Gold Explorer Expands Massive Gold-Copper Deposit at Its BC Iskut Project

1. Seabridge Gold Inc. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Seabridge Gold Inc. (SEA:TSX; SA:NYSE.MKT) released additional findings from its 2025 drilling campaign at the Snip North Deposit within its fully owned Iskut project in a release on December 10.

Each drill hole revealed extensive intervals of consistent gold and copper grades, reinforcing the presence of a substantial Porphyry Cu-Au (copper-gold) system, the company said. The mineralization has now been delineated over a strike length of 2,100 meters, with a dip projection of 600 meters and a width reaching up to 700 meters. Seabridge Gold Chair and CEO Rudi Fronk stated:

"Snip North continues to evolve as a large porphyry mineral system. Intensity and scale of the deposit give us confidence that a significant maiden resource estimate can be achieved in early 2026," said Seabridge Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rudi Fronk. "While drilling has recently concluded, we continue to receive new assays and advance our modeling. The limits of mineralization have not yet been defined, remaining open at depth to the northwest and along strike to the north and west."

Fronk continued, "We also believe we have the potential to find a higher-grade intrusive source as indicated by the outstanding results from holes SN-25-25 and SN-25-30."

What the Results Mean

Gold and copper mineralization is primarily contained within a broad and intense zone of potassic alteration hosted by Triassic Stuhini sedimentary and volcanic rocks, marked by hydrothermal biotite and magnetite, with quartz-sulfide-biotite veins, the release said. To the west, this potassic domain is overlaid by intense quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration with quartz-sulfide-sericite veins. Replacement-style mineralization is observed throughout the system, confined to bedded intervals and associated with intense sulfide and magnetite substitution of the rock mass.

The company said drill holes SN-25-31, SN-25-32, SN-25-33, SN-25-34, SN-25-35, SN-25-36, SN-25-37, SN-25-39, SN-25-41, and SN-25-42 are all positioned on the east and central parts of the Snip North deposit. They aim to infill and characterize potassic alteration and replacement mineralization.

"We maintain our BUY rating and target price of CA$74.50/share," Combaluzier and Talbot said. 

"The eastern-most drill holes encountered intense potassic alteration with biotite and quartz-sulfide-biotite veins at the surface," the release said. "In the central part of the deposit drill holes collared in altered sedimentary rocks above the intense potassic alteration. Both hydrothermal and replacement style magnetite are abundant in this part of the deposit and indicative of high temperature and high magmatic fluid flux."

According to Seabridge, many of these drill holes also intersected significant molybdenum (Mo) grades, which are interpreted to have a similar distribution to the company's Mitchell deposit and serve as a useful vector for further exploration.

"Drill holes SN-25-38, SN-25-40, SN-25-43, SN-44 and SN-25-45 are collared on the west side of the deposit," the release continued. "Drill hole SN-25-46 was collared on the west side but drilled across the system into the eastern part of Snip North. These holes are characterized by intense disseminated sericite alteration as quartz-sericite-pyrite associated with quartz-sulfide-sericite veins."

This alteration style is superimposed on the potassic alteration and locally preserves the secondary biotite, Seabridge said. Overall, the system appears to be plunging to the northwest, causing the mineralized zone to become deeper to the west.

A 'Deeper Higher-Grade Porphyry Source'

According to an updated research note on December 11 by Red Cloud analysts Taylor Combaluzier and David Talbot, in each hole the company intersected broad intervals of mineralization, with the longest interval showing 0.6 grams per tonne (g/t) Au and 0.06% Cu (0.69% Au Eq, or gold equivalent) over 719 meters.

The findings confirm the significant Cu-Au porphyry discovery made in 2024, outlining mineralization over a 2,100-meter strike length, 600 meters of dip projection, and 700 meters in width, the analysts noted.

"We view these results positively as drilling continues to reveal strong indications of a deeper, higher-grade porphyry source at Snip North," the report said. "Broad intersections of porphyry-style mineralization with good grades are continuing to expand mineralization and bode well for the maiden MRE (mineral resource estimate) anticipated in Q1/26. The mineralized body is plunging towards NW, indicating that deeper step-out holes in the NW area could intersect additional mineralization beyond the current footprint."

The 12,000-meter drill program was designed to expand zones of intense potassic alteration and associated mineralization discovered in 2024. According to the analysts, highlights from the recent batch of assays include 0.6 g/t Au and 0.06% Cu (0.69 g/t Au Eq) over 719 meters, 0.52 g/t Au and 0.13% Cu (0.73 g/t Au Eq) over 538.9 meters (SN-25-34), 0.49 g/t Au and 0.07% Cu (0.61 g/t Au Eq) over 598.4 meters (SN-25-43), and 0.44 g/t Au and 0.13% Cu (0.64 g/t Au Eq) over 555.7 meters (SN-25-39).

The analysts calculated a weighted average grade of 0.65 g/t Au Eq (or 0.63% Cu Eq) over approximately 350 meters from the results reported to date.

Ten holes were collared on the eastern and central part of the deposit, while the remaining six were collared on the west but directed into the eastern part, Combaluzier and Talbot noted. The eastern-most holes encountered relatively shallower intense potassic alteration (around 43 meters average depth) and a notable concentration of Mo, suggesting that the east-central part is likely close to the high-temperature core of the system, as evidenced by wider intervals in the east (holes -42, 34, 39), they wrote.

Holes on the west hit sericite alteration (around 260 meters average depth), which forms at lower temperatures, suggesting that the mineralized system gets deeper to the west, and that deeper potassic alteration in the west is yet to be fully tested, they said.

Results from the 2025 drill program are anticipated to feed into a maiden MRE planned for early 2026, the note said. The Snip North MRE is one of 10 objectives outlined by Seabridge earlier in 2025. The top goal remains to partner with a major mining company to build and operate the KSM project.

"We maintain our BUY rating and target price of CA$74.50/share," Combaluzier and Talbot said. "Our target is based on a 0.60x multiple applied to our NAVPS5% estimate of CA$124.17/share (unchanged). Upcoming catalysts: 1) KSM development updates (ongoing), 2) Potential JV with a major partner (2025), and 3) Snip North MRE (Q1/26)."

Analyst: More Than 25 Moz Au Possible

According to Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Mike Kozak in an updated research note on December 10, the intervals disclosed in the release are extensions from the initial 2024 discovery drilling at Snip North, indicating a substantial, near-surface, and seemingly continuous gold-copper porphyry. It's important to note that the Iskut project is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Seabridge's flagship, fully owned KSM gold-copper open-pit and underground project in British Columbia, Kozak said.

"Incorporating the intervals reported this morning, the mineralized footprint of Snip North has increased from 1,700 meters x 600 meters x 600 meters to 2,100 meters x 700 meters x 600 meters and remains open in multiple directions and at depth," the analyst wrote. "Results reported this morning include: 719 meters at 0.60 g/t Au and 0.06% Cu, 709 meters at 0.35 g/t Au and 0.10% Cu, and 598 meters at 0.49 g/t Au and 0.07% Cu."

Kozak said based on the drilling conducted so far, a maiden resource of over 2 billion tonnes at approximately 0.4 g/t Au and 0.1% Cu, containing over 25 Moz Au and over 5 billion pounds Cu, is potentially achievable (this is a Cantor and likely conservative.

"We reiterate our Buy rating on Seabridge and US$37.00/CA$46.00 price target," Kozak wrote.

The Catalyst: Prices Rise on Fed's Decision

Gold prices edged upward on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided on a divided interest rate reduction while also signaling caution about the possibility of further cuts, Yahoo Finance UK Reporter Pedro Goncalves wrote on December 11.

Gold futures climbed by 0.4% to US$4,242.70 per ounce, and spot gold increased by 0.2% to US$4,217.23 at the time of writing. These changes followed the Fed's decision on Wednesday to lower rates by 25 basis points in a split vote, placing them in a range of 3.50% to 3.75% — the lowest level in three years.

The Fed also suggested that borrowing costs might not drop again soon, as policymakers are waiting for clearer indications of a cooling labor market and inflation that, in their words, "remains somewhat elevated." Lower interest rates generally favor non-yielding assets like gold.

Investors are now focusing on U.S. jobs and inflation data for November, expected next week, followed by a detailed report on third-quarter economic growth, Goncalves said. Despite the metal's record-breaking surge this year, U.S. investors remain relatively minor holders.

Goldman Sachs pointed out that gold ETFs comprised just 0.17% of private U.S. financial portfolios in the second quarter, a small fraction of the approximately US$112 trillion Americans hold in stocks and bonds. The bank's analysis also showed that fewer than half of large U.S. institutions managing over US$100 million have any gold ETF exposure. Among those that do, typical allocations range from 0.1% to 0.5%. For major long-term investors, about 0.2% of portfolios are held in gold.

Recent forecasts from major financial institutions suggest a continued rise for the precious metal, driven by a mix of global factors, according to a report by Emma Rogers for WebProNews on December 11. Goldman Sachs, in particular, has garnered attention with its optimistic outlook, predicting substantial price increases through 2026, supported by strong demand and strategic shifts in investment patterns. 

The bank's latest analysis suggests a potential rise to US$4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026, an upward revision from previous estimates. This optimism is driven by sustained central bank purchases and a resurgence in Western exchange-traded fund inflows, enhancing gold's appeal as a safe-haven asset, Rogers noted.

As geopolitical tensions persist and interest rate expectations evolve, gold's role in diversified portfolios is gaining renewed emphasis, especially among U.S. investors who increasingly view it as a hedge against inflation and currency fluctuations, she said.

Drawing from real-time market data, gold's spot price recently hovered around US$4,202 per ounce, reflecting a modest daily dip but a remarkable 54.5% year-over-year gain, Rogers reported. This trajectory aligns with broader trends where gold has shattered records, driven by structural demand that shows no signs of waning. Institutions like Goldman Sachs are not alone in their projections; similar sentiments resonate across the financial sector, indicating a potential paradigm shift in how gold fits into modern investment strategies.

Ownership and Share Structure¹

Management and insiders own approximately 2% of the company, and institutions own about 65% of the company. The rest is retail.

Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd. owns 15.49%, Pan Atlantic Bank and Trust owns 10.23%, Van Eck Associates Corp. owns 7.84%, and Kopernik Global Investors L.L.C. owns 9.9%.

There are about 104.35 million shares outstanding, while the company has a market cap of CA$4.18 billion and trades in a 52-week range of CA$13.44 and CA$43.50.