Quartermain: Gold at $4,000 Looks Attractive for a New Mine

Robert Quartermain, co-chair of Dakota Gold, said gold at $4,000 an ounce looks attractive compared with $140 when he began working in the sector in 1976. Speaking to Kitco News on the sidelines of the New Orleans Investment Conference, he said the company may use a price near $3,000 in the feasibility study for the Richmond Hill project, versus $2,300 in the 2025 preliminary assessment.

Quartermain added that gold prices in the sector still range between $1,600 and $2,000, and mining companies continue to make profits at current levels. He said he owns physical gold and most of his wealth is tied to it, and there is a level at which he would return to buying the physical metal again.

The Richmond Hill project is about two miles from Coeur Mining's Wharf mine, which has produced more than 4 million ounces, in an area whose main Homestake mine produced more than 40 million ounces. The July 2025 preliminary assessment outlined output of nearly 153,000 ounces a year through a heap leach process, and Dakota aims to start production in 2029. The project is on private land, meaning most of its permits are issued by Lawrence County and the state.

Quartermain said construction could provide between 300 and 400 jobs, and Dakota is the largest landowner in the area with about 50,000 acres. He added that the company has 47 drill intercepts at the Maitland site averaging about 10.7 grams per tonne over 4 meters, and expects a preliminary feasibility study in the fourth quarter and a full feasibility study in the first half of 2027. He handed the CEO role to Jack Henris in August.

What do these terms mean?

Feasibility study: A detailed study assessing a project's economic and technical viability before a final investment decision.

Heap leach: A method of extracting gold from ore by spraying it with a chemical solution that collects the metal.

Grams per tonne: A unit measuring the concentration of metal in ore; the higher it is, the more valuable the tonne.

Preliminary assessment: An early study, less detailed than a feasibility study, that defines a project's scope and resources.