Ridgeline Minerals (TSXV: RDG; OTCQB: RDGMF; FSE: 0GC0) has provided detailed updates on its ongoing exploration drill programs at three projects in north-central Nevada: Swift, Black Ridge, and Selena. These projects are being advanced under separate earn-in agreements with major industry partners Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) and South32 Limited.

Chad Peters, Ridgeline’s President, CEO & Director commented in a press release: “Drilling is progressing smoothly across our three partner projects with both Swift and Selena close to finishing up the first deep core tails of their respective programs. NGM has also recently completed a single framework drill hole at Black Ridge, which is on-trend of NGM’s Leeville Mine and Fallon Deposit1 to the south. We expect drilling to continue at Swift and Selena through the end of 2025 with steady news flow and assay results throughout the end of the year.” 

The company confirmed that the 2025 partner-funded exploration budget totals US $9.5 million, the largest in Ridgeline’s history. The drilling programs are ongoing, with results pending at all three sites into Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

Selena Project – Drilling Targets Sulfide CRD System

The Selena project, located in White Pine County, is being explored under an earn-in agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Limited, with up to US $20 million in potential expenditures. Ridgeline remains the operator of the project.

Drilling at Selena began in June 2025, with the first core tail initiated in late July. The current phase includes plans to drill up to three deep core holes, totaling 4,500 meters, with a US $3.45 million budget. The holes are targeting a highly conductive Magnetotellurics (MT) anomaly identified at the Chinchilla Sulfide CRD (carbonate replacement deposit) target earlier in the year.

South32 has reported US $573,758 in qualifying expenditures through June 30, 2025. To earn an initial 60% interest, South32 must spend a minimum of US $10 million in qualifying work expenditures by August 21, 2029.

Swift Project – Targeting High-Grade Gold Intersections

At the Swift gold project, located in Lander County, Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) is the operator under a US $30 million earn-in agreement. As of June 30, 2025, NGM has spent US $10.87 million in qualifying expenditures. The agreement requires NGM to spend at least US $20 million by December 31, 2026 to earn an initial 60% interest in the property.

Drilling is currently underway, with the first of up to five planned holes being drilled. This hole is positioned along the projected strike of a previously reported high-grade gold intercept: 1.1 meters grading 10.4 g/t gold in hole SW24-006. The current drilling focuses on a geological setting where cross-cutting fault zones intersect a modeled fold hinge located in the hanging wall of the Mill Creek thrust fault, a potential structural trap for mineralized fluids.

Details of this program were initially outlined in a company news release dated July 30, 2025.

The Black Ridge project, also in Lander County, is the second project being advanced under an earn-in agreement with Nevada Gold Mines, with up to US $10 million in potential qualifying expenditures. As of June 30, 2025, NGM has spent US $586,904 toward the agreement. NGM must spend a minimum of US $4.5 million by July 14, 2028, to earn an initial 60% interest in the property.

In August 2025, NGM completed one deep core hole targeting the lower-plate carbonate host rocks—a geological sequence associated with numerous past and current gold deposits on the northern Carlin Trend. This drill hole is the first major test of this target at Black Ridge, with assays currently pending and expected in Q4 2025.

Ridgeline noted that the Qualified Person (QP) has not verified the Fallon and Ren resources located on nearby properties and that mineralization on those sites may not be indicative of potential mineralization at Black Ridge.

Ridgeline Minerals Corp. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company manages a 200 km² exploration portfolio in Nevada and operates under a hybrid business model, combining wholly owned assets with strategic partnerships through earn-in agreements.

In total, these partnerships represent up to US $60 million in potential partner-funded expenditures.

With drilling underway across all three projects and results expected in the coming months, the next phase of exploration could further define the mineral potential of Ridgeline’s Nevada portfolio. The company has stated that all results will be publicly disclosed following internal review and verification, in accordance with regulatory standards.

Ridgeline Minerals (TSXV:RDG) has provided an update on its ongoing exploration at the Swift gold project in Nevada, a project operated under an exploration earn-in agreement with Nevada Gold Mines (NGM). The announcement, made on October 17, 2024, detailed progress on the drill program, which had faced initial delays.

Chad Peters, Ridgeline’s President, CEO & Director commented in a press release: “We are encouraged by the visual results of the first hole, which continues to show evidence of a strong Carlin-Type gold system at Swift. The 2024 program is building from positive drilling results in 2022, which intersected widespread alteration and low-grade Carlin-Type gold mineralization across multiple framework drill holes. Drilling in 2024 will attempt to vector in on higher grade gold mineralization hosted within proposed structural traps along the projection of the Mill Creek Thrust, a significant structural control and conduit for gold mineralization at Swift.”

The drill program at Swift was originally set to begin in early June, but was postponed until August due to unexpected permitting delays through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Despite these setbacks, drilling has since advanced, with the first of up to three deep core holes now completed. Samples from this initial hole, designated SW24-006, have been submitted to ALS Minerals in Elko, Nevada, an independent, certified, and accredited laboratory. The analysis of these samples will provide further insights into the project’s potential.

Under the earn-in agreement, Nevada Gold Mines has the right to acquire a 60% interest in the Swift project. To earn this initial stake, NGM must complete a minimum of $20 million in qualifying work expenditures over five years. As of June 30, 2024, approximately $7.5 million of this commitment had already been met. NGM also retains the option to increase its stake to 70% by investing an additional $10 million in qualifying expenditures before the end of 2029.

Further terms of the earn-in agreement allow NGM to increase its interest by an additional 5%, bringing its total potential stake to 75%. This would be contingent upon NGM deciding to finance Ridgeline’s portion of any necessary debt for mine development or construction. If NGM exercises this option, Ridgeline would retain a 25% interest in the project. Should NGM opt not to increase its interest to 70%, their maximum interest would be 65%.

The Swift project, located in Nevada’s Cortez district, is a key asset for Ridgeline, which holds a diversified portfolio of exploration projects across the state. In addition to Swift, Ridgeline operates other Nevada projects such as Big Blue, Bell Creek, and Coyote, all of which are 100% owned. The company also has other earn-in agreements, including one with NGM for the Black Ridge project and another with South32 for the Selena project.