Sentinel Metals has completed its acquisition of the Big Springs gold project in Nevada, expanding its U.S. gold portfolio to nearly 2 million ounces across two Tier-1 mining jurisdictions.

The ASX-listed company acquired 100% of the project from Capricorn Metals following shareholder approval on August 20 and a $15 million share placement at $0.58 per share.

Sentinel paid A$8.5 million in upfront cash and issued 8.62 million shares valued at A$5 million, giving Capricorn a 6.2% stake. A further A$12.5 million in contingent consideration may become payable if Sentinel achieves specified resource, share price or transaction milestones.

Big Springs hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 15.5 million tonnes grading 2 grams per tonne gold for 1.01 million contained ounces.

The 93-square-kilometre project sits within the highly endowed Independence Trend in Elko County and already has a plan of operations permitted for both open-pit and underground mining. Historical operations produced approximately 386,000 ounces of gold from seven open pits between 1987 and 1993.

Managing Director, Matt Herbert said the transaction secures an advanced project with significant exploration potential in one of the world's premier gold districts.

"The completion of the Big Springs transaction represents an important milestone for Sentinel, securing 100% ownership of an advanced, large-scale gold project in the prolific Independence Trend of north-east Nevada," Herbert said.

Planning is now underway for an initial 10,000-metre drilling campaign targeting high-grade extensions at the North Sammy zone, where historical drilling returned 18.3 metres at 33.4 grams per tonne gold from 129.5 metres depth.

The mineralised system remains open at depth. The company is also evaluating modifications to the existing mine plan to unlock district-scale targets across the broader landholding.

Sentinel also owns the Columbia gold-silver project in Montana, which hosts a mineral resource of 920,000 ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces of silver. Together, the two projects contain approximately 1.93 million ounces of gold.

Capricorn Metals, which acquired Big Springs through its 2025 merger with Warriedar Resources, will continue focusing on its Karlawinda and Mt Gibson projects in Western Australia.