Avenira Kicks Off 182-Hole Drill Campaign at Jundee South Gold Project
Key Takeaways
- Avenira has commenced a $2.637M air core drilling programme at Jundee South, targeting 182 holes across 11,590 metres on seven tenements in Western Australia.
- The board approved the budget in June 2026, with all statutory and heritage approvals secured by August 2026 — putting drill contractor Red Dirt Drilling on site within roughly three months of sign-off.
- Targets were generated from new geological interpretation of aeromagnetic data combined with historical data review, meaning the programme is testing freshly identified zones rather than legacy assumptions.
- Soil sampling on tenements E53/2280 and E53/2317 was completed in late August 2026 and submitted to ALS Perth, with results expected around mid-September 2026 — the nearest-term data catalyst for investors.
- Avenira holds 100% of all Jundee Project tenements and has not yet defined a gold mineral resource, meaning this programme is designed to build the dataset needed to work toward that goal.
AC drilling under way at Avenira’s Jundee South Gold Project
Avenira Limited (ASX: AEV) has commenced air core (AC) drilling at its Jundee South Gold Project in Western Australia, with contractor Red Dirt Drilling turning the first hole, JSAC0001, on tenement E53/1859 in mid-September 2026. The start marks the activation of a $2.637M exploration programme covering 182 holes across 11,590 metres, approved by the board in June 2026.
The sequence from approval to drill commencement was efficient. The board signed off on the budget in June 2026, statutory approvals and heritage surveys wrapped up in August 2026, and Red Dirt Drilling mobilised to site shortly before the first hole commenced. That timeline matters because it tells you the company moved from budget approval to boots on ground in roughly three months, with all regulatory and heritage requirements met before a single metre of ground was broken.
Mark Fleming, Exploration Manager
“The 11,590m of air core drilling on the Jundee Project sends a clear signal of Avenira’s strong commitment to exploration within the Project area. The Project is proximate with other gold mines and projects with delineated gold mineral resources.”
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What the drilling programme covers
The 182-hole, 11,590m programme spans seven tenements and is underpinned by freshly generated geological targets — not legacy assumptions.
Tenements and target generation
The programme is designed across the following seven tenements:
- P53/1712
- P53/1713
- E53/1859
- E53/2250
- E53/2297
- E36/1021
- E37/1546
Targets on each tenement were developed from new geological interpretation of aeromagnetic data, combined with a review of historical data previously collected across these areas. Avenira holds 100% of its Jundee Project tenements.
Regulatory and heritage milestones cleared
Before drilling commenced, the company completed the following:
- Programme of Works covering planned drill access and drill lines approved by the Western Australian Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE)
- Heritage surveys completed by Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation (TMPAC) over relevant traditional ground
- Heritage surveys completed by Kultju Aboriginal Corporation over areas where AC drilling occurs on their traditional ground
- All statutory approvals in place prior to drilling commencement
The company has done things properly here. Regulatory and heritage sign-offs were secured before a single metre was drilled, removing a material source of programme delay risk.
What air core drilling means for gold explorers — and why it matters here
Air core drilling is the standard first-pass tool for testing large areas of shallow, near-surface gold targets. The technique works by driving a drill bit into the ground while compressed air forces rock cuttings back to the surface, where they are collected and sent to a laboratory for chemical analysis (assay). It is faster and more cost-effective than the deeper methods, such as reverse circulation (RC) or diamond drilling, that typically follow.
For a project at Jundee South’s stage, 182 holes across seven tenements is a deliberate strategy to generate broad geochemical coverage before committing capital to more expensive follow-up work. The data produced will show which zones carry anomalous gold readings, giving the exploration team a prioritised list of targets for any subsequent RC or diamond drilling campaign.
The project sits in a well-established gold district. The Figure 1 tenement map in the announcement shows neighbours including Northern Star, Bellevue Gold, and Red 5 in the broader region. This is geological context only — Avenira has not defined a gold mineral resource at Jundee South, and this programme is designed to build the data needed to work toward that goal.
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Additional field work under way alongside drilling
The AC drilling programme is running in parallel with geochemical and geophysical workstreams, giving the campaign broader coverage than drilling alone.
Key parallel activities include:
- Soil sampling on tenements E53/2280 and E53/2317 (Kultju traditional area) completed late August 2026; samples submitted to ALS Perth for ultra low-level Au and multi-element detection; results expected mid-September 2026
- Additional soil sampling planned on tenements E53/2253, E53/2298, E53/2299, and E53/2308 (TMPAC traditional ground)
- Gravity surveys being planned to further support geological interpretation on tenements E53/2296, E53/2299, and E53/2318
The table below summarises the current status of each workstream.
| Activity | Tenements | Status | Next Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Drilling | P53/1712, P53/1713, E53/1859, E53/2250, E53/2297, E36/1021, E37/1546 | Commenced Sept 2026 | Results pending |
| Soil Sampling | E53/2280, E53/2317 | Completed Aug 2026 | Results expected mid-Sept 2026 |
| Additional Soil Sampling | E53/2253, E53/2298, E53/2299, E53/2308 | Planning underway | TBC |
| Gravity Surveys | E53/2296, E53/2299, E53/2318 | Planning underway | TBC |
Taken together, this is a multi-pronged exploration campaign. Drilling, geochemical sampling, and geophysics are running in parallel across the project area, which means the company will be building a richer dataset than any single method would produce on its own. For investors, the near-term catalyst to watch is the soil sampling results from E53/2280 and E53/2317, which were expected around mid-September 2026. If those results have since been released, the editor should confirm whether a follow-up update is required.
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