(Kitco News) Panther Metals is advancing work toward a maiden mineral resource estimate at its Winston tailings project in Ontario as the company evaluates the potential to recover precious and critical metals left behind from historical zinc mining.
Speaking with Kitco Mining at PDAC 2026, CEO Darren Hazelwood said early sampling from the polymetallic tailings has confirmed the presence of gold and silver that were largely overlooked when the mine operated between 1988 and 1999. “We ended up with grades of up to 0.82 grams a ton gold, over 13 grams a ton silver,” Hazelwood said, referring to samples collected from the upper portion of the tailings pond.
The Winston mine, located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, was historically known for high-grade zinc production. Hazelwood said processing during that period focused on maximizing zinc recovery at a time when precious metals were far less valuable, noting gold “got down to $270 an ounce” during that period.
Panther began field work at the site in July 2025 with a small auger sampling program designed to test the upper layer of the tailings deposit. The company said the tailings pond extends more than 18 meters deep in places and contains a range of metals, including gold, silver, gallium and indium, alongside residual zinc and copper.
Hazelwood said the current work program is focused on defining the scale of the opportunity through a mineral resource estimate expected in the near term.
“The catalyst for us is definitely going to be the MRE on Winston,” he said. “We’re expecting that within a couple of months.”
Panther is also evaluating hydrometallurgical processing technology designed to recover multiple metals from solution, potentially allowing sequential extraction of precious and critical minerals from the tailings material.
“It’s multi-element recovery,” Hazelwood said, adding that while the system will initially pull gold, “the next stage it may pull the silver, then it may pull the gallium, then the indium.”
Panther holds a four-year option agreement on the Winston site with First Quantum, which maintains the property under a closure plan. Hazelwood said the project benefits from existing infrastructure, including road access, electrical power and a substation from its previous operation, which could reduce development costs if the project advances toward production. The company is targeting a potential development timeline of about two years, subject to technical results and permitting.
Alongside Winston, Panther is also advancing exploration across the Obonga greenstone belt in Ontario. In an update released Feb. 27, 2026, the company said geophysical modelling at the Wishbone prospect is helping refine drill targeting ahead of a planned diamond drilling program. The broader Obonga project hosts multiple volcanogenic massive sulphide targets in a geological setting similar to the Sturgeon Lake mining camp.
Hazelwood said the tailings project could potentially support near-term development while the company continues exploration elsewhere in its portfolio. “Do not underestimate the potential for district-scale success,” he said.
Watch the full video on the Kitco Mining YouTube channel.
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