Reference
Oxide gold by the numbers: published figures with their sources
Last updated: Publisher: Lannister Mining
What do the published numbers say about oxide gold?
Published figures show oxide gold is often modeled at low cut-off grades and leached with recoveries that range widely, from 57.3% to 92.0% in one twelve-test program.
The Oxide Gold Index, published by Lannister Mining, collects every statistic used on this site in one place. Each figure is quoted with its full range, conditions and source exactly as published by the named company or journal. None of these numbers are Lannister Mining's own results unless labeled as such.
Cut-off grades and gold price
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 0.10 g/t Au | Black Pine open-pit resource cut-off, at a long-term gold price of US$2,800/oz, with a variable leach recovery model | Liberty Gold |
| 2.20 g/t Au | O’Brien bottom cut-off at US$2,500 gold, 1.2 m minimum mining width, 60 g/t Au upper cap (effective January 31, 2026) | Radisson Mining |
| US$4,046.40/oz | Kitco spot bid on 28 October 2026; a higher price lowers the cut-off grade and can deepen a mine | Farmonaut |
| 1,907,000 oz | Black Pine Indicated ounces at a 0.50 g/t Au block cut-off, average grade 0.99 g/t Au, about 40% of the indicated resource | Liberty Gold |
Oxide recovery and leaching
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 92.0% to 57.3% | Twelve oxide column tests at Richmond Hill; unweighted average 74.2% | Dakota Gold |
| 92.0% to 90.7% | Gold extraction from Richmond Hill breccia oxide material | Dakota Gold |
| 24 composites | Master-composite column tests across lithology, grade and oxidation domains; 0.5-inch and 1-inch crush; 21 to 47 day leach | Dakota Gold |
| 88.69% then 94.77% | Gold dissolution from gold-bearing iron oxide minerals within the first 7 hours, then final recovery (power model R² = 0.937) | Springer Nature |
| pH 10.2 vs 8.4 | At pH 10.2 over 90% exists as free cyanide; at pH 8.4 over 90% exists as HCN | Springer Nature |
Drilling and exploration results
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 83% | Drill “hit” rate in one O’Brien program, with every hole completed reported | Radisson Mining |
| 30-80% | Estimated true widths as a share of core length for O’Brien intercepts | Radisson Mining |
| Up to 26.9 g/t Au | Historical rock grabs in the Snow-Canyon Ridge area, 2 to 5 miles north of the Whistler deposit, Alaska | U.S. GoldMining |
| +17% and +47% | Black Pine Indicated (+719 koz) and Inferred growth versus the 2024 PFS resource | Liberty Gold |
US production context
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| About 64% | Nevada’s share of US gold output in 2025; gold came from more than 40 lode mines in 12 states plus large Alaskan placers (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026) | Farmonaut |
Lannister Mining’s own published figures
| Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1,107 ha | Consolidated land package: 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims | Lannister Mining |
| 320+ | Historical drill holes | Lannister Mining |
| 1.8 g/t over 162 m | Historical drill intersection from surface | Lannister Mining |
| Two-thirds | Share of the property still unexplored | Lannister Mining |
Part of the gold oxide mineralization guide.
Common questions
- What is a cut-off grade?
- A cut-off grade is the minimum grade at which rock is counted in a resource. Open-pit leach deposits often use low cut-offs: Liberty Gold reports Black Pine resources at 0.10 g/t Au using US$2,800 per ounce, while Radisson’s underground O’Brien estimate uses a 2.20 g/t Au bottom cut-off at US$2,500.
- How does the gold price affect gold exploration?
- A higher gold price lowers the cut-off grade, so more rock can qualify as potentially economic and pits can deepen. Farmonaut cites Kitco’s spot bid at US$4,046.40 per ounce on 28 October 2026. Prices change daily, so check a live quote before relying on any single figure.
- What gold recovery do oxide heap leach tests show?
- Results vary by deposit and rock type. Dakota Gold reported twelve oxide column tests at Richmond Hill ranging from 92.0% to 57.3% recovery, with an unweighted average of 74.2%, using 0.5-inch and 1-inch crush sizes and 21 to 47 day leach times. Every deposit needs its own testing.
- What is a drill hit rate?
- A hit rate is the share of holes in a program that intersect reportable mineralization. Some companies publish it and say whether every hole is reported. Radisson Mining described an 83% “hit” rate for one program at its O’Brien Gold Project and stated that it reports every hole completed.
- Why do some investors focus on US gold explorers?
- Investors weigh jurisdiction, permitting and infrastructure. Farmonaut, citing the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, reports that US gold came from more than 40 lode mines in 12 states plus large Alaskan placer mines in 2025, with Nevada supplying about 64% of output. Montana has a long mining history of its own.
- Why do some drill results look extremely high?
- Very high grades over short lengths, such as 156 g/t Au over 3 meters, can reflect coarse or concentrated gold. Resource estimators often cap such assays so they do not overstate grade. Radisson, for example, applies a 60 g/t Au upper cap to individual assays in its O’Brien estimate.
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