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Independent Prospect Generator has 1 Million Oz Gold in Resources in Great Basin USA After Recent Project Acquisition

Hightest Resources

Mr. Wade Johnston reports:

Privately-owned prospect generator Hightest Resources LLC recently closed a transaction to acquire 100% ownership of the Iron Butte gold project on the Battle Mountain Trend in Lander County, Nevada. This pushes the company's inventory of non-compliant resources to one million ounces of gold between two properties. Hightest is now seeking to farm-out these and all of its available properties to a well-funded company capable of advancing them toward discovery. The available portfolio currently comprises eight precious metals projects and one copper-gold project in the Great Basin and one available uranium project in the Four Corners area. This doesn't include Hightest's properties and royalties currently in agreements.

RENO, NEVADA / ACCESS Newswire / September 9, 2025 / Hightest Resources

Iron Butte (gold)
Located near the Cortez District on the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend in Nevada. The latest resource calculation was in 2010 and totaled 606,186 Oz Au at an average grade of 0.617 g/t Au ¹. This resource represents a historic estimate by NI43-101 standards. Over half of those ounces are in oxide material, and the oxide is slightly higher grade, at 0.664 g/t Au. The gold in the oxide material is highly leachable, with cyanide tests yielding 95-100% gold recoveries. Silver content was not included in that resource calculation but prior calculations indicate the presence of over 10 Moz silver ¹³. The deposit and, importantly, the higher-grade > 0.5 g/t Au portion of the deposit, occur at surface and near surface. The project has 215 historic drillholes. Hightest has all of the historic data.

Gold mineralization is hosted by Late Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and Tertiary rhyolite. During the Sonoma Orogeny, this sedimentary sequence was transported into place by the Golconda Thrust Fault, a tectonic/structural feature closely associated with many gold deposits in Nevada and occurring at a shallow depth here ² . Another major structural feature is the property's location near the ring-fractured margin of the Caetano Caldera, in a similar position to the Cortez District which is located nearby on the east side of the Shoshone Range and has a total gold endowment of ~65 million ounces.

• Highlight intercepts at Iron Butte include ^1,7 :

  • 55m @ 1.13 g/t Au

  • 34m @ 1.80 g/t Au (hole terminated in mineralization)

  • 94.5m @ 0.81 g/t Au

  • 98m @ 0.70 g/t Au (hole terminated in mineralization)

  • 72m @ 0.68 g/t Au (hole terminated in mineralization)

  • 49m @ 0.83 g/t Au (hole terminated in mineralization)

  • Road-cut samples of 32m @ 1.42 g/t Au and 24.4m @ 1.15 g/t Au

The potential exists to expand the resource in various areas along strike of known mineralized structures and in areas with highly anomalous surface samples that have not been drill tested yet. Additionally, beneath the Golconda Thrust there are carbonate and clastic rocks that are recognized as being favorable host units for Carlin-type gold systems. One of the only drillholes to intersect these deeper units was one of the last holes drilled here and it contained the highest-grade gold value ever intersected on the property, 13.5 g/t Au. The project has a modern 43-101 technical report and it is located on BLM-administered land, favorable for ease of permitting. Iron Butte - Hightest Resources

Hope Butte (gold)
Hightest's other major resource is the Hope Butte project in Malheur County, Oregon. Hope Butte hosts a non-compliant resource of 388,000 oz at an average grade of 0.529 g/t Au, or 275,000 oz @ 0.777 g/t Au ³. The resource is shallow and outcropping, with strip ratios near 1:1. It is predominantly oxidized and bottle roll tests have demonstrated cyanide gold recoveries of 92% for the higher-grade materials. But the real potential at Hope Butte lies in discovering a high-grade vein system within the feeder fault system underlying the resource area.

While the focus of the historic work in the 1980's was on the shallow resource, a few drillholes were angled across a feeder fault system, with intercepts of 4.57m @ 32.3 g/t Au (with visible gold), 3.05m @ 9.6 g/t Au (hole was terminated in this zone), and 3.05m @ 11.3 g/t Au ³ over 355 meters of strike on the fault zone. Very little other drilling of the structure occurred and none went to depths typical of ore horizons in well-preserved low-sulfidation epithermal systems (LSE) such as this. An expert on epithermal deposits who visited Hope Butte on behalf of Hightest expects that the top of this vein system should be ~150m below the surface ⁴ . The historic high-grade intercepts cited above occurred at only ~80m below the surface.

Additionally, while the historic resource occurs in a lacustrine sandstone, there is a rhyolite at the deeper and more prospective depths. This unit is expected to form a better host rock and one more typical of LSE deposits. No geophysics have been performed here but the host fault zone and the upper contact of the rhyolite should be easily-detected features. Hightest has most of the historic data for Hope Butte but the historic drill data is incomplete.

Hope Butte has a lot of similarities to the other high-grade LSE gold deposits associated with the Northern Nevada Rift (NNR) fault system that are abundant in the region, such as Sleeper, Midas, Fire Creek and Ivanhoe. These similarities include an association with bi-modal suites of rhyolite and basalt of Mid-Miocene age, high grades, and historic mercury mining.

The nearby Grassy Mountain gold mine is advancing quickly toward final mine permits to begin construction. This summer it was included in the Federal Government's FAST-41 program whose goal is to fast track permitting for infrastructure projects ⁵ , where it was the first and only gold development project in the program for the first few months after it was initiated. Permitting success at Grassy Mountain will be a boon for exploration activity in Oregon. Hope Butte is in proximity to a number of other projects that have experienced exploration success lately, including Hercules Metals' Leviathan porphyry discovery, Provenance Gold's Eldorado and Integra's DeLamar. Hope Butte is located on BLM land. Hope Butte - Hightest Resources

Earlier-Stage Projects

Bell (gold)
Located on the Carlin Trend, this property hosts a non-compliant 34,720 ounce gold resource at 0.96 g/t Au ⁶. It is located at the surface. Hosted in jasperoids developed in Cambrian limestone. Other nearby exploration targets have been mapped and sampled but have not yet been drilled. The project is located on US Forest Service (USFS) land in proximity to a major active mine. Bell - Hightest Resources

Big Lime (gold)
A prominent normal fault cuts Cambrian stratigraphy with gold in jasperoids and rhyolite. Gold values and alteration extend well beyond the main fault into secondary structures. Tertiary rhyolite dikes intrude the fault zones. Gold-in-rock values of 0.5 - 2+ g/t are common. This is the same stratigraphy and geologic setting as a prominent past-producing gold mine 5 km away that had an average grade of 0.8 ounces per ton gold. It has been lightly worked in the past, with approximately 5 drillholes. The main structure has not been drill-tested. The project is located on BLM land. Big Lime - Hightest Resources

ATP (gold)
A significant past-producing mercury mining district in rocks overlying the Golconda Thrust and in proximity to the Getchell Trend (~55 Moz historic production and ~20 Moz of modern resources and reserves). Host rocks are pervasively faulted, fractured and folded, with quartz veining, argillic alteration and decalcification. Highly anomalous surface geochemistry occurs over a 2.5 km² area. A few holes have been drilled, with intersections including 6.1 meters @ 0.583 g/t Au, 25.9m @ 0.133 g/t Au, and three intercepts of 1.56 - 3.12m @ 3.8 - 4.2 g/t Au ⁸. The gold and trace element values vector toward a range front fault, similar to the structural control at Getchell. Geophysics have since revealed this fault to be a resistive body that coincides with silicification ⁸. This fault has not been drill tested. The project is located on BLM land in proximity to another company's project with an on-going discovery. ATP - Hightest Resources

BB (gold and copper)
This is one of the largest breccia bodies in Nevada. Hightest discovered this while following up on a stream sediment anomaly from a regional program we conducted. Collection of the initial few rock samples returned up to 3.3 g/t Au and some overlimits of > 1% copper. The breccia has a surface exposure of 1067 x 305 meters. Erosion of a small canyon reveals strong vertical zonation with surface gold values increasing with depth. A historic dataset was acquired that contains a private report from 1999 stating that "a slice through this breccia body at the 6400 to 5900' elevation would host on the order of 100,000,000 tons of potentially mineralized rock. The fact that high grade gold mineralization is presently cropping out at and below the 6400' elevation suggests a strong possibility for the presence of large gold orebodies at a shallow depth." ¹⁴ Subsequent to this report, two holes were drilled for a total of 335 m. Only one hole has assay data available, it returned 606 ppb Au over 10.7 meters. Other than that, it remains untested by drilling. BB - Hightest Resources

Horseheaven (gold)
This is an off-trend, sediment-hosted, Carlin-type system in Nevada which is hosted by Cambrian limestone and shale exposed in an erosional window underneath thin volcanic cover. The window occurs intermittently over an area 4.5 km long and 400 - 1300 m wide. Broad anomalies center on jasperiods up to 900 x 150 m, with gold-in-rock values averaging 0.819 g/t. 40 holes were drilled to depths of 39 - 195 m, with most < 100 m. Highlights include 39.6m @ 0.79 g/t Au, 13.7m @ 1.2 g/t Au and 35.1m @ 0.42 g/t Au, and 15.2m @ 0.45 g/t Au ⁶ . Outside of this, the property has received little work. It is located on BLM land. Horseheaven - Hightest Resources

Tut (gold)
This is a volcanic-hosted high-sulfidation epithermal (HSE) system on some of the most highly altered ground in Nevada. HSE systems are an exotic occurrence in the Nevada, with only seven known examples in the State; over half of those are active mines or past-producers with 2+ g/t Au grades. Tut is part of a larger alteration cell where three major miners have early-stage exploration projects within the cell, along with one active mine, and a separate significant exploration project with some of the highest grade-thickness (grams x meters) values in drill intercepts that Nevada has produced in recent years. The alteration includes abundant gypsum, vuggy silica, iron-oxide breccias, silica flooding, and oxidized sulfide veinlets. Limited rock chip and channel sampling includes 24.4m @ 3.39 g/t Au, 20m @ 1.38 g/t Au, 12.2m @ 1.13 g/t Au and 23.1m @ 0.49 g/t Au ⁹ . Nine shallow vertical rotary holes were drilled by a prior operator before this surface sampling, with 6 holes encountering zones up to 21.3m wide grading up to 1.3 g/t Au; highlights include 19.8m @ 0.56 g/t Au and 6.1m @ 0.75 g/t Au ⁹ . Misinterpretation of the dip of mineralized structures and the existence of an in-lier mining claim of separate ownership were reported to hinder the drilling. Cutting a 3 mile road would be required to get a drill in. It is located on US Forest Service (USFS) lands which is viewed unfavorably by some in the exploration community for having longer permitting timelines, although under the current administration, the USFS is under a mandate to prioritize mineral projects and expedite permitting. Tut - Hightest Resources

Rose Mine (silver)
A Carbonate-Replacement Deposit (CRD) system and past silver producer in the Eureka District adjacent to I80's Ruby Hill (10 Moz total gold endowment, 198 Moz Ag in resources) and the Timberline/Windfall Project (acquired by McEwen Mining in 2024). The average silver-in-rock value is 6 ounces per ton in a rock sample population of 79 ¹⁰ . Jasperoids occur along favorable beds within Devonian stratigraphy and steeply dipping structures. This opportunity was identified for Hightest by a prolific prospect generator with multiple discoveries to his credit who held these claims as his last property remaining before his retirement. Historic drilling was widely-spaced and didn't focus on what is now believed to be the core area, but it does include an intercept of 44m @ 0.26 g/t Au and 3.0 g/t Ag ¹⁰. Robust dataset available. The project is located on BLM land. Rose Mine - Hightest Resources

Ralop Hill (uranium)
Located on the Utah side of the Uravan Mineral Belt in a past-producing district with over 1M lbs uranium and over 4 M lbs vanadium historic production. Mineralization is hosted by the prolific Salt Wash Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation. The Morrison has yielded more uranium production than any other geologic unit in the US, estimated at 420,000,000 pounds U3O8 ¹¹ . Here, the Salt Wash Member occurs at relatively shallow depths less than 100 feet (personal comm. with the mining family who worked here), and tends to be just over 300 feet thick. Grades average 0.31% U3O8 and 1.2% V2O5 ¹² . Historic data indicates the presence of a small non-compliant historic resource. No modern exploration has occurred. It is located on BLM land. Ralop Hill - Hightest Resources

Qualified Person
Wade Johnston, CPG, owner and manager of Hightest Resources LLC, is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and JORC Code and has approved the scientific and technical information related to Hightest Resources in this news release.

About Hightest Resources LLC
Hightest Resources is a privately-owned prospect generator and a sole proprietorship owned and operated by Nevada-based Certified Professional Geologist Wade Johnston. Hightest is devoted to identifying and acquiring mineral rights to prospective mineral properties in the Western US. We rely on our long and varied experience in mineral exploration, through which we've gained the technical geologic expertise, knowledge of the districts, companies, exploration history, and a knowledge of the mining laws that govern the industry. Additionally, we have an extensive database that has been curated by purchasing multiple historic proprietary datasets. These assets help us identify areas that have potential but haven't received the attention that they warrant. We compile all the historic data and work to synthesize that data into a complete understanding of the project, and add value where needed. We lease or sell our projects to well-funded miners and explorers to advance them to discovery.

For further information please contact:

Wade Johnston Owner and Manager Phone: 1(970)903-6696 Email: [email protected] Website: hightestresources.com

Hightest Resources LLC PO Box 40532 Reno, NV 89510 USA

1. Kikauka, A.A., Ronacher, E., Lee, F., 2011, Independent technical report, Iron Butte Property, Nevada, USA; consultant report from Caracle Creek International Consulting, Inc. for Alpaca Resources Inc. and Sagittarius Capital Corp.

2. Moore, T.E., Murchey, B.L., Harris, A.G., 2000, Significance of geologic and biostratigraphic relations between the overlap assemblage and Havallah sequence, southern Shoshone Range, Nevada; U.S. Geological Survey, Geology and Ore Deposits 2000: The Great Basin and Beyond, Proceedings Volume 1

3. Dunn, F.G., 1989, Hope Butte Project Malheur County Oregon; Chevron.

4. Baker, E. Max, 2021, Hope Butte- Field Inspection and Data Review; private report.

5. Goldman, Rachel, 2025, Grassy Mountain Gold Project Selected For US Government Fast-41 Program; https://paramountnevada.com/PageBuilder/2025-05-05

6. Gray, Matthew, 2010, Summary Report on the Nevada Gold Project Portfolio Prepared for Bridgeport Ventures Inc; internal report.

7. Coleman, Ken, 2022, Final Drilling Report, Iron Butte Project, Nevada; Angold Resources.

8. Percival, Timothy J., Summary Report on the ATP (alias used for confidentiality) Property, Nevada; private report.

9. Unknown author, 2007, Tut (alias used for confidentiality) Property, Nevada; private report

10. Struhsacker, Eric M., Bedell, Richard., 2013-2018, untitled interval reports and presentations; Renaissance Gold

11. Chenoweth, William L., 1998, Uranium Mining in the Morrison Formation; Modern Geology, 1998, Vol. 23, pg 427-439.

12. Gloyn, Robert W., Krahulec, Ken, 2004, Uranium Potential in Utah; Utah Geologic Survey.

13. Knight, David, 2018, Iron Butte Property Summary; private report.

14. McCullar, M., 1999, Report on the Geology and Mineral Potential of BB (alias used for confidentiality) Canyon, Nevada; private report.

SOURCE: Hightest Resources

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire