Reward Minerals Launches First-Ever Drill Program at High-Grade Jackpot Gold Prospect
Key Takeaways
- Reward Minerals has received statutory approval from the Newfoundland and Labrador Government to commence the first-ever diamond drill program at the Jackpot Au-Cu Prospect, with site preparation scheduled to begin 16 September 2026.
- Historic rock chip sampling at Jackpot has returned grades up to 23.77g/t Au and 7.48% Cu, with Reward's own 2026 confirmation sampling validating results including 8.16g/t Au and 0.27% Cu.
- The approved program allows up to seven holes totalling approximately 600m of HQ diamond core, with individual holes ranging from 40 to 160m depth and a three-week completion timeline.
- New soil sampling has defined a prospective corridor of at least 1.2km of strike across three prospects — Jackpot, Bingo (~400m southwest), and the newly identified High Stakes (~800m northeast, peak 378ppb Au).
- Rock chip assay results from Bingo and High Stakes are expected within 3 to 5 days of the announcement, with ICP-34 multi-element soil results to follow over coming weeks.
Statutory approval unlocks first-ever drill program at Jackpot
Reward Minerals (ASX: RWD) has received statutory approval from the Newfoundland and Labrador Government, Department of Energy and Mines, Mineral Lands Division, to commence a maiden diamond drilling program at the Jackpot Au-Cu Prospect within its Mountain Pond Gold Project in central northern Newfoundland, Canada. This is the first drill testing ever to be conducted at the Mountain Pond Project, despite gold mineralisation having been identified in the area for more than 35 years.
Site access track refurbishment and drill pad preparation are scheduled to commence on 16 September, with drilling expected to begin within days thereafter. The Mountain Pond Project sits approximately 7km northeast of the regional mining service town of Springdale and covers 41 contiguous claims across approximately 10km² of road-accessible terrain.
The approved program allows for up to seven holes, with the initial campaign planned to comprise approximately 600m of HQ-oriented diamond core. Individual holes will range from 40 to 160m in depth, and the program is anticipated to take approximately three weeks to complete, with assay results to be released to the market as they become available.
Lorry Hughes, CEO
“Being on the verge of the first-ever drill program at the Jackpot Prospect is an exciting time for the Company. Gold mineralisation was first identified in the area more than 35 years ago, making it remarkable that the prospect has never been drill tested previously.”
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
What the Jackpot Prospect looks like — and why it matters
A surface-exposed gold-copper vein with compelling historic grades
The Jackpot Prospect comprises an outcropping gold-copper mineralised quartz vein hosted within an 8m-wide shear zone developed in mafic volcanic rocks, including pillowed basalts, and is associated with the Sullivan Pond Fault. Historic rock chip sampling from the prospect returned assays of up to 23.77g/t Au and 7.48% Cu, establishing a high-grade baseline before Reward acquired the project.
Reward’s own 2026 confirmation rock chip sampling has returned comparable results, further validating the quality of the target:
- 8.16g/t Au and 0.27% Cu (SN 435009)
- 4.61g/t Au and 0.65% Cu (SN 435010)
- 4.26g/t Au and 0.19% Cu (SN 435001)
- 1.77g/t Au and 1.77% Cu (SN 435007)
- 2.65g/t Au and 1.35% Cu (SN 435006)
The drill program has been specifically designed to test both depth and strike extensions of the mineralised quartz vein and associated shear zone exposed at surface, aiming to determine the continuity and scale of mineralisation beyond the outcrop.
Understanding diamond drilling — what investors should watch for
Diamond drilling, specifically HQ-oriented core drilling, is the industry standard method for testing what lies beneath the surface at a mineral prospect. A diamond-tipped drill bit cuts a solid cylindrical core of rock, which is extracted and preserved for analysis. HQ refers to the core diameter — a size widely used in exploration for its balance between sample quality and drilling efficiency.
The significance of moving from surface sampling to drilling is substantial. Rock chip results from outcrops, no matter how encouraging, only tell you what is happening at or near the surface. Drill core confirms whether mineralisation extends downward and along strike, which is what ultimately determines whether a prospect has the scale to matter.
All drill core from the Jackpot program will be transported to Reward’s purpose-built core facility in Springdale, where it will be systematically logged, photographed, cut and sampled. Samples will then be dispatched to either Eastern Analytical Laboratories in Springdale or MSALABS in Grand Falls-Windsor for assay. Results will be released to the market as they are received.
A growing target corridor — new soil results expand the story
While drilling at Jackpot captures the immediate focus, new soil sampling results are simultaneously expanding the prospective story across the broader project area. Gold assay results have been received for 333 soil samples, including certified reference materials, blanks and field duplicates, collected as part of Reward’s regional geochemical programme targeting the interpreted Sullivan Pond Fault trend across the Mountain Pond Project.
The programme has identified multiple zones of anomalous gold mineralisation and defined three prospects that together form a prospective corridor extending over at least 1.2km of strike. The Bingo Prospect, located approximately 400m southwest of Jackpot along strike, has seen its known gold anomaly further refined and strengthened. The High Stakes Prospect, located approximately 800m northeast along strike from Jackpot, has been newly defined as a significant anomaly, with a peak assay of 378ppb Au.
| Prospect | Location Relative to Jackpot | Key Result to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Jackpot | Primary target | Rock chips up to 23.77g/t Au and 7.48% Cu (historic); 8.16g/t Au and 0.27% Cu (Reward 2026) |
| Bingo | ~400m southwest along strike | Known gold-in-soil anomaly further refined by 2026 regional programme |
| High Stakes | ~800m northeast along strike | Newly defined anomaly; peak soil assay of 378ppb Au |
Follow-up rock chip sampling at both Bingo and High Stakes has been completed, with assay results expected within 3 to 5 days of the announcement date. ICP-34 multi-element results from the soil programme are anticipated over coming weeks and are expected to guide further field mapping and target evaluation across the project area.
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
Next steps and what investors should monitor
The near-term activity sequence is clear and tightly sequenced:
- Site access track refurbishment and drill pad preparation commencing 16 September
- Diamond drilling commences at the Jackpot Prospect (days after 16 September)
- Core logging, cutting, sampling and dispatch to laboratory
- Assay results released to market as received (approximately three-week programme duration)
- Bingo and High Stakes rock chip assay results expected within 3 to 5 days of the announcement
- ICP-34 multi-element soil assay results for Mountain Pond and Copper Lance projects expected over coming weeks
As CEO Lorry Hughes noted in the announcement, the results of this maiden programme are expected to “play a key role in defining our exploration priorities across the Mountain Pond Project in both the short and medium term.”
Don’t Miss the Next ASX Gold-Copper Discovery
Get FREE breaking ASX gold and copper news delivered to your inbox within minutes of release, complete with in-depth analysis. Join 30,000+ subscribers already staying ahead of the market at Discovery Alert and click the “Free Alerts” button to receive alerts the moment market-moving news breaks.