Australian precious metals explorer Austral Gold Ltd. snapped up an initial 22.48% stake in the historical Rawhide gold-silver mine in Nevada from privately held Rawhide Acquisition Holding LLC for about US$4.0 million.

Austral's newly formed Nevada unit, Austral Gold North America Corp., also secured options to buy up to an additional 3.795% of mine owner Rawhide Mining LLC for US$750,813 and bring Austral's total project stake to about 26.46%.

The Rawhide mine is a fully permitted, open pit heap leaching operation. A mine expansion permit was granted this year for the Regent open pit, according to a Dec. 18 news release.

Austral Gold said the investment marked its entry into the North American mining sector. The company's assets include its flagship Guanaco/Amancaya gold project in Chile and the Casposo gold mine in Argentina.