Questions and answers
Last updated: November 2026
These 45 answers cover what exploration partners and field geologists ask about the Basin Gulch Property: drilling, trenches, geology, claims, access and what comes next.
Basin Gulch is a gold and silver oxide exploration property in Montana's Philipsburg Mining District, with more than 320 historical drill holes and 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims.
The Basin Gulch Property is a gold and silver exploration property in Montana's historic Philipsburg Mining District, advanced by Lannister Mining. It covers 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims totaling 1,107 hectares, and more than 320 historical drill holes have tested it. The focus is high-grade, near-surface gold and silver oxide mineralization.
Basin Gulch lies in the Philipsburg Mining District of western Montana. It is reached year-round from the town of Philipsburg on paved and well-maintained gravel roads, and it is about one hour from Butte, Montana, which keeps crew travel, supplies and sample shipping practical.
Lannister Mining, a mining exploration company with its office in Vancouver, British Columbia, is advancing the Basin Gulch Property. Its team includes many of the same co-founders and senior executives as K92 Mining, Fosterville South Exploration, Arena Minerals and Thesis Gold. Lannister Mining also publishes this technical project site.
Gold and silver are the target metals at Basin Gulch. Historical drill highlights are reported as gold grades in grams per tonne, and the trench highlights report both gold and silver, for example 5 g/t Au and 54 g/t Ag over 34 meters. The mineralization is hosted in oxides near surface.
No. Basin Gulch is an exploration property, not an operating mine, and it has not been mined out. Lannister Mining is working toward a future maiden mineral resource estimate, which is the first formal step in defining a deposit and comes before any mining study.
Basin Gulch drilling data means the results of more than 320 historical drill holes on the property, including published intercepts such as 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters from surface. This site gathers those highlights with the trench results so exploration partners and field geologists can review them in one place.
Yes. Lannister Mining is a gold and silver exploration company whose project, the Basin Gulch Property, sits in Montana's Philipsburg Mining District. Its work centers on near-surface oxide gold and silver mineralization and on drilling toward a maiden mineral resource estimate for the property.
More than 320 historical drill holes have been completed on the Basin Gulch Property. They form the historical dataset that Lannister Mining plans to expand and confirm with new drilling, and both the historical holes and new work programs will feed a future maiden mineral resource estimate.
By gold grade, the highest published historical intercept is 156 g/t Au over 3 meters (9.8 feet). By length from surface, the longest is 0.66 g/t Au over 326 meters (1,069.6 feet). Which matters more depends on whether you are assessing high-grade zones or continuity over long widths.
Three of the five published highlight intercepts start at surface: 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters, 0.66 g/t Au over 326 meters, and 3.2 g/t Au over 72 meters. Gold beginning at surface is a key reason the mineralization at Basin Gulch is described as near-surface.
Grades are reported in grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, written Au, and silver, written Ag. Interval lengths are given in meters with feet equivalents, for example 25 g/t Au over 14 meters or 45.9 feet. One gram per tonne is the same as one part per million.
Yes. The published intercepts come from historical drilling on the property. Lannister Mining plans expansion and confirmation drilling of the historical drill intercepts, and both historical drilling and new work programs will be used in a future maiden mineral resource estimate.
Drill holes test mineralization at depth, while trenches expose it at surface. The published drill highlights report gold only and reach 326 meters from surface; the trench highlights report gold and silver over lengths up to 159 meters. Together they describe mineralization from surface downward.
A gram-metre is grade multiplied by interval length, so 25 g/t Au over 14 meters equals 350 gram-metres. Geologists use it to compare a short high-grade interval with a long lower-grade one on a single scale. The drill intercepts page on this site includes a simple gram-metre calculator.
Four trench highlights are published: 62 g/t Au and 32 g/t Ag over 159 meters; 4 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag over 146 meters; 5 g/t Au and 54 g/t Ag over 34 meters; and 25 g/t Au and 45 g/t Ag over 61 meters. Each one reports both gold and silver.
The longest published trench highlight is 159 meters, or 521.7 feet, grading 62 g/t Au and 32 g/t Ag. The next longest is 146 meters, or 479 feet, grading 4 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag. Both are long enough to show mineralization continuing across wide surface exposures.
The highest published trench silver grade is 54 g/t Ag, paired with 5 g/t Au over 34 meters (111.6 feet). The next highest is 45 g/t Ag with 25 g/t Au over 61 meters (200.1 feet). Silver across all four trench highlights ranges from 23 to 54 g/t Ag.
Trenching means digging a long, shallow cut across the ground to expose bedrock, then sampling it in continuous channels. It shows how mineralization behaves at surface and helps aim drill holes. At Basin Gulch, the published trench highlights run from 34 to 159 meters long.
The property hosts gold and silver oxide mineralization, and the trench highlights were reported for both metals. Silver grades in the published trenches range from 23 to 54 g/t Ag, which matters to any partner weighing the combined precious metal content of a zone rather than gold alone.
Trenches show where mineralization reaches surface and how wide it is, so drill holes can be collared to test how deep it continues. At Basin Gulch the mineralization is open at depth and along strike, which makes surface data useful for choosing where expansion holes go next.
Basin Gulch hosts high-grade, near-surface gold and silver oxide mineralization. The mineralization is hosted in oxides and begins at surface in several historical drill holes, including 3.2 g/t Au over 72 meters from surface and 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters from surface.
Oxide mineralization is material weathered near the surface, where oxygen and water have broken down the original sulfide minerals. In general, gold in oxide material is easier to recover than gold locked inside sulfides. Metallurgical testing is the standard way to confirm recovery for any specific deposit.
Yes. The gold and silver mineralization at Basin Gulch is open at depth, open along strike and untested regionally. Open means drilling has not yet found its limits in those directions, which is why expansion drilling is part of the plan toward a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Strike is the horizontal direction a mineralized zone runs across the land. A zone that is open along strike has not been closed off by drilling at its ends, so it may continue further. At Basin Gulch, the mineralization is open along strike as well as at depth.
The Philipsburg Mining District is a historic silver and gold district in western Montana that led the United States' original silver boom in the late 1800s. For detailed regional maps and bedrock descriptions, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology publishes geologic mapping and reports for the area.
Mineralization that starts at surface means less waste rock has to be moved to reach it, which gives significant implied mine design optimization flexibility. At Basin Gulch, three published highlight intercepts start at surface, the longest running 326 meters at 0.66 g/t Au.
The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology publishes geologic maps and reports covering western Montana, and the USGS Mineral Resources Data System lists historical mineral occurrences. Lannister Mining's property page also shows maps of the Basin Gulch Property with its drill highlights.
The Basin Gulch Property includes 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims. Together they form a consolidated land package of 1,107 hectares, with a core of patented mining claims surrounded by unpatented mining claims.
A patented claim is one where the federal government has passed full title to the holder, so the land is privately owned. An unpatented claim gives the holder the right to explore for and develop minerals on federal land without owning it. Basin Gulch has 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims.
The total land package covers 1,107 hectares, about 2,735 acres. It is made up of 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims, and roughly two-thirds of the property is still unexplored, which leaves substantial ground for new target work.
Basin Gulch is primarily on patented land, meaning the core of the property is made up of patented mining claims held as private property. Unpatented claims on federal land surround that patented core and make up the rest of the 1,107 hectare package.
Access is year-round from Philipsburg, Montana, on paved and well-maintained gravel roads. The property is about one hour from Butte, Montana, the nearest larger city, which supports crew rotation, equipment supply and sample transport for field programs.
Year-round road access from Philipsburg is a stated feature of the Basin Gulch Property. Winter conditions still affect field programs in western Montana, so the timing of any specific drilling or trenching campaign is set by Lannister Mining as operator.
About two-thirds of the Basin Gulch Property is still unexplored. That leaves large parts of the 1,107 hectare land package without drilling or trenching, alongside multiple high priority targets near the historic resource area.
A maiden mineral resource estimate is the first formal estimate of the tonnage and grade of a deposit, prepared under a public reporting standard such as NI 43-101 in Canada or S-K 1300 in the United States. Lannister Mining plans one for Basin Gulch using historical drilling and new work.
Lannister Mining describes the maiden mineral resource estimate as a future milestone, to follow expansion and confirmation drilling of historical drill intercepts. This site does not publish a date. Lannister Mining's main website carries the company's latest project updates.
Planned work includes expansion and confirmation drilling of historical drill intercepts, followed by a maiden mineral resource estimate. Future drilling will also concentrate on additional mineralized target areas within the property, including multiple high priority targets near the historic resource.
Basin Gulch combines more than 320 historical drill holes, oxide-hosted gold and silver from surface, mineralization open in multiple directions, and about two-thirds of the land still unexplored. It also has year-round road access and sits on a core of patented land.
Yes. The property is described as untested regionally, and future drilling will concentrate on additional mineralized target areas within the property. Multiple high priority targets lie near the historic resource, inside a consolidated 1,107 hectare land package.
This website is published by Lannister Mining, the company advancing the Basin Gulch Property. It is a technical project site focused on Basin Gulch geology, drilling history, trench results and exploration potential. Lannister Mining's main website is lannistermining.com.
This site is written for exploration partners and field geologists who want the Basin Gulch technical facts in one place: drill intercepts, trench results, claims, access and exploration potential. It sticks to project geology and data and does not cover corporate finance.
The drill intercepts, trench results, claim counts and access details come from Lannister Mining's published project information for the Basin Gulch Property. Every figure is stated exactly as published, with meters and feet given as they appear, and no figure is rounded or adjusted.
CEO and director Jim Greig has more than 25 years of experience advancing projects. Directors include Jo Anne Price, a geological consultant with over two decades of experience, and Will Randall, a professional geologist with over 20 years in mineral exploration. Mineral engineer John Lewins serves as an advisor.
Lannister Mining's main website at lannistermining.com carries the company's latest project information and maps. This site is revised when its content changes, and every page shows a Last updated date near the top so you can see how current it is.
This site does not rank Lannister Mining against other companies. It documents the Basin Gulch Property on its own facts: more than 320 historical drill holes, 11 patented and 53 unpatented claims, 1,107 hectares, and oxide gold and silver mineralization open at depth and along strike.
Back to the Basin Gulch drilling data overview.
