The company, which debuted on Toronto's Venture Exchange in September, outlined an indicated 2.14 million tonne resource grading 10.93g/t gold-equivalent for 750,000oz Au-eq, and an inferred 0.58Mt at 7.16g/t for 134,000oz Au-eq.

"We view this resource as our starting point and, after laying dormant for 25 years with no exploration until HighGold's recent 2019 drill program, it provides an excellent springboard for what lies ahead for the project," president and CEO Darwin Green said.

HighGold has said a potential analogue to Johnson Tract is the Hod Maden gold-copper project in Turkey, which has a forecast post-tax NPV5 of US$1.1 billion.

Green said the company had C$11 million in working capital and was fully-funded to carry out its 2020 exploration plans.

HighGold said it was formulating a Johnson Tract-specific COVID-19 mitigation plan, with a view to resuming exploration in early July.

It said mining and exploration were considered essential industries in Alaska and the isolated project was accessed by direct flights from Anchorage.

The company had suspended drilling at its Timmins area gold properties in Ontario in March due to the global pandemic.

Mining identity Rob McEwen and the Sprott (Partnership Fund) are among its major shareholders.

HighGold shares have ranged from C$1.89-57c since listing.

It closed down 2.6% or 3c to $1.10 yesterday, to capitalise it at $44.2 million (US$31.9 million).