West Vault Mining Inc.
West Vault Mining Inc. (formerly West Kirkland Mining Inc., renamed July 2020) owns 100% of the fully permitted Hasbrouck Gold Project (Three Hills and Hasbrouck deposits) near Tonopah, Nevada. An independent NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study prepared by RESPEC Company LLC (filed January 2023, updating a September 2016 PFS) reported Proven and Probable Reserves of 44.0 million tons at 0.017 oz Au/ton for 753,000oz gold (plus 10.5M oz silver), a 51% after-tax IRR and US$206M NPV at $1,790/oz gold, with low initial capex of US$66M and a 15-month construction timeline. The project is construction-ready but construction has not yet been formally sanctioned.
Lifecycle Milestones
Not in place: grid power. Not yet determined: mill, tailings facility.
Jurisdiction (40%)9/10
Nevada: Fraser PPI 2025 is 100.00 of 100 (rank 1 of 68), which maps to 9 on this site's scale. Nevada, USA -- top-tier mining jurisdiction.
Infrastructure (40%)5/10
Confirmed road access and no confirmed grid power at Hasbrouck Gold-Silver Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA; existing mill and tailings facility not yet researched, counted at a neutral 5/10 until established.
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No producing mine within 50 km in our reference list (nearest listed: Round Mountain (Kinross Gold Corporation), 86 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:3.8/10
Nearest producing mine: Round Mountain (Kinross Gold Corporation), 86 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:8/10
Stage: Pre-Feasibility Study
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:9/10
United States: jurisdiction score 9/10
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 and Chief Operating Officer of West Vault Mining Inc., confirmed as CEO at the company's AGM on June 23, 2022. Joined the company in November 2012 and was instrumental in acquiring and advancing the Hasbrouck Gold Project. Over 30 years' experience in management of underground and surface mines, and mine and heavy civil construction, across Canada, the USA, the UK and Africa. P.Eng., PMP, MSc.
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (with the company since its 2002 inception, serving as CFO and Corporate Secretary until becoming President & CEO in 2021), and Director, Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Secretary of West Vault Mining Inc. (founder, 2007). Co-founded and served as CFO & Director of MAG Silver Corp. (1999-2014) and as a founding Director of West Timmins Mining Inc. (2006-2009) and Director of Lake Shore Gold Corp. A Chartered Professional Accountant, formerly an auditor in PwC's public mining practice, with a BBA from Simon Fraser University and over 30 years of experience as an operator, principal and founder in the mining, minerals and petroleum industry.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Sun Valley Gold, a dedicated precious-metals investment fund run since 1998 by Peter Palmedo (who also chairs the company), is by far West Vault Mining's largest shareholder at roughly 46%. Ruffer LLP, a UK multi-asset generalist wealth manager with no particular resource focus, separately holds a real 16.64% stake.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
West Vault Mining owns 100% of the fully permitted, construction-ready Hasbrouck gold project near Tonopah, Nevada, made up of the Three Hills and Hasbrouck deposits. Measured and indicated resources contain 835,000 oz of gold (134,000 oz measured and 701,000 oz indicated), plus 73,000 oz inferred, effective 15 December 2022, and the proven and probable reserve is 753,000 oz of gold plus 10.5 Moz of silver. The January 2023 pre-feasibility study shows a post-tax NPV5% of US$206M and a 51% IRR at US$1,790/oz gold, with initial capital of US$66M, an 8-year mine life averaging about 71,000 oz a year and an all-in sustaining cost of US$877/oz net of by-product credits. Construction has not started, and management has been weighing whether to build the project itself or sell it.