American Eagle Closes Option Agreement, Expanding Babine District Land Package to Approximately 9,283 Hectares
American Eagle Closes Option Agreement,
Expanding Babine District Land Package to
Approximately 9,283 Hectares
Highlights:
The NAK Project land package has increased from approximately 1,632 hectares to
approximately 9,283 hectares, a roughly 470% increase, through the closing of the option
agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. and the Company's independent staking of
open ground in the Morrison area.
American Eagle now controls approximately 6,142 hectares, or roughly 62.5%, of the
9,834-hectare Morrison land package formerly held by Pacific Booker Minerals.
The optioned claims lie along trend from, and within 4.5 kilometres of, the NAK deposit,
with road access and nearby hydro transmission lines.
Prior work on the optioned ground has identified geophysical and geochemical
anomalies coincident with Babine Igneous Suite intrusive rocks, on ground that has seen
limited modern drilling. Target generation will apply the geological model developed
through more than 90,000 metres of drilling at NAK and run alongside the 55,000-metre
NAK drill program.
The transaction has closed and received conditional approval from the TSX Venture
Exchange, and remains subject to final approval. American Eagle is operator and pays no
operator fee during the earn-in period.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 27, 2026) - American Eagle Gold Corp. (TSXV: AE)
(OTCQB: AMEGF) ("American Eagle" or the "Company") announces that it has closed the previously
announced option agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSXV: EPL) (the "Agreement"), under
which American Eagle may earn up to an 80% interest in three claim groups adjoining its NAK copper-
gold porphyry project ("NAK" or the "NAK Project") in British Columbia's Babine Porphyry District,
approximately 70 kilometres northeast of Smithers. The transaction has received conditional approval
from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Together with the Company's independent staking of open ground in the broader Morrison area, the
closing increases the NAK Project land package from approximately 1,632 hectares to approximately
9,283 hectares, a roughly 470% increase. American Eagle now holds, or holds an option to earn an
interest in, approximately 6,142 hectares, or roughly 62.5%, of the 9,834-hectare Morrison land package
formerly held by Pacific Booker Minerals. This ground was first consolidated by Noranda following the
discovery of the Bell and Granisle deposits, and much of it has seen limited systematic exploration, as
historical work concentrated on the known deposits.
"Closing this agreement gives NAK a larger footprint in the Babine district," said Anthony Moreau, Chief
Executive Officer of American Eagle. "The drilling we have completed at NAK, more than 90,000 metres,
has shaped our understanding of how mineralized systems in this district are expressed in the geology
and geophysics. We applied that understanding across the district's available ground, and the claims we
have now consolidated were the best fit: the right intrusive rocks, coincident geophysical anomalies, and
very little drilling. With approximately $50 million in cash, we can advance this ground without slowing the
NAK program. Our focus remains discovery, first at NAK and now across the expanded land package."
View Map of Expanded NAK Project Land Package
Watch Video Discussing the Land Consolidation
View July 28, 2026 News Release Announcing the Option Agreement
Rationale for the Expansion
Drilling at NAK has shown that copper-gold mineralization begins at surface, extends to depth, and
occurs across a larger footprint than shallow historical drilling suggested, consistent with the district's
Bell, Granisle and Morrison deposits. The Company's work on the Babine Igneous Suite intrusions, their
alteration, and the geophysical expression of mineralized rocks at NAK forms the basis of a targeting
framework that the Company has applied to the expanded land package. The optioned ground fits that
framework, with geophysical anomalies coincident with prospective geology, and hosts the two
mineralization styles logged at NAK: stockwork porphyry copper-gold mineralization associated with
biotite-feldspar porphyry intrusions, and copper-gold breccia pipes of the type that form the core of the
nearby Hearne Hill deposit. Less than five kilometres from the NAK deposit, the ground could be
explored using the roads, camps, equipment and technical staff already in place at NAK.
Prior work on the optioned ground includes a 286 line-kilometre high-resolution airborne magnetic
survey, more than 32 line-kilometres of closely spaced soil sampling, and prospecting that returned
copper-mineralized rock samples. A second claim group farther south has returned gold-in-till with grain
morphology suggestive of a proximal bedrock source, and a float sample carrying copper and gold at
porphyry tenor. The Company's 2026-2027 program will begin with compilation of existing data and 3D
inversion of the magnetic data, integrated with its datasets from NAK, followed by infill soil sampling,
mapping, prospecting and ground geophysics across priority anomalies to define drill targets. This work
will be carried out alongside the 55,000-metre NAK drill program and is not expected to divert resources
from it.
The expanded NAK Project lies within the traditional territory of the Lake Babine Nation ("LBN"), where
American Eagle has operated since 2022 under an Exploration Agreement that has since been
expanded and updated three times. The expansion was undertaken with the knowledge and support of
the LBN and the Company's strategic investors, and the Company will engage with the LBN on
exploration plans across the expanded position.
Transaction Summary
In connection with the closing, the Company paid $20,000 in cash and issued 50,000 common shares to
the optionor. American Eagle may earn an initial 60% interest by completing $4,850,000 in exploration
expenditures, paying $400,000 in cash, and issuing 1,200,000 common shares, staged over six years
ending December 31, 2031. Obligations through the end of 2027 total $600,000 in expenditures,
$100,000 in cash and 200,000 shares. Timelines may be accelerated at the Company's discretion, and
the Company may increase its interest to 80% through a one-time payment of $1,000,000, up to half of
which may be paid in shares. Upon exercise of the initial option, the optionor will retain a 2.0% net
smelter return royalty, 1.0% of which may be repurchased for $2,500,000. American Eagle is operator
throughout and pays no operator fee during the earn-in period. The Agreement remains subject to final
approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
About American Eagle Gold Corp.
American Eagle is advancing the NAK copper-gold porphyry project and surrounding land package,
totalling approximately 9,283 hectares, in British Columbia's Babine Porphyry District. The Company
has approximately $50 million in cash and four cornerstone strategic shareholders. American Eagle is
currently conducting an approximately 55,000-metre drill program, expected to run through April 2027,
with three rigs operating continuously across the seasons. Approximately 80 drill holes are planned, with
the objective of expanding tonnage, extending known higher-grade zones and identifying new ones. The
Company is funded for multiple years from cash on hand, and the current program is designed to support
future technical studies on NAK.
Anthony Moreau, Chief Executive Officer
416.644.1567 |
|
www.americaneaglegold.ca
Q.P. Statement
Mark Bradley, B.Sc., M.Sc., a Certified Professional Geologist and an independent "qualified person"
for the purposes of NI 43-101, has verified and approved the technical information contained in this news
release. Certain technical information regarding the optioned claims is derived from the optionor's
disclosure and historical government records (MINFILE and ARIS) and has not been independently
verified by the Company. Mineralization on adjacent and nearby properties, including the Hearne Hill,
Morrison, Bell and Granisle deposits, is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Company's
properties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking
statements"). All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and
are frequently identified by words such as "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "believes,"
"estimates," "targets," "potential," "will," "may," and "could." Forward-looking statements in this news
release include, without limitation, statements regarding: the anticipated benefits of the expanded NAK
Project land package; the completion of the exploration expenditures, cash payments and share
issuances required under the Agreement; the Company's ability to earn a 60% interest and, at its
election, an 80% interest in the optioned claims; receipt of final TSX Venture Exchange approval; the
exploration potential of the optioned and staked ground and the Company's plans to define drill targets
on it; the potential for operating synergies with NAK; the scope, timing and completion of the Company's
approximately 55,000-metre, approximately 80-hole drill program at NAK and its anticipated
continuation through April 2027; the sufficiency of the Company's funding; continued engagement with
the Lake Babine Nation; and the Company's intention to advance NAK toward future technical studies.
Forward-looking statements reflect management's expectations as at the date of this news release and
are based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable, including that the Company will
have the financial resources to meet its obligations under the Agreement; that exploration on the
optioned and staked ground can be carried out as planned; that the geological interpretation of the
Babine Porphyry District is materially correct; and that fieldwork, permits, land access, funding and
stakeholder relationships, including with the Lake Babine Nation, continue without material interruption.
Actual results may differ materially. In particular, the Company is under no obligation to complete the
earn-in and may elect not to do so; the Company's interest in the optioned claims is contingent on
satisfying the terms of the Agreement; no mineral resource or mineral reserve has been estimated on the
optioned or staked ground and any mineralization identified to date may never be shown to be
economic; technical information regarding the optioned claims is derived from the optionor's disclosure
and from historical government records and has not been independently verified by the Company;
mineralization on adjacent or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the
Company's properties; and the Company remains subject to the risks inherent in mineral exploration,
including permitting, environmental, community and Indigenous engagement, weather and wildfire,
contractor and equipment availability, metal price volatility, and its ability to raise additional financing, as
more fully described in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ at
www.sedarplus.ca
.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as
at the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them except
as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/311697