Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG | OTCQX: HWAUF) announced on June 29, 2026, that Centerra Gold Inc. has commenced drilling at its Crane Creek Project in western Idaho under a previously disclosed earn-in agreement. The approximately 3,000-metre reverse circulation and core drill program is fully funded and operated by Centerra, marking the first drilling at the project since the 1990s. Investors may be watching closely given the program represents roughly US$1.7 million of Centerra's US$2.5 million minimum exploration commitment for 2026.

Key Points

  • Headwater Gold Inc. (CSE: HWG | OTCQX: HWAUF) announced commencement of partner-funded drilling at its Crane Creek Project
  • Centerra Gold has begun an approximately 3,000-metre RC and core drill program, fully funded under the earn-in agreement announced December 3, 2025
  • Approximately US$1.7 million in planned 2026 expenditures counts toward Centerra's US$2.5 million minimum commitment; Centerra can earn up to 70% interest through staged spending
  • Investors will be watching drill results, which will test historical gold intercepts as well as newly defined structural and geophysical targets

Centerra Earn-In Structure and Funding Commitment at Crane Creek

The drill program is being conducted under an earn-in agreement signed with Centerra Gold (TSX: CG), first announced December 3, 2025. Under the agreement's structure, Centerra acts as operator and may earn a 51% interest in the project by spending US$10 million within four years, with staged milestones enabling an eventual 70% interest upon completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment reflecting a mineral resource of not less than 1,000,000 oz gold equivalent. The agreement provides a pathway for up to US$25 million in total partner-funded exploration while allowing Headwater to preserve capital for other generative exploration activities.

Drill Program Design and Historical Gold Mineralization at the Idaho Project

The program consists of up to 15 RC holes and five diamond core holes targeting multiple areas across the approximately 1,240-hectare property. Historical drilling, conducted mainly between 1984 and 1996, identified broad zones of low-grade gold mineralisation and localised high-grade intercepts, including 62.5 metres grading 1.21 g/t Au, including 8.14 g/t Au over 3.0 metres in hole 96-243. The release notes that historical drill holes were often terminated shortly after intersecting an underlying basalt unit, leaving deeper epithermal vein potential largely untested. The company cautions that historical results have not been independently verified and should not be relied upon as current exploration results.

Expanded Target Footprint Defined by Recent Geophysical Surveys

Recent work by Headwater has defined a broader alteration and structural footprint at Crane Creek beyond the historically drilled area. Airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, combined with ground gravity data, outline a 4-kilometre by 2-kilometre potassium anomaly interpreted as illite-adularia alteration, and multiple northwest-trending structural breaks identified as prospective fault-hosted vein targets. This expanded target concept underpins the current drill program design and represents the first systematic test of newly identified zones at the low-sulphidation epithermal system.