XPL News & Events

Solitario Resources filed a Plan of Operations with the USFS to conduct core drilling on its Bright Angel gold-copper project in Colorado. Solitario's proposed maiden drilling program represents the first drilling to be conducted on the property since 1970 when Anaconda Copper drilled 11 core holes. At Bright Angel, mineralized porphyry stockwork contains significant values of gold and copper at surface. Mineralization has been traced over an area approximately 750 meters long and up to 600 meters wide. Chris Herald, President and CEO of Solitario, stated, "With both gold and copper trading near all-time highs, and copper being designated as a critical metal by the U.S. government, we are very excited to move this project forward. Results from previous drilling point to a definitive, and potentially significant, gold-copper porphyry target. We believe that Bright Angel represents an alkalic pipe-like porphyry characterized by high grades for both gold and copper with deep roots. Over the years, the industry's understanding of porphyry copper systems has evolved considerably. It is now recognized that an alkalic subclass, first clearly documented at the world-class Ridgeway-Cadia system in Australia, commonly hosts pipe-like geometries, with higher copper and gold grades than calc-alkaline copper porphyry systems common in the Arizona and Chilean copper belts. We look forward to working with the US Forest Service in executing an environmentally sound program that protects surface and water resources. The plan envisions very limited surface impacts with all drill holes completed to state and federal abandonment standards to protect ground water systems."

Solitario Resources announced that the U.S Forest Service - Northern Hills District, has issued its Decision Memo for Solitario's Ponderosa drilling program in South Dakota. The Decision Memo documents the completion of the NEPA process for the project. Subject to Solitario incorporating several additional design features into the Plan and submitting these modifications to the US Forest Service, Solitario can proceed with its drilling program in mid-May. The Ponderosa prospect displays the largest high-grade gold area discovered to date on the Golden Crest property position. Surface rock grab samples containing multi-gram gold are scattered over an area nearly 2.0 x 1.5 kilometers in size. Forty-nine drill platforms were approved in the Ponderosa permit.

Solitario Resources has acquired the Bright Angel copper-gold project in Colorado. At Bright Angel, mineralized porphyry stockwork contains significant values of gold and copper, with minor silver values. Mineralization has been traced over an area approximately 750 meters long and up to 600 meters wide. Both gold and copper are trading at all-time highs, with copper being designated as a critical metal by the U.S. government. Bright Angel was originally discovered and drilled in the late 1960's by a private party. Anaconda Copper leased the property in 1970 and drilled eleven core holes, maintaining the lease for ten years. The property has sat idle for the past 50 years until Solitario acquired the rights to earn 100% interest in the minerals from a private entity in September 2025. To date, Solitario has completed a surface reconnaissance rock sampling program and has initiated drill hole permitting. Results of the surface sampling program have been highly encouraging with consistently anomalous to strong values of gold and copper. Solitario has submitted a Notice of Intent to the U.S. Forest Service to commence an exploration drilling program at Bright Angel and is currently working on submitting a Plan of Operations.

Solitario Resources has secured drilling permits for its Cat Creek critical metals project in Colorado. The Cat Creek project represents a high-quality undrilled molybdenum-rhenium porphyry system. The Cat Creek project was originally discovered by Anaconda Copper in the early 1980's. Anaconda conducted significant surface exploration, including detailed geologic mapping, geochemical sampling and an Induced Polarization geophysical survey. The project was slated for drilling in mid-1983, but due to the sale of Anaconda by its parent, Atlantic Richfield, all company-wide exploration activities were shut down in early 1983. The property was never drill tested and no further exploration activities were subsequently conducted on the property. Anaconda's project database was never publicly released. Solitario signed a lease to acquire a 100%-interest in the property in 2023 and has conducted confirmatory surface exploration. Both Federal and State permitting has been completed allowing for core drilling to begin mid-summer 2026. Molybdenum, besides being considered a strategic metal, is one of the most valuable industrial metals. It currently sells for approximately $25.00 per pound. Molybdenum's unique alloying properties for steelmaking - high-strength, hardness, heat resistance, corrosion protection and lubrication, make it indispensable to multiple industries such as oil and gas, aerospace, multiple defense applications, nuclear energy and the construction and automotive industries. Rhenium has recently been classified as a Critical Metal by the U.S government. It is used extensively in the defense and aerospace industries because of its extremely high melting temperature, hardness and remarkable resistance to wear and corrosion. Some of its more critical uses are in jet/rocket engines, gas turbines for the power industry, and in advanced weapon systems. It is an extremely rare metal in nature and currently sells for about $4,200 per kilogram ($4.20 per gram), roughly 2.5 times the value of silver.