada, delineated on relatively few drill meters.
  • The company holds a 21-property, 300,000-hectare Yukon land package, and the CEO expects drill results to come through the balance of 2026.

David D'Onofrio's takeaways

  • Top takeaway D'Onofrio argues that a $1.9 billion after-tax PEA NPV at a conservative gold price, built on just 60% of the resource, makes growing the 3-million-ounce resource a bigger value lever than a feasibility study, so the company is unlikely to take that path.
  • He says the 18,000-meter drill program, the largest in company history and 100% focused on growth, should accelerate the transformation in the months ahead, with results coming through the balance of 2026.
  • He presents the story through his lens as an investor and principal of the Power One group, which he co-founded with Shawn Ryan, saying the project checks all the boxes of the most successful companies he has been involved with.
  • He argues the Yukon is now viewed as one of Canada's most geologically prospective areas and says that, with a strong commodity market, new infrastructure and Agnico Eagle's backing, White Gold has the right projects, place, backers and timing heading into 2027.
  • He argues the W2 Critical Minerals spin-out lets the district's copper, tungsten, molybdenum, bismuth and antimony finds advance without competing for resources and expertise inside a gold company.

Mr. Shawn Ryan's takeaways

  • Top takeaway D'Onofrio credits Shawn Ryan's scientific exploration approach with millions of ounces discovered in the district, including the Coffee project, which could go into development as early as next year (2027).
  • Ryan selected White Gold's 21-property, 300,000-hectare land package, admitting only ground that passed the rigorous protocols behind the area's discoveries, and co-founded the venture with D'Onofrio.