Interview with Luke Norman, Executive Chairman, U.S. Gold Corp
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/us-gold-corp-nasdaqusau-undervalued-investment-series-with-luke-norman-10848
Recording date: 23rd September 2026
U.S. Gold Corp (NASDAQ:USAU) is a gold and copper developer whose CK Gold Project sits on Wyoming state land about 20 minutes west of Cheyenne. Executive Chairman Luke Norman said the company intends to build the mine rather than sell it, unless a bidder offers something egregiously beneficial to shareholders.
The project has moved a long way in five years. The company documents state approvals, including the mine operating permit in April 2024. The March 2026 feasibility study, issued by Halyard Micon International, shows an after-tax NPV5% of $632 million, a 27% after-tax IRR and a 2.5-year payback at base-case prices of $3,250 gold, $4.50 copper and $40 silver. Initial capital is $394 million. Reserves are 1.015 million ounces of gold, 260 million pounds of copper and 3 million ounces of silver.
At $4,000 the after-tax NPV5% is $946 million and payback is 1.8 years. At $2,000 the NPV5% is $98 million, and at $1,500 it is negative. Norman said payback remains well within two years at $3,750. The central open item is financing. The company had $30.7 million of cash as of April 2026. Norman stated final advanced engineering remains and will continue through development. The project suits debt because of its quick payback. Norman also mentioned a silver stream and the forward sale of some first-year gold. He put first-year output at 130,000 ounces of gold and 24 million pounds of copper. He gave no date for a financing announcement.
Norman argued that the 11-year mine life in the study understates the asset. The deposit extends at depth and along strike and could support 15 to 20 years. The company outlines 590,000 AuEq ounces of resources that could convert to reserves, with drilling anticipated for the second half of 2027. None of this is in the feasibility study.
The second strategic event is the Keystone spin-out. Keystone is a 20-square-mile exploration project on Nevada's Cortez Trend, 11 miles south of the Cortez Complex according to the presentation. Norman said US Gold will pay a dividend of Keystone shares to its shareholders, let Keystone raise its own capital and give it a separate management team. He expects this within six to eight weeks. He also argued that the dividend structure could force short sellers to cover, citing a short position of about 12-13%.
For investors, the case rests on execution. A permitted asset with study economics is in place. The market must now see how a $394 million build gets funded, whether a takeover approach emerges, and how the Keystone spin-out is structured. The main risks are financing terms, dilution from warrants and options, gold price sensitivity and timing slippage. Norman's comments are management's views, and several figures in the interview need checking against filings before they are relied upon.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/us-gold-corp
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