Empire Resources Drills Three Untested Gold Targets Near 63,000oz WA Mine
Key Takeaways
- Empire Resources will commence a 2,400m aircore drilling program at its Pennys Gold project on 21 September 2026, with results expected within approximately one week of start.
- The program targets three soil anomalies that have never previously been tested by drilling, representing genuinely first-pass exploration on each target.
- Two of the three targets sit along the same north-south structural corridor as Maritana Minerals' Pennys Find Gold Mine, which hosts a 63,000oz Au resource 45km northeast of Kalgoorlie.
- Empire's tenements are adjacent to, not inclusive of, the 63,000oz resource — the geological proximity is the basis for the exploration thesis, not an existing resource claim.
- Pennys Gold is one of two active projects in Empire's Western Australian exploration portfolio, alongside the Yuinmery Copper-Gold project in the Youanmi Greenstone Belt.
Drill program set to begin at Pennys Gold project
Empire Resources Limited (ASX: ERL) has announced a 2,400m aircore drilling program scheduled to commence at its Pennys Gold project on 21 September 2026. The program is expected to take approximately one week.
The Pennys Gold project sits 45km northeast of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
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Three untested soil anomalies in the crosshairs
The drill program targets three soil anomalies, none of which have been previously tested by drilling. Two sit along a north-south trend on the same structural corridor as Maritana Minerals’ (ASX: MRT) Pennys Find Gold Mine, which hosts a 63,000oz Au resource. A third anomaly occupies the south-eastern corner of tenement E27/592.
The three targets, as shown in Figure 1 (Pennys Gold Project Soil Anomalies) in the announcement, are:
- Target 1: North-south soil anomaly along strike of the Pennys Find Gold Mine
- Target 2: Second north-south soil anomaly along strike of the Pennys Find Gold Mine
- Target 3: Untested soil anomaly on the south-eastern corner of tenement E27/592
It is important to note that the 63,000oz Au resource belongs to Maritana Minerals (ASX: MRT). Empire’s tenements are adjacent to, not inclusive of, that resource. The geological proximity is what makes the corridor of interest — the anomalies sit in the same structural setting as a known gold system, which is the basis for testing them.
Understanding aircore drilling and why soil anomalies matter
Aircore drilling is a fast, cost-effective technique used in first-pass exploration. It uses compressed air to bring cuttings to the surface from shallow depths, allowing geologists to quickly test a large number of targets across a wide area.
A soil anomaly in gold exploration refers to an area where surface sampling has returned elevated gold-in-soil readings. These elevated readings suggest that gold mineralisation may exist at depth beneath the surface sample points.
By drilling into these anomalies, Empire will either confirm the presence of a meaningful gold system below or rule it out. The results from this program will be a direct test of whether the surface signals have substance beneath them.
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Empire’s broader exploration platform
Empire Resources is a gold and copper-focused explorer operating two projects in Western Australia. Alongside the Pennys Gold project in the Eastern Goldfields, the company holds the Yuinmery Copper-Gold project, located 470km northeast of Perth in the Youanmi Greenstone Belt.
The Yuinmery Copper-Gold project, Empire’s second active asset, sits 470km northeast of Perth in the Youanmi Greenstone Belt and has seen its own drilling acceleration in recent months, rounding out a two-project exploration platform for the company.
The Pennys drill program represents active exploration at the Pennys Gold project.
The announcement was authorised for release by the Board and attributed to Michael Ruane, Non-Executive Chairman. No direct management quote was included in the source announcement.
With the program expected to wrap up within approximately one week of its 21 September 2026 start date, investors monitoring ERL will be watching for first-pass drilling results from targets that have not previously been tested with the drill bit.
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