Artemis Gold Inc. has returned assays for the first two diamond drill holes of its 2026 resource expansion program at the Blackwater project in central British Columbia, highlighted by an intercept of 259 metres grading 1.22 g/t gold from 309 metres downhole in hole BWDD-26-0001.

The initial hole included a higher-grade section of 85 metres at 2.29 g/t gold starting from 371 metres downhole. The hole reached a depth of 913 metres and was terminated within mineralization due to drill constraints, having extended below any previous drilling on the deposit.

A second completed hole, BWDD-26-0003, was drilled to a depth of 1,134 metres after a redrill and now stands as the deepest drill hole on the property. It intersected 191 metres at 0.95 g/t gold from 163 metres downhole, including 93 metres at 1.33 g/t gold from 228 metres downhole.

Both holes encountered multiple mineralized intervals from bedrock surface to depth, containing gold, silver, zinc, copper, lead and iron sulfides associated with felsic volcanics and andesites. Because mineralized zone orientation at depth is not currently known, true widths cannot yet be calculated.

Artemis Gold is conducting the 2026 resource expansion program with an initial budget of $10 million targeting approximately 25,000 metres of diamond drilling. The company deployed a third diamond drill rig to site following initial success with two rigs operating on a two-shift basis.

The company plans to incorporate the expansion drilling results into a Mineral Reserve update scheduled for later in 2026 and is initiating metallurgical testwork to evaluate the potential for recovering zinc from the deposit.

“These results show what an incredible asset Blackwater is. The headline intercepts in the first two holes are a great result and these zones are targeted for further drilling and inclusion in our next Mineral Reserve update planned for later this year.”

— Dale Andres, CEO

The expansion drilling sits alongside wider operational activity at the mine. Artemis Gold commenced major works construction on the EP2 growth project, which is designed to expand total throughput capacity to 21 million tonnes per annum by the fourth quarter of 2028. Meanwhile, commissioning of the Phase 1A expansion project is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Read the full announcement: Artemis Gold Intercepts Significant Mineralization in First Two Diamond Drill Holes in Resource Expansion Program at Blackwater, Including 85m at 2.29g/t Au Below Current Reserve