The Premier gold project is located 25 kilometres from the town of Stewart, British Columbia. Credit: Ascot Resources
Ascot Resources (TSXV: AOT.H) is proposing a rebrand of the troubled company as it looks to a fresh start under a new leadership team, with plans in place for its two projects in British Columbia.
Cambria Gold Mines Inc. — its new name — originates from the “spectacular icefield” located adjacent to the Red Mountain project east of Stewart, BC, Robert McLeod, its new president and CEO, said in a press release on Tuesday.
The new management led by McLeod, a mining executive and geologist from Stewart, views the Red Mountain project as a key part of the company’s new vision to create an integrated mine operation centered around its Premier gold project, which it briefly brought into production in 2024 and is looking to restart again.
Ascot Resources’ shares gained as much as 7.5% on Wednesday, for a market capitalization of C$55.6 million ($41 million). The stock has more than doubled since the start of 2026.
Multiple setbacks
Located 25 km from Stewart, the Premier project is home to a former gold mine that was once the largest in North America. Between 1918 and 1952, the underground mine produced over 2 million oz. gold and 45 million oz. silver.
Ascot has been working to return the historic site to production and successfully poured its first gold in April 2024. However, operations were put on hold after just five months due to insufficient underground development. The company has since faced multiple setbacks in its attempt to restart the operation, eventually placing the mine on care and maintenance in summer 2025 and initiating a strategic review.
Last month, Ascot was also penalized C$142,000 by BC’s environmental regulators for failing to prevent wastes stored at the shuttered gold mine from leaking into a local river, Business in Vancouver reported.
Hub-and-spoke plan
Under the new plan, ore from the Red Mountain project would be blended with high-grade mineralization from the Premier-Northern Lights (PNL) deposit and/or the potentially bulk-mineable mineralization from the Big Missouri deposit, both located at Premier.
According to company estimates, the Red Mountain property hosts measured and indicated resources of 3.19 million tonnes averaging 7.63 grams per tonne gold for 783,000 oz. The deposit is amenable to long-hole stoping, has existing production size underground workings and would provide the majority of mill feed for the Premier mill.
Work to advance permitting of the Red Mountain access road to transport material to Premier was initiated in the fall of 2025, led by the new management team, and included consultation with the Nisga’a Nation. Road construction is expected to begin this spring, upon regulatory approval, the company said.
“Management has been rapidly developing key permitting, geological and engineering elements to develop the Premier and Red Mountain deposits with the goal of a high-grade, hub-and-spoke gold mining operation to feed the recently constructed mill,” McLeod said.
The rebrand follows the company’s recent fundraising for proceeds of C$175 million and completion of debt settlement and restructuring to keep the business running. It also amended its agreement with Sprott to waive deliveries and missed royalty payments in exchange for equity.