Barton Gold Holdings Limited has concluded its "Phase 2" resource upgrade drilling campaign at the Tunkillia Gold Project in South Australia. The five-month program, which utilised four drilling rigs, comprised 38,760 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling across 311 holes.

This latest campaign brings the cumulative drilling completed at Tunkillia to 57,653 metres across 520 holes when combined with the project’s earlier "Phase 1" activity. The primary objective of this intensive drilling is to upgrade mineralisation contained within the project's optimised open pits from the current inferred category to the higher-confidence JORC "Indicated" category. Barton is specifically targeting the upgrade of the highest-value material within the S1 starter pit to the "Measured" category.

The S1 starter pit is currently modelled to yield 206koz of gold and 491koz of silver. Based on the current model, the company anticipates the pit could produce over A$800m in operating cash, with cash costs estimated at A$997 per ounce, potentially repaying initial development costs more than twice over within the first year of operation.

Following the completion of this drillout, Barton has initiated a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for large-scale gold production at the site. The company is currently targeting the publication of the PFS in the first quarter of the 2027 calendar year. In the interim, Barton plans to utilise the recent data to refine its geological block model and implement resource classification upgrades.

Managing Director Alex Scanlon highlighted that the intensive five-month drilling effort involved coordinating four rigs across three of the company's project sites before converging on the Tunkillia program. Reflecting on the campaign, Mr Scanlon indicated that the company expects to release a significant volume of assay data and updated resource figures in the near term.

“Results to-date have generally exceeded expectations, with positive surprises in some zones offering material upside potential. We look forward to sharing a significant number of assays, and Resources upgrades, in the coming months.”

— Alex Scanlon, Managing Director

Read the full announcement: Tunkillia Upgrade Drilling – 39,000m Phase 2 Complete Targeting JORC Resource Classification Upgrades; PFS Underway