Evergold Minerals Finds Gold at Three New Targets as 9,000m Drill Program Nears
Key Takeaways
- Evergold's 262-hole, 6,357m aircore program at Mt Monger has delivered four drill-defined gold prospects: Paladin, Hickman's Find, Gladiator and Vanguard.
- Vanguard is the standout at 19m at 0.86 g/t Au from 28m, including 4m at 2.37 g/t Au, while the other three prospects returned modest grades of 0.29 to 0.37 g/t Au.
- Crusader returned nothing above 0.1 g/t Au across 30 holes and has been downgraded, so three of four regional targets delivered gold.
- About 9,000m of RC drilling by KTE Mining Services is due to start in early November 2026, with scoping-level metallurgical results expected within four weeks.
- Evergold is targeting a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at Duchess of York in early 2027, with Vault Minerals' Randalls mill about 5km from the project, though no access agreement is in place.
Final aircore results deliver four drill-defined gold prospects at Mt Monger
Evergold Minerals (ASX: EG1) has completed its 2026 aircore program at the Mt Monger Gold Project, about 70km southeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, with all assays received and reviewed. The program covered 262 holes for 6,357m.
Paladin, Hickman’s Find, Gladiator and Vanguard are now described by the company as drill-defined gold prospects. Resource definition RC (reverse circulation) drilling at Duchess of York is scheduled to commence in about four weeks, and first metallurgical testwork is underway.
For you as an investor, the point is progression. First-pass drilling has moved conceptual targets into the RC follow-up pipeline, which is where the company will test the extent and grade of mineralisation at each of the new prospects.
Glenn Grayson, Director
“…Importantly, these are shallow, broad-spaced first-pass results. The grades are modest, but they tell us the intrusions we targeted carry gold. We now have four drill-defined gold prospects and a much clearer basis for RC follow-up…”
The grades are modest, and the company says so. What the results show is that the targeting model found gold where it predicted it.
Regional intercepts at a glance
The table below summarises the headline intercept at each prospect, taken from Table 1 of the announcement. All figures are downhole lengths from 4m composite samples, and true widths are not known.
| Prospect | Hole | Intercept | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paladin | MM26AC0172 | 10m at 0.31 g/t Au from 48m | Including 8m at 0.38 g/t Au from 48m; ends at end of hole (58m) |
| Hickman’s Find | MM26AC0142 | 3m at 0.37 g/t Au from 36m | Hole terminated at 40m |
| Gladiator | MM26AC0262 | 8m at 0.29 g/t Au from 12m | Aircore result |
| Vanguard | MM26AC0022 | 19m at 0.86 g/t Au from 28m | Including 4m at 2.37 g/t Au from 40m; previously reported on 16 September 2026 |
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How the sanukitoid model was tested beyond Duchess of York
The regional program was the first drill test of the company’s intrusion-related model away from Duchess of York. It comprised 130 holes for 3,877m at Gladiator, Crusader, Paladin and Hickman’s Find, added to 132 holes around Duchess of York that delivered Vanguard.
What are aircore drilling and a sanukitoid intrusion?
Aircore is a drilling method used here as shallow, first-pass exploration. Samples of the weathered rock are collected as 4m composites, meaning four 1m samples are combined into one bag for assay.
Gold at Duchess of York is interpreted as intrusion-related, associated with felsic, sanukitoid-affinity intrusive rocks. In plain terms, that is a particular type of igneous rock the company links to gold there.
The targeting model has two parts. A 3D inversion of ground gravity data defines low-density bodies interpreted as concealed sanukitoid intrusions, and drone magnetics map the structures linking them towards surface.
Targets were ranked where an interpreted intrusion, a structure and favourable host rocks coincide. Each hit helps the company rank targets before committing to RC drilling, which is the next step in the pipeline.
Prospect-by-prospect takeaways
- Paladin: The first gold recorded at a previously undrilled target, open at depth and along strike. Only eight of the 32 planned aircore holes were drilled, leaving most of the target untested ahead of RC follow-up.
- Hickman’s Find: Open at depth and to the east, and cut short by a rig breakdown at 40m. It sits on an interpreted sanukitoid body approximately 1.5km west of Duchess of York.
- Gladiator: Aircore extends the footprint of gold anomalism around the maiden RC intercept of 8m at 0.44 g/t Au from 43m (MM26RC0030). Diamond follow-up is to be scheduled after the Duchess of York resource definition program.
- Crusader: 30 holes returned no sample above the 0.1 g/t Au reporting threshold, and the target has been downgraded.
Crusader is a useful reminder that not every target delivers. Three of the four regional prospects returned gold, and one did not.
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RC drilling and metallurgy: what comes next
Resource definition RC drilling at Duchess of York is scheduled to commence in early November 2026, with site preparation in late October. KTE Mining Services will drill a program of approximately 9,000m across Duchess of York, Vanguard and Kiaki Soaks, with final hole numbers and metres for each prospect to be confirmed on commencement of drilling.
At Kiaki Soaks, the first RC drilling at the prospect will follow up a historical intercept of 40m at 2.49 g/t Au from 32m (KIRC007). EG1 has not independently verified that historical result.
The company is targeting a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at Duchess of York in early 2027. Timing and outcome depend on the drilling results and subsequent estimation work, and there is no certainty that a Mineral Resource will be defined or that any development will proceed.
Metallurgical testwork is also underway. Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd of Perth is carrying out scoping-level testwork on RC drill chip samples representing the oxide, transitional and fresh domains, the first metallurgical work on the prospect, with results expected within four weeks.
The company describes the testwork as an early step in assessing whether the mineralisation is amenable to conventional gravity and carbon-in-leach processing used at operating mills in the district. That includes Vault Minerals’ Randalls mill, approximately 5km from the project, though access to third-party processing facilities would be subject to further discussion and agreement.
Near-term catalysts
The announcement lists the following near-term activities at Mt Monger:
- Metallurgical results, expected within four weeks
- RC start at Duchess of York, Vanguard and Kiaki Soaks
- RC follow-up at Paladin, Hickman’s Find and Gladiator
- First-pass drilling at Samurai, Tiger Lily and Captain Hook
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, targeted for early 2027
Taken together, that points to a dense news-flow window over the coming weeks, with metallurgical results and the start of RC drilling both due close together.
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