Vanderbilt Report: Why Oregon Just Became a Serious Gold Jurisdiction

BRISTOL, TN / ACCESS Newswire / November 5, 2025 / Most gold discoveries today happen deeper and cost more to find.

The industry spent two decades drilling further down, watching discovery costs double from $27 per ounce to $62 per ounce while near-surface, high-grade targets became increasingly rare. Then Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) drilled hole ED29 at their Eldorado Project in eastern Oregon and found exactly what the market has been searching for.

They hit 20.33 g/t gold over 4.57 meters within a massive 254.51-meter intercept that started at surface and ended in mineralization.

This changes the Oregon narrative.

The Technical Significance

We analyzed the November 5, 2025 press release data, and three elements stand out immediately.

First, the grade. Anything above 5 g/t qualifies as high-grade in modern gold exploration, making the 20.33 g/t intersection exceptional by industry standards. But the discovery's real value lies in its context: this high-grade zone sits within a much larger mineralized envelope showing 5.94 g/t over 19.81 meters, which itself sits within the 254.51-meter near-surface intercept averaging 1.56 g/t.

That's bulk-tonnage potential with high-grade zones embedded within it.

Second, the geometry. Hole ED29 represents a 50-meter step-out south from previous drilling (ED27), and the mineralization strengthened rather than weakened. Company Chairman Rauno Perttu described ED29 as a "pivotal hole" indicating the gold system may be strengthening into unexplored regions. The company's geological model now suggests they've identified a feeder system, the structural plumbing that delivers mineralized fluids to create gold deposits.

Feeder systems matter because they indicate source rather than peripheral mineralization.

Third, the open-ended nature. Every mineralized zone at Eldorado West remains open in all directions. The 254.51-meter intercept ended in mineralization, meaning the drill stopped before the gold did. Historical drilling on the property averaged only 90-100 meters depth, leaving most of the system virtually untested. Provenance's modern drilling has now identified strong mineralization extending beyond 300 meters in areas where previous explorers barely scratched the surface.

The Jurisdictional Shift

Eastern Oregon wasn't supposed to be a gold play.

Mining companies actively avoided Oregon for years due to regulatory misperceptions that made the state seem hostile to development. But that narrative is shifting dramatically. With gold prices hitting all-time highs in 2025 and global demand rising, the region is attracting renewed investor interest. Provenance Gold is positioned ahead of the curve as other junior exploration companies begin entering the region.

The Eldorado Project benefits from established infrastructure, located just 35 km from Paramount Gold's Grassy Mountain project, which was included under the FAST-41 federal permitting initiative. This proximity to approved projects and mining-supportive local government significantly de-risks the permitting pathway. The region's high desert location offers year-round accessibility and established mining service networks.

Provenance is also using PhotonAssay™ technology for analysis, a significant competitive advantage. This advanced method analyzes 400-500g samples versus traditional 25-50g fire assay samples, delivering results in minutes rather than days with 97% or better correlation to traditional methods. Major producers including Barrick Gold and Newmont have adopted this technology, validating its effectiveness for resource estimation accuracy.

The Market Context

The timing matters because the gold industry faces a critical discovery deficit.

Over the last two decades, the sector discovered an average of 129 million ounces annually, yet discovery costs have doubled as ore grades decline and drilling requirements push deeper. Large new gold discoveries are increasingly rare, with most near-surface, high-grade targets exhausted years ago. Only 60-70% of gold found is ultimately extracted, making economic discoveries even more valuable.

Provenance's near-surface discovery with mineralization extending beyond historical depths positions the company favorably against this industry-wide trend.

The company has what others are struggling to find.

The property's 241 historical drill holes and over 21,866 meters of past drilling provide a substantial foundation, but that historical work averaged shallow depths and used older analytical methods. The historical resource estimate of 1.98 million ounces at 0.75 g/t gold could be substantially understated with modern, deeper drilling techniques. Provenance's recent results suggest exactly that scenario.

What Investors Should Monitor

Current exploration activities include ongoing drilling with assays pending from 7 RC holes in the Tyee and Herman Areas, plus 3 diamond core holes focused on extending mineralization southward.

These core holes will provide critical information about geological controls and structural details. The company is simultaneously permitting new drill sites at both Eldorado West and Eldorado East for expanded exploration in 2026, indicating a long-term commitment to developing the property's potential rather than a quick flip strategy.

This signals conviction in the asset's long-term value.

The geological model now suggests mineralization extends much further than previously thought, particularly to the south and southwest of the Herman Area. These regions were overlooked in historical exploration due to minimal surface bedrock exposures, a common oversight that modern geophysics and geochemistry can now overcome.

Historical placer gold mining nearby supports the presence of a significant source deposit, and Provenance's systematic approach is methodically testing that hypothesis.

The Bigger Picture

We're watching a convergence of favorable factors: a jurisdiction shedding its regulatory stigma, advanced analytical technology improving resource confidence, and a discovery in exactly the geological setting the industry needs but rarely finds anymore.

Near-surface, high-grade gold in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with established infrastructure.

The discovery's open-ended nature in all directions creates multiple catalysts for ongoing value creation. Each new drill hole has the potential to expand the known system rather than simply define its boundaries. That's the difference between a contained deposit and a district-scale opportunity.

Provenance's methodical expansion approach, coupled with comprehensive QA/QC procedures and advanced testing methods, demonstrates a technically sound exploration strategy. The company isn't hyping speculative targets; they're systematically following mineralization where it leads using modern tools that provide higher confidence in results.

For investors tracking junior gold exploration, the Eldorado Project represents the kind of discovery the market rewards: technical merit, jurisdictional advantage, and expansion potential backed by solid data. The pending assays from ongoing drilling will provide the next data points to assess whether ED29 represents an isolated high-grade shoot or the edge of something substantially larger.

The market will be watching those results closely.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious-metals exploration company advancing gold and silver projects across North America.
Its flagship Eldorado Project is located in eastern Oregon, supported by a growing portfolio of targets in Nevada and Oregon.

The company trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: PAU) and the OTCQB (PVGDF).

About Vanderbilt Report

Vanderbilt Report is a financial news and content platform. The information contained in this release is for informational purposes only and should not be considered an offer to buy or sell securities. All material is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind.