Bunker Hill Bets on AI and Acreage in Idaho's Silver Valley

KELLOGG, ID – December 12, 2025 – In a move that fuses 19th-century mining legacy with 21st-century technology, Bunker Hill Mining Corp. has executed a dual strategy aimed at redefining its future in Idaho’s prolific Silver Valley. The company has finalized a significant land acquisition, consolidating a historically rich mining complex, while simultaneously launching a partnership to deploy cutting-edge artificial intelligence in its hunt for new resources. This two-pronged approach of physical expansion and digital innovation signals a calculated bet on revitalizing one of America’s most storied mining districts.

Consolidating a Silver Legacy

The centerpiece of Bunker Hill’s physical expansion is the acquisition of the Ranger-Page Project, a collection of six past-producing, high-grade silver-lead-zinc mines immediately adjacent to its flagship Bunker Hill Mine. The deal, valued at approximately US$2.4 million and paid for with 23.3 million company shares, effectively bolts on an additional 1,205 acres of highly prospective territory, consolidating a key portion of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District under a single operator.

The strategic value of this move extends beyond mere acreage. The Ranger-Page complex was historically a top-ten producer in the Silver Valley, with past output estimated at a staggering 1.1 billion pounds of zinc and lead combined with 14.6 million ounces of silver. Crucially, much of this production came from relatively shallow depths, leaving significant potential for discovery along strike and at deeper levels where mineralization is believed to remain open.

“We are pleased to have completed the Ranger Page transaction, which consolidates a highly prospective land package adjacent to our existing geological and operational footprint,” said Sam Ash, President and CEO of Bunker Hill. He emphasized that the project’s history and access provide a “compelling platform for systematic resource definition and future mine-planning optionality.”

For investors, the acquisition represents more than just a resource play. The existing underground workings at Ranger-Page could provide critical synergies for the planned restart of the main Bunker Hill Mine, potentially offering new avenues for ventilation, equipment access, and exploration platforms to probe deeper sections of the entire mineralized system. This could translate into significant capital savings and an accelerated development timeline.

Digitizing the Drill Target

While the acquisition secures valuable physical ground, Bunker Hill’s partnership with VRIFY Technology Inc. aims to conquer the digital frontier of exploration. The company will deploy VRIFY’s AI-enabled software, DORA, to analyze decades of geological data, a move that places it among a pioneering group of miners turning to machine learning to increase discovery odds.

The mining industry is grappling with a stark reality: discovery rates have plummeted over the past two decades while costs have soared. Bunker Hill’s strategy is to leverage AI to unlock patterns hidden within its vast historical dataset, which includes over 57,000 drill assays, extensive geochemical surveys, and multiple layers of geophysical data. VRIFY’s platform will ingest this information and use proprietary algorithms to generate high-probability exploration targets.

“Integrating AI into our exploration toolkit represents an important step forward in our strategy to unlock the full potential of the Bunker Hill Mine responsibly,” Ash noted. The goal is to move beyond traditional exploration models and allow data to drive discovery, improving drill efficiency and accelerating the path from raw information to a confirmed resource.

The technology is not unproven. VRIFY has established a track record with other junior miners, reportedly helping to identify new targets and validate known trends in weeks rather than months. Southern Cross Gold, for instance, credited DORA with helping pinpoint a high-grade gold discovery in Australia. For Bunker Hill, the AI will be applied to both the newly acquired Ranger-Page property and its existing mine, seeking to define extensions of known ore bodies and identify entirely new mineralized zones.

“Exploration companies already hold tremendous value in their existing datasets; our data-driven software simply helps unlock it,” commented Steve de Jong, CEO of VRIFY. This partnership underscores a major shift in the industry, where a company’s data library is becoming as valuable as its physical land package.

The Financial Blueprint for Growth

Underpinning these strategic initiatives is a series of deliberate financial maneuvers. The Ranger-Page acquisition was structured as an all-stock deal, preserving cash for operational development. More significantly, Bunker Hill’s board has secured approval to increase its authorized common stock from 2.5 billion to 3.5 billion shares.

While the prospect of issuing another billion shares raises immediate questions about potential shareholder dilution, the move is a clear signal of the company’s long-term ambitions. It provides the financial flexibility needed to fund the full-scale restart of the Bunker Hill Mine, targeted for mid-2026, and to aggressively pursue the exploration potential unlocked by the Ranger-Page acquisition and the VRIFY partnership. For a development-stage company on the cusp of production, access to capital is paramount, and this proactive measure positions Bunker Hill to raise funds as needed without being constrained by its share structure.

This financial foresight is critical, especially given the complex operational environment. The Silver Valley is a designated Superfund site due to over a century of mining pollution, a legacy that casts a long shadow over any new development. However, Bunker Hill is operating in a modern regulatory framework, and Idaho is consistently ranked as a top-tier mining jurisdiction globally. By coupling a disciplined financial strategy with modern, data-driven exploration, the company aims to demonstrate a more efficient and sustainable model for resource development. By integrating AI-driven insights with a newly expanded physical footprint, Bunker Hill is not just reopening a mine; it is attempting to architect a new model for resource development in the 21st century.