Interview with Layton Croft, CEO, Carolina Rush

Recording date: 3rd of March 2026

Carolina Rush Corporation is exploring the historic Brewer gold mine in South Carolina through a strategic partnership with Oceana Gold, positioning itself at the forefront of renewed interest in America's original gold rush region. The company has established a maiden resource of 500,000 ounces of gold through 36 drill holes at the past-producing Brewer property, which operated as an oxide heap leach operation before being abandoned in the 1990s.

The partnership with Oceana Gold, a $12 billion mining company operating the adjacent Haile mine just 15 minutes away, provides Carolina Rush with a free-carried path to testing the property's deep porphyry copper-gold potential. Under the earn-in agreement, Oceana can acquire 80% of the project by spending $20 million over five years, with $8 million required in the first two years to earn 50%. Carolina Rush serves as operator during the initial phase, earning management fees while preserving its 20% interest without capital requirements.

CEO Layton Croft, who previously worked on the world-class Oyu Tolgoi project with Robert Friedland and Ivanhoe Mines, believes the near-surface resource could expand to one or two million ounces with additional drilling. However, the primary target is the deep porphyry system, which the US Geological Survey identified as early as the 1970s. "If we can prove that this is a porphyry and it's proven to be mineralised and economic, I think what we've done is we've cracked the code on the southeast," Croft stated.

The company commenced drilling three commitment holes in January 2026, with assay results expected in the coming months. Whether Oceana continues funding beyond the minimum commitment will serve as a key catalyst for investors. Beyond Brewer, Carolina Rush maintains a proprietary database of southeastern US prospects and is pursuing additional projects through partnerships, leveraging its regional expertise in an underexplored, pro-mining jurisdiction.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/carolina-rush

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