Solitario Resources Corp. (NYSE American: XPL; TSX: SLR) has reported a significant high-grade silver discovery at its Golden Crest project in South Dakota, marking a major milestone in the Wheat Ridge company’s 2025 exploration season.
The standout result came from drill hole GC-012, which intersected 1,445 grams per tonne (46.5 ounces) of silver over 1.2 meters. According to Solitario, the intercept represents a previously unrecognized style of precious metal mineralization in the region — unlike that found in the historic Homestake and Wharf mining areas.
“We were surprised to intersect this very high-grade silver intercept in GC-012,” said Chris Herald, Solitario’s president and CEO. “The mineralized core interval, although clay-altered, was not visually that impressive to host such high-grade mineralization. We are reviewing adjacent core holes to sample potentially similar mineralization.”
This discovery wraps up Phase 1 of Solitario’s 2025 drilling campaign, which totaled 18 holes and 7,000 meters drilled. Seven of the first 15 holes returned significant mineralization. Drill holes GC-012X and GC-013 also showed encouraging gold values and pathfinder elements.
As the company awaits U.S. Forest Service approval for Phase 2 permits, Solitario is launching a gravity survey across the Ponderosa area and other targets within Golden Crest. Phase 2 drilling, expected to begin in late October, will focus on the Ponderosa side of the property — home to the project’s strongest surface gold signatures to date. The upcoming program includes more than 40 permitted drill sites.
Golden Crest is 100% owned by Solitario and sits on the western and southwestern extensions of the Homestake-Wharf district, which has historically produced more than 52 million ounces of gold.
