'Boots on the Ground' at Silicon Unlocked PDAC's Discovery of the Year

AngloGold Ashanti, Renaissance Gold, and Callinan Royalties received the Thayer Lindsley Award at PDAC 2026 for the Silicon and Merlin discovery.

The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada honored the team behind the Silicon and Merlin gold-silver discovery with its prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award at the PDAC 2026 Convention in Toronto on March 3. AngloGold Ashanti, Renaissance Gold, and Callinan Royalties accepted the award for what PDAC called "one of the most significant greenfield gold discoveries in the United States in over a decade."

The discovery story begins in 2014 with old-fashioned field work. Renaissance and Callinan initiated target generation using satellite remote sensing, but it was reconnaissance mapping on the ground that identified an extensive alteration zone with silicified structures and mercury at surface. Strategic land acquisitions followed, including critical claims secured upon the December 2015 lapse of a Yucca Mountain withdrawal that opened ground that would later host Silicon.

AngloGold Ashanti optioned into the project in 2017. After detailed mapping identified a fluid upflow zone, the company launched a 2018 drilling program. Despite early challenges, the second hole returned a discovery intercept of 79 meters at 1.76 grams per ton gold and 79.6 grams per ton silver. Systematic drilling along favorable structures revealed the scale potential.

The Merlin discovery followed shortly after. Drilling between late 2020 and early 2021 confirmed mineralization initially discovered by Coeur Mining and Corvus Gold, recognizing a major new mineralized system. As of year-end 2024, the expanded Arthur Gold Project hosts indicated mineral resources of 3.4 million ounces at 0.87 grams per ton gold and inferred resources of 12.9 million ounces at 1.03 grams per ton gold, positioning it as a multi-decade mining district.

PDAC President Karen Rees noted that the 2026 recipients "demonstrate how passion and teamwork can turn ideas into achievement." The discovery has catalyzed substantial value creation, with royalty transactions exceeding C$900 million in aggregate valuation. AngloGold Ashanti has moved the Arthur Project into prefeasibility.