Australian Gold and Copper Hits 15m at 4.8g/t Gold With 16 Drill Results Still Due
Key Takeaways
- EGRC008 returned 13m at 3.3g/t Au, 264g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu, 4.8% Zn and 5.3% Pb from 99m, a five-metal intercept that ended in mineralisation.
- EGRC005 hit 15m at 4.8g/t Au from just 61m, including 2m at 10.2g/t Au, confirming high-grade gold close to surface.
- Only five of 21 RC holes have reported, leaving 16 assays pending with further results due in October and early November.
- The zone now spans about 210m of strike and stays open north, south and at depth, with 7,000m of resource definition drilling underway toward a maiden MRE.
- AGC holds A$7m cash (31 July 2026) and no debt across 332m shares, and a larger RC rig is set to resume drilling in early November, subject to permitting.
Shallow gold-silver hits extend Evergreen Discovery Zone
Australian Gold and Copper Ltd (ASX: AGC) has reported initial reverse circulation (RC) assays from the Western Discovery Zone (Hillston Structure) at the Evergreen Prospect, part of its South Cobar Project in NSW. The results extend the high-grade mineralisation first reported in diamond holes 26DDBR013 and 26DDBR017.
The standout is EGRC008, which returned 13m at 3.3g/t Au, 264g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu, 4.8% Zn and 5.3% Pb from 99m, ending in mineralisation. EGRC005 followed with 15m at 4.8g/t Au from 61m, including 2m at 10.2g/t Au from 70m.
Assays have been received for five of the 21 RC holes, so 16 remain pending. For you, that means this is an early read on a larger program, with most of the data still to come.
Glen Diemar, Managing Director
“These are outstanding shallow results from Evergreen and an important follow-up to the recent diamond drilling discovery.”
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
Key RC intercepts at a glance
The table below sets out the headline intersections from Table 2 of the announcement. Intervals are downhole widths, and true widths are currently unknown.
| Hole | Interval | Au g/t | Ag g/t | From (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EGRC005 | **15m** | **4.8** | 6 | **61** |
| EGRC005 (incl.) | **2m** | **10.2** | 5 | **70** |
| EGRC006 | **10m** | **1.1** | 5 | **42** |
| EGRC006 | **17m** | **0.7** | 12 | **89** |
| EGRC008 | **13m** | **3.3** | **264** | **99** |
| EGRC008 (incl.) | **3m** | **5.3** | **852** | **100** |
EGRC008 also carries base metals. Per the announcement’s Table 2, the 13m interval returned 0.8% Cu, 5.3% Pb and 4.8% Zn, and the supporting sub-intervals were:
- 10m at 3.9g/t Au, 336g/t Ag from 100m
- A copper interval of 5m at 3.5g/t Au, 1.6% Cu from 105m
The cut-off applied was a minimum of 0.2g/t Au, 20g/t Ag, 0.2% Cu or 2.0% Pb+Zn, with internal dilution up to 4m. All widths are downhole, and AGC states true widths have not yet been estimated.
Building on the 26DDBR017 discovery
These RC results follow 26DDBR017 (ASX announcement of 2 September 2026), which returned 17m at 5.3g/t Au, 163g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu and 17.3% Pb+Zn from 128m, including 8m at 10.4g/t Au.
The emerging zone has now been tested over approximately 210m of strike and remains open to the north, south and at depth. EGRC005 and EGRC008 both ended in mineralisation, so further drilling is required to test the depth extent.
Gordon Barnes, Exploration Manager
“EGRC008 is particularly important because it demonstrates the high-tenor polymetallic character of the zone, with strong gold and silver accompanied by copper, zinc and lead…”
Why shallow polymetallic discoveries matter
RC drilling fires a hammer through rock and returns crushed chips to surface. It is generally faster and cheaper than diamond drilling, which extracts solid core and gives more detailed structural information. That is why explorers often use RC to step out from a diamond discovery.
Mineralisation close to surface that carries several metals (here gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead) is the kind of target that can, in general, support open-pit mining studies. The announcement makes no claims about economics at Evergreen, and none should be inferred.
The next formal milestone is a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), an independently reported estimate of the tonnes and grade of mineralisation in a deposit. Diemar said the results “continue to support our strategy of advancing Evergreen towards an initial Mineral Resource Estimate.” The announcement notes 7,000m of resource definition drilling is underway.
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
What’s next for Evergreen
The announcement points to several near-term catalysts:
- Further RC assay results are expected in October and early November.
- A larger RC rig with increased air capacity has been secured, with drilling scheduled to resume in early November, subject to permitting. Drilling in EGRC005 and EGRC008 stopped due to broken ground and water ingress.
- Further diamond assay results will be reported as they become available from the ongoing program on previously unsampled historic drill core and additional sampling of AGC’s diamond core.
- Resource definition drilling of 7,000m is underway.
For context, AGC’s Achilles discovery (2024) hosts an initial 38.5Moz AgEq Resource, 58% of it in the Indicated category. Browns–Evergreen, acquired in 2025 and about 30km away, is described as a second resource opportunity. No resource has been reported for Evergreen, and copper is not included in the AgEq calculation for Achilles.
AGC’s capital structure, as listed in the announcement:
- Shares: 332m
- Cash: A$7m (31 July 2026)
- Debt: nil
Diemar said he looks forward to presenting at the Australian Gold Conference in Sydney later this week. With 16 holes still to report, that presentation and the coming assays are the next points to watch.
Don’t Miss the Next ASX Gold Discovery
Get FREE breaking ASX mining news delivered to your inbox within minutes of release, complete with in-depth analysis. Join 30,000+ investors already staying ahead of the market. Click the “Free Alerts” button at Big News Blast to receive gold, silver and copper announcements the moment they break.