Merger Opens New Chapter in Back Forty Mine Saga

• Gold Resource shareholders would own 40 percent of Goldgroup, post-merger

• Combined company would own two operating mines in Mexico

• Impact on Back Forty project uncertain

Jan. 29, 2026 - Gold Resource Corp. (NYSE: GORO), owner of the Back Forty project, has agreed to merge with Goldgroup Mining, Inc. Current Gold Resource shareholders will own about 40 percent of the combined companies if the merger is completed as expected in Q2 of 2026.

Goldgroup owns one operating mine in Mexico, with two other projects in the works. Gold Resource owns one operating mine, the Don David, also in Mexico, along with the proposed Back Forty mine on the east bank of the Menominee River west of Stephenson, Michigan.

Gold Resource put the Back Forty on hold because it was losing money on its Mexican operations and needed to conserve resources. The losses were primarily due to reduced production and declining ore quality at the Don David mine, but production volume rebounded in Q4, 2025, as a new underground mining area came on line. With its improved financial position, GORO recently announced that it would renew its efforts to permit and finance the Back Forty project.

Gold Resource has been promising to move ahead with the Back Forty since it acquired the property in December, 2021. At the time, it stated that “significant capital will be invested in delivery of the Back Forty definitive feasibility study, permitting applications, and exploration in the immediate vicinity of the proposed project.”

The company has spent only a small amount of money on the Back Forty, relative to its investments in its Mexican operations, and none of those benchmarks have been achieved, so far.

Too Soon to Know How Merger Will Affect Back Forty Prospects

The merger positions the combined company to pursue the proposed Back Forty mine if it chooses to do so.

The new Goldgroup will have two operating mines, and a more resilient revenue stream because a temporary downturn at one mine could be offset by increased revenue at the other. A larger, more diversified Goldgroup could attract a broader institutional investor base, potentially improving its access to funds needed to complete a feasibility study and pursue permitting for the Back Forty project.

Gold Resource indicated in a Jan. 28 SEC filing that it “remains fully committed to advancing the Back Forty Project, including completing the Feasibility Study and progressing the permitting process.”

On the other hand, Goldgroup’s strategic focus is on Mexico, not the United States, and the Back Forty project has been stalled in the past by persistent public and tribal opposition.

Back Forty Mine is a Giant Fail – So Far

Twenty years and more than $100 million down the drain: that’s the story of the Back Forty project up to now.

Aquila Resources, Inc., was the original owner of the Back Forty. It proposed an 84-acre open pit mine as close as 150 feet from the Menominee River, an ore processing mill and a 200-acre storage area for tailings from the mill.

By 2018, Aquila had the permits it needed to open the Back Forty mine, except for a dam safety permit.

Legal challenges followed, and in 2021 an administrative law judge overturned the permit to dredge and fill wetlands at the mine site, ruling that Aquila’s plan was not in the public interest. The mining permit was also challenged and remained under review. At that point, Aquila relinquished its permits, promising to submit a revised proposal at a later date.

Gold Resource Corp. stepped in and bought Aquila’s remaining assets for $24.5 million, in a stock-only transaction.

Gold Resource proposed a significantly different plan for the Back Forty: two smaller open pits, an underground expansion, and a dry-stack tailings pile that would not require a dam.

However, the project would still be very close to an unspoiled stretch of the Menominee River, where sturgeon spawn and the bass fishing is world-class.

It’s also situated on the ancestral homeland of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, in an area that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property. The tribe was relocated to a reservation in 1854, but the mine site and the surrounding area are still used for ceremonial purposes.

Past opposition to the Back Forty was led by the Coalition to Save the Menominee River, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Mining Action Group of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council and Save The Menominee River - Stop The Back Forty Mine!

What to Watch for Now

If the combined company is serious about pursuing the project, its financial reports should begin to show renewed spending on a feasibility study and on preparation of permit applications.

In a Dec. 3, 2025, corporate news release, Gold Resource said it was “in discussions with consulting firms to complete a feasibility study and is planning on beginning the permitting process” for the Back Forty.

That initiative may be delayed now, until the merger with Goldgroup is finalized and the combined corporate leadership has a chance to evaluate its long-term growth strategy.

You can follow developments by subscribing to the Gold Resource and the Goldgroup email notifications.

The author used an AI tool to research the financial implications of the Gold Resource-Goldgroup merger as they pertain to the proposed Back Forty mine. All factual statements were independently verified by the author.

Gold Resource was given an opportunity to comment on this report.