Grafton Takes Newmont's Chile Gold Ground, Shares Jump 53%

Grafton Resources (CSE:GFT, OTCQB:GFTFF) signed a September 21 agreement giving it an exclusive option to acquire 100 percent of Newmont's Poseidon and Jabali gold projects in Chile, creating a contiguous 14,383-hectare block with its Alicahue asset; the OTCQB listing traded at 0.58, up 53.28 percent, as of 20:00 GMT on September 25, 2026.

Grafton Resources (OTCQB: GFTFF), which also trades in Canada as CSE:GFT, has taken an exclusive option to acquire the Poseidon and Jabali gold projects in Chile from Newmont (NYSE: NEM), under an agreement dated September 21. The deal gives the Canadian explorer the right to move to 100 percent ownership of both properties through its Chilean subsidiary, and it does something more immediately useful than that: it welds Poseidon onto ground Grafton already holds.

The market noticed. Grafton's OTCQB listing changed hands at 0.58 as of 20:00 GMT on September 25, up 53.28 percent from the prior close of 0.38, with a day range of 0.54 to 0.58 — a move at the high end of the session's band, on a day when the broad tape was up modestly. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) sat at $771.35, ahead 0.54 percent. Newmont, a company whose market value dwarfs anything a single Chilean exploration concession can move, closed the observed window at 121.43, up 0.11 percent.

Why the contiguity matters more than the acreage

Poseidon sits in Chile's V Region and physically abuts Grafton's existing Alicahue asset. Combined, the two form a contiguous 14,383-hectare concession block. For an exploration company, contiguity is not a cosmetic detail. Split ownership across a mineralised structure means two sets of permits, two sets of surface agreements, two data rooms and a standing risk that the most interesting drill target sits on the other side of a boundary line. Consolidation removes the seam.

That is particularly relevant here because the geology described is structural. A 2024 structural report identified a 15-kilometre strike length of potential gold-bearing veins tied to the regional Pocuro Fault Zone — a crustal-scale break that acts as the plumbing for mineralising fluids. Structures of that length do not respect claim boundaries. Controlling the whole of a 15-kilometre corridor, rather than a slice of it, is what allows an explorer to design a drill program around the geology instead of around the title map.

Newmont's earlier work at Poseidon, according to the details reported by INN Precious Metals, established continuity of vein trends and left behind a pipeline of drill targets that were never tested. A surface program of 2,350 rock chip samples returned grades up to 234 grams per tonne gold and 1,500 grams per tonne silver.

How to read a 234 g/t rock chip

Those numbers deserve a caveat that exploration news releases rarely supply with sufficient force. A rock chip sample is a fragment broken off an outcrop with a hammer. It is a selective, point-in-space measurement of the best-looking material a geologist can find at surface. It tells you that high-grade mineralisation exists somewhere in the system. It tells you nothing about how much of it there is, how far it extends at depth, or what an average grade across a mineable width would look like.

The more informative part of the dataset is arguably the sample count. A 2,350-sample surface program is a systematic effort, not a reconnaissance walk, and it is the kind of groundwork a major would fund and then shelve. What Grafton is really acquiring is a body of prior expenditure and a ranked target list — the expensive, unglamorous part of exploration that is already paid for.

The consolidated data across the combined Alicahue-Poseidon district points to widespread epithermal gold-silver-copper mineralisation. Epithermal systems form at relatively shallow depths from hot fluids circulating near the surface, and they are characteristically high-grade but geometrically awkward: narrow veins, abrupt terminations, strong vertical zoning. They reward dense drilling and punish assumptions. A 15-kilometre corridor of such veins is a multi-year drilling proposition, not a single-season one.

What the option does for Newmont's side of the ledger

The second asset in the transaction is the Jabali gold project, located far to the south in Chile's XI Region — a separate address, not an extension of the V Region package. For Grafton it is a second shot; for Newmont it is another line item leaving the books.

Optioning out early-stage ground is standard practice for a large producer. Greenfield exploration concessions carry holding costs, reporting obligations and technical staff time, and they compete for capital against mine builds and sustaining spend that generate near-term ounces. Handing a property to a junior under an option structure lets the major retain optionality on a discovery without funding the drilling that might produce one. Newmont's shares reflected exactly the significance a transaction of this scale carries for a company its size: a move of 0.11 percent on the day, within a range of 119.90 to 121.94.

The terms of the option — what Grafton must pay in cash or shares, what it must spend in the ground, over what period, and whether Newmont retains a royalty or back-in right — are the numbers that will ultimately determine whether this is a good deal for Grafton shareholders. Those details were not set out in the information available on the agreement. Investors should treat the share price reaction as a response to the land position and the prior dataset, not to an assessed cost of acquisition.

What a 53 percent day tells you, and what it doesn't

Grafton's 0.20 gain from the prior close, on an unstated share count, is the kind of move that occurs on a thinly traded explorer when a familiar major's name appears in a headline. The association is real — Newmont's prior spending is the asset being transferred — but it is not an endorsement of economics. Majors option out ground they have decided not to drill.

Three things are worth watching from here. First, disclosure of the option terms and the resulting commitment schedule: earn-in obligations are the practical constraint on a junior's treasury. Second, how Grafton is funded to meet them, since exploration spending on a 14,383-hectare block with a 15-kilometre target corridor is not covered by goodwill. Third, the first drill program designed across the unified district — whether it tests the untested targets Newmont left, or starts over.

Until a drill bit turns on the consolidated package, the investable fact here is a land position and a data set. Both are genuine. Neither is an ounce.

Key facts

• Grafton Resources (OTCQB: GFTFF): 0.58, +53.28% as of 20:00 GMT, Sept 25, 2026
• Newmont (NYSE: NEM): 121.43, +0.11% as of 20:00 GMT, Sept 25, 2026
• Consolidated land package: 14,383 contiguous hectares (Alicahue–Poseidon, V Region)
• Best surface results: Up to 234 g/t gold and 1,500 g/t silver from 2,350 rock chips

Frequently asked questions

What exactly did Grafton Resources acquire from Newmont?

Under a September 21 agreement, Grafton secured an exclusive option to acquire 100 percent ownership of two Chilean gold projects — Poseidon in the V Region and Jabali in the XI Region — through its local Chilean subsidiary. An option is a right to acquire, not a completed purchase; Grafton must still satisfy the agreement's terms to take title to either property.

Why does the 14,383-hectare figure matter?

Poseidon physically adjoins Grafton's existing Alicahue asset, so combining them creates a single contiguous 14,383-hectare concession block. Contiguity lets an explorer plan drilling around the geology rather than around claim boundaries — important here because the target is a 15-kilometre corridor of veins that crosses what were previously two separate ownerships.

How significant are the 234 g/t gold rock chip results?

They confirm high-grade mineralisation exists at surface but say nothing about tonnage. Rock chips are selective hammer samples taken from the best-looking outcrop, so they represent a best case at a single point, not an average grade. The 2,350-sample program size is arguably the more meaningful number, indicating systematic rather than reconnaissance work.

What is the Pocuro Fault Zone and why is it relevant?

It is a regional crustal-scale fault structure in Chile that acts as a conduit for mineralising fluids. A 2024 structural report tied a 15-kilometre strike length of potential gold-bearing veins at the project to this zone. Large faults commonly control the location of epithermal gold-silver deposits, making them primary exploration targets.

Why would Newmont give up ground with high-grade surface results?

Early-stage exploration concessions carry holding costs and technical overhead while competing for capital against producing mines and development projects. Optioning ground to a junior lets a major shed those costs while retaining exposure to a potential discovery without funding the drilling. Newmont's shares moved just 0.11 percent on the day, reflecting the deal's immaterial size to it.

What should investors watch next?

Three items: disclosure of the option's financial and work-commitment terms, which were not detailed in the announcement; how Grafton funds those commitments given a junior explorer's limited treasury; and the design and results of the first drill program across the unified Alicahue-Poseidon district, including whether it tests targets Newmont identified but never drilled.

Sources

• Grafton Options Chile Gold Projects from Newmont — INN Precious Metals