Elk Range Hits Visible Gold Seven Times in Maiden Idaho Drill Hole
Key Takeaways
- Elk Range recorded seven separate visible gold observations in 26FRD001, its maiden diamond drill hole at the Friday Gold Project in Idaho, clustered within a tight ~0.10m downhole interval at 122.45–122.55m depth.
- The visible gold in 26FRD001 occurs approximately 14.5m higher in the hole than coarse visible gold previously identified in nearby historical hole PFR2014_06, providing new structural data on where coarse gold concentrates within the Friday system.
- Historical results from PFR2014_06 — including a 112.78m intercept at 5.22 g/t Au and high-grade sub-intervals of 34.22 g/t Au over 6.55m and 26.54 g/t Au over 5.30m — provide the geological context underpinning the current programme, though these are not Elk Range results.
- Assay results from 26FRD001 and Photon Assay results from the PFR2014_06 quarter-core re-sampling are both expected in late October / early November 2026.
- The Phase 1 programme comprises approximately 2,850m across eight planned surface diamond drill holes, with 26FRD001 designed to extend ~200m beyond the historical hole into a data gap untested since 2014.
Visible gold in the very first hole: what it means for Elk Range
Elk Range Mining Limited has recorded seven separate visible gold observations in 26FRD001, its maiden diamond drill hole at the Friday Gold Project in Idaho, USA. The observations occur between 122.45m and 122.55m downhole, representing the first visible gold identified in drilling completed by Elk Range.
Critically, the new visible gold occurs approximately 14.5m (~48ft) higher in the hole than the coarse visible gold previously identified in nearby historical hole PFR2014_06. With the new hole now drilled past the final depth of that historical reference hole, similar geological features continue to be logged at depth, providing an encouraging early read on the system’s extent.
For investors, visible gold in a maiden hole is a meaningful geological signal. It confirms the gold system is active and drillable, and with two broadly parallel holes now showing visible gold at different positions, Elk Range has new structural data to help refine where coarse gold concentrates within the Friday system.
CEO Edward Keys
“Finding visible gold seven times in our very first drill hole is an exciting start to Elk Range’s maiden drilling campaign. The hole is still being drilled, and importantly, we are continuing to see the types of rocks we want to see…”
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What the geology is telling us
Seven observations, one structural story
The seven observations, designated VG-1 through VG-7, are clustered within a tight ~0.10m downhole interval. They are not seven separate mineralised zones. Rather, they represent multiple direct observations of coarse native gold within a specific structural and vein-textural setting in Elk Range’s new core.
At hand-specimen scale, the gold appears as bright native-gold grains, often smeared by the drill bit, associated with structurally deformed quartz-feldspar-carbonate veining and pyrite mineralisation. The four key structural observation types are:
- Pinched/boudinaged vein domains and pressure-shadow sites
- Vein selvages and adjacent blebby/patchy pyrite alteration extending into the country rock
- Quartz-healed fractures and crackle-breccia textures, locally mineralised by pyrite and native gold
- Features consistent with repeated brittle-ductile deformation and associated fluid ingress and vein reactivation
26FRD001 has now drilled below the 450ft (137.16m) end-of-hole depth of PFR2014_06. Below that depth, geological logging continues to identify structurally complex quartz-feldspar-carbonate veining, pyrite-bearing alteration, and healed fracture/breccia textures visually comparable to structures associated with native gold higher in the hole, a positive indicator for the planned ~200m extension into the data gap.
Two holes, two positions — new structural intelligence
The two broadly parallel holes have their collars approximately 8m apart at surface, with projected drill traces less than 10m apart at depth. The visible gold in 26FRD001 occurs at approximately 122.5m downhole, while the historical visible gold in PFR2014_06 occurs at approximately 137m.
That difference in downhole position is not a negative result. The source is explicit that it provides useful information for refining the orientation, geometry, and local structural controls on coarse-gold deposition within the Friday system. Importantly, the announcement makes clear that assay data and continued structural interpretation are required before any assessment of grade continuity can be made. The depth comparison does not represent true vertical separation, and no inference of continuity should be drawn at this stage.
How visible gold fits into the exploration picture
Visible gold in a drill hole is a qualitative geological observation, not a grade estimate or assay result. When a geologist marks “VG” in a core log, they are recording that native gold is physically present and visible to the naked eye. What that gold actually means in economic terms, the grade, the width, the continuity, can only be established through laboratory assay.
The distinction matters because gold at Friday appears to have a nuggety character. Nuggety gold means individual grains can be large and unevenly distributed, which creates a real sampling challenge: a small sample might hit a grain and return a spectacular result, or entirely miss one and return almost nothing. Neither result tells you the full picture.
That is precisely why Elk Range is using Photon Assay on the historical core re-sampling of PFR2014_06, with an approximately 500g sample charge rather than the standard 50g fire assay used by the original operator. The larger sample mass is designed to improve statistical reliability where coarse or nuggety gold may be present, providing a more robust contemporary comparison with the historical results.
Those historical results from PFR2014_06, generated by previous operator Premium Exploration in 2014, provide the geological context for the current work:
| Hole ID | Interval (m, drilled) | Grade (g/t Au) | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| PFR2014_06 | 112.78m (24.38m–137.16m) | 5.22 g/t Au | Historical main intercept — Premium Exploration, 2014 |
| PFR2014_06 | 6.55m (114.00m–120.55m) | 34.22 g/t Au | Historical high-grade sub-interval — Premium Exploration, 2014 |
| PFR2014_06 | 5.30m (131.86m–137.16m) | 26.54 g/t Au | Historical high-grade sub-interval — Premium Exploration, 2014 |
These are historical results reported as geological context only. They are not Elk Range results, and they do not constitute assay results from the current drilling programme. Assay results from 26FRD001, along with Photon Assay results from the PFR2014_06 re-sampling, are expected in late October / early November 2026.
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What’s next and when to watch
The Phase 1 programme at Friday comprises approximately 2,850m across eight planned surface diamond drill holes. The programme as described in the announcement is as follows:
- 26FRD001 — 335.28m (currently being drilled)
- 26FRD002 — 365.76m (planned)
- 26FRD003 — 396.24m (planned)
- 26FRD004 — 335.28m (planned)
- 26FRD005 — 365.76m (planned)
- 26FRD006 — 441.96m (planned)
- 26FRD007 — 365.76m (planned)
- 26FRD008 — 243.84m (planned)
26FRD001 is designed to extend approximately 200m beyond the historical hole into an area of limited previous drilling, testing interpreted mineralisation below four levels of historical underground development.
The Phase 1 programme targeting the Friday system was designed around the historical intercepts from PFR2014_06, with maiden drilling at Friday structured to extend below the original hole’s end-of-hole depth and test interpreted mineralisation across a data gap that had remained untested since 2014.
The key catalysts for investors to monitor are:
- Assay results from 26FRD001, expected late October / early November 2026
- Photon Assay results from the PFR2014_06 quarter-core re-sampling, expected in the same window
- Continued drilling and geological logging updates as the programme advances
Friday is the initial focus, but Elk Range’s broader Idaho Gold Project also includes the Buffalo Gulch and Deadwood prospects, with a substantial landholding along the Orogrande Shear Zone. The company’s stated strategy is to progressively evaluate the broader exploration potential of its Idaho portfolio alongside the advancement of Friday, giving investors exposure to a pipeline that extends well beyond this single hole.
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