Scorpio Gold Options Betty East in Nye County After Historic High-Grade Gold

Scorpio Gold Corporation took a formal step to expand exploration in Nye County when it entered an option agreement on January 15, 2026 to acquire 100% of the Betty East Property, a package of 32 unpatented lode mining claims in the Manhattan District. The move stitches new ground into Scorpio Gold’s existing Manhattan District holdings after the company also staked additional claims to create continuous coverage, enabling district-scale exploration across historically prospective ground.

The Betty East claims carry a record of encouraging, if preliminary, historical work from the 1990s. That work identified near-surface gold at an area known locally as The Knolls and soil geochemistry with strong gold-arsenic-silver-mercury signatures. Notable legacy assay values cited in the company’s announcement include very high gold-in-soil results of 6.27 g/t Au and 5.06 g/t Au from historic samples. Scorpio Gold said the property sits within the Walker Lane structural trend and referenced the Manhattan district’s prior production and resource history as the geological context for follow-up work. The technical information in the announcement was reviewed by the company’s Qualified Person.

The option agreement is structured with staged consideration and work commitments over five years. Scorpio Gold will be required to make cash and share payments totaling USD 900,000 and 950,000 common shares, and to spend USD 1,000,000 on exploration expenditures during the option period. If exercised, a 2% net smelter returns royalty would apply, with the company able to repurchase 0.5% of that NSR by paying the optionor the value of 500 ounces of .999 fine gold.

For residents of Nye County, the terms matter because the exploration expenditures and staking activity translate into local spending on field crews, contractors, fuel, lodging, and supplies if Scorpio Gold advances work programs. An option that creates district-scale coverage also raises the likelihood of more sustained exploration campaigns, which can ripple into local services and small-business revenue even before any production decision is made. At the same time, unpatented claim activity on public lands typically requires coordination with federal land managers and environmental permitting processes, which will affect timing and the scope of any on-the-ground work.

From a market and policy perspective, the deal is a modest capital commitment for a junior explorer: combined cash, shares and work over five years equal a focused program that could yield more definitive surface mapping, sampling and potentially drilling if results and permits justify it. The Walker Lane setting gives the project regional relevance because the trend hosts multiple mineralized systems in Nevada.

What comes next for neighbors and local officials are permit filings, announced field programs and the first modern sampling or drilling results that could confirm the historical highs. For now, the Betty East option signals renewed attention on the Manhattan District and a pipeline of exploration activity that Nye County businesses and stakeholders will want to track as the project advances.