Chesapeake Gold Corp.
Chesapeake Gold holds the large-scale Metates gold-silver project in Durango, Mexico, one of the largest undeveloped precious metals deposits in the Americas, and is developing a proprietary oxidative heap-leach process for it ahead of a planned pre-feasibility study. Title status: part of the Metates deposit sits on the San Vicente 3 concession (700 of the project's 4,260 hectares), which Mexico's mining directorate cancelled in 2023. Chesapeake is appealing: it lost its first nullity suit in a 2-1 decision and has appealed to the Collegiate Court, and the directorate is barred from auctioning the concession until a final decision. Chesapeake says reliance on its 2023 PEA is contingent on the outcome of the litigation, and that the resource estimate and the PEA's mine plan would be materially affected if it loses. No split of the ounces on San Vicente 3 is published, so the company's full resource estimate is counted on this page while the appeal is pending.
Notable vs. Peers
- Jurisdiction risk score of 6/10 is meaningfully riskier than the peer average of 7.8/10.
Lifecycle Milestones
Jurisdiction (40%)6/10
Durango, Mexico — moderate mining-sector political risk, generally stable operating environment.
Infrastructure (40%)No verified figure
Researched with nothing found: no source we could cite confirms or rules out an existing mill, road access, grid power, or tailings facility at Metates Project, Durango, Mexico (checked Sep 26, 2026; recheck due Mar 25, 2027). Counts at a neutral 5/10 until one does.
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No producing mine within 50 km in our reference list (nearest listed: Avino (Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.), 84 km). That list doesn't cover every mining district yet, so a longer distance isn't scored as remote.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
No pending acquisition or merger disclosed (checked)
Not scored: having no deal in flight isn't held against a company.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:3.9/10
Nearest producing mine: Avino (Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.), 84 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:6/10
Stage: Preliminary Economic Assessment
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:6/10
Mexico: jurisdiction score 6/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 20 years in mining corporate development, strategy, capital markets, and project evaluation; previously corporate development at Hudbay Minerals and metals/mining equity research at BMO Capital Markets. MBA in Natural Resources (University of Alberta); Master's and Bachelor's from University of Toronto; Registered Professional Geoscientist (Ontario).
Chairman of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 36 years of exploration-industry experience; founded Chesapeake after leading Carson Gold Corp. and Francisco Gold Corp.; central to the El Sauzal and Marlin gold discoveries (sold to Glamis Gold in 2002 for $390M); 13 years as a Goldcorp director. Bachelor of Commerce and MBA.
Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 25+ years in mining finance; former Controller (Iamgold Suriname), VP Corporate Controller (Sierra Metals), Director of Finance (Alamos Gold), Operations Controller (Richmont Mines). Chartered Accountant/CPA.
Chief Metallurgical Officer of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 15 years in project development/operations; project manager, lead engineer and 43-101 qualified person across North/South America; involved in Chesapeake's Heap Oxidation technology since 2017. University of Arizona (Chemical/Environmental Engineering); Arizona P.E.
Vice President Exploration of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 25 years exploring in Mexico/Central America; joined Francisco Gold in 1996, co-discovered the Marlin deposit (Guatemala) in 1998. Geological Engineer, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (1993); P.Geo./APEGBC; SEG member.
Vice President Development of Chesapeake Gold Corp. 40+ years developing base/precious metal deposits in the Americas; senior roles at Westmont Mining, Cambior, Constellation Copper; joined Chesapeake as Metates Project Manager in 2008. UC geology degrees; SEG Fellow.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Eric Sprott holds about 17.7% of Chesapeake (April 2026 circular) and Sun Valley Gold Master Fund about 8.6% -- together roughly a quarter of the register in the hands of two of the best-known specialist gold investors. Sprott led and closed a fresh C$4.4M non-brokered private placement in June 2025, adding to a position he first built with a C$12M lead order. No producer or strategic corporate holder is disclosed, and no insider trading feed is available for this TSXV listing.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Chesapeake Gold's current economic study for Metates is the Phase 1 sulphide heap-leach Preliminary Economic Assessment (amended NI 43-101 report dated 13 January 2023, effective 15 December 2022). The 2023 PEA shows an after-tax NPV (5%) of US$685 million and a 24.6% IRR over a 24-year mine life at US$1,600/oz gold, with initial capital of about US$359 million. Chesapeake states that its 2016 pre-feasibility study has been superseded by the PEA and is no longer relied upon. The January 2023 mineral resource estimate contains 16,770,000 oz of gold in the Measured and Indicated categories (921.2 Mt at 0.57 g/t) plus 2,130,000 oz Inferred. Part of the deposit sits on the San Vicente 3 concession (700 of 4,260 hectares), which Mexico's mining directorate cancelled in 2023; Chesapeake lost its first nullity suit 2-1, has appealed to the Collegiate Court, and the directorate is barred from auctioning the concession until a final decision. Chesapeake says reliance on the PEA is contingent on the outcome of the litigation, and with no split of the affected ounces published, the full estimate is counted on this page while the appeal is pending; a pre-feasibility study is in preparation.