Evolution Mining Eyes $160M Drill Push to Grow Gold and Copper Reserves
Key Takeaways
- Evolution Mining is lifting exploration expenditure by up to 82% to $130–160M in FY27, with planned drilling expanding from 260km to 360–400km across its operating asset portfolio.
- A maiden Mineral Resource has been achieved at Northparkes' E51 deposit, anchored by a 146m intercept at 1.02% Cu including 88m at 1.51% Cu, with a second maiden resource also declared at the Major Tom deposit.
- Deep directional drilling at Ernest Henry has returned 61.3m at 1.26% Cu and 0.77g/t Au from 2,121m depth, targeting a mine life extension beyond current Ore Reserve projections at one of Australia's premier copper-gold operations.
- The emerging Oban corridor at Cowal has been described by management as having scale potential equivalent to the existing underground mine, with an early high-grade intercept of 3m at 11.44g/t Au from 553m already in hand.
- A greenfields allocation of $21–23M supports longer-dated positions including a 9.9% stake in Arizona Gold & Silver's Philadelphia project and two high-grade epithermal targets in British Columbia, Canada.
Evolution Mining outlines ambitious FY27 exploration push across gold and copper portfolio
In its 15 September 2026 investor presentation, Evolution Mining laid out an ambitious exploration strategy led by Vice President Discovery Glen Masterman, anchored by a significant uplift in spending and drilling activity for the year ahead.
Exploration expenditure is planned to rise from $88M in FY26 to $130–$160M in FY27, while planned drilling is set to expand from 260km to 360–400km. The strategic intent is to grow the group’s already substantial resource base, which stands at 31Moz gold and 4.2Mt copper in Mineral Resources, and 12Moz gold and 1.3Mt copper in Ore Reserves.
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Three flagship assets anchor the FY27 drill-bit growth strategy
The bulk of FY27 exploration capital is directed at three core operating assets: Cowal, Northparkes, and Ernest Henry. Each asset has a defined discovery objective and a multi-rig drill program to match.
A separate greenfields allocation of $21–23M (included within the group total) supports longer-dated exploration positions outside the operating mines.
| Asset | FY27 Exploration Guidance | Resource Definition Drilling | Discovery Drilling | Drill Rigs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowal | $18–22M | 47,000m | 26,000m | 3–4 |
| Northparkes | $14–16M | 13,000m | 44,000m | 3–4 |
| Ernest Henry | $20–24M | 12,000m | 30,000m | 3–4 |
What the drills are finding — site-by-site highlights
Cowal — chasing a new underground mine
At Cowal in New South Wales, the exploration program has two objectives: delineating a new underground mining front and expanding the E41 open pit Mineral Resource.
New drilling results at E41 are extending mineralisation well beyond existing Ore Reserve pit designs. The most significant new intercept reported is E41D2969: 15.2m (10.64m ETW) @ 2.054g/t Au from 685m depth, illustrating significant growth potential at depth.
The presentation also highlighted the emerging Oban corridor as a structurally significant new target. Management described its geological architecture and scale potential as equivalent to the existing underground mine. A high-grade intercept from this corridor, RDU0298, returned 3m (2.1m ETW) @ 11.44g/t Au from 553m.
Northparkes — copper growth leveraging existing infrastructure
Northparkes is positioned as the copper growth engine within the portfolio, with both open pit and underground programs underway.
The standout result from the E51 deposit is hole E51D020: 146m @ 1.02% Cu, 0.14g/t Au, including 88m @ 1.51% Cu, 0.19g/t Au (downhole widths; true widths not currently known). This result contributes to the maiden E51 Mineral Resource. A maiden Mineral Resource has also been achieved at the Major Tom deposit.
Separately, the E26 South area has emerged as a newly identified porphyry copper target adjacent to existing underground infrastructure. A 10km drilling program is underway to test its potential scale and grade. On the open pit side, an aggressive 20km drill program is planned for FY27 targeting Mineral Resource growth.
Ernest Henry — extending one of Australia’s premier copper-gold mines
Ernest Henry in Queensland holds a resource base of 100Mt @ 1.25% Cu, situated within a district-scale copper corridor that also includes Carnaby Resources’ total Mineral Resources of 29.2Mt @ 1.3% Cu and 0.2g/t Au.
The headline result from a 2.5km deep directional drilling program is hole EH1554A: 61.3m (50m ETW) @ 1.26% Cu and 0.77g/t Au from 2,121m depth. The objective of this program is to confirm that the main orebody extends at depth, which would extend mine life beyond current Ore Reserve projections.
Why exploration-driven growth matters for Evolution Mining investors
“Drill-bit growth” refers to growing a company’s metal inventory by discovering and delineating new ore through drilling, rather than acquiring external assets.
The leverage benefit is significant when discoveries are made adjacent to existing processing infrastructure, as is the case at Cowal, Northparkes, and Ernest Henry. Converting those ounces and tonnes into production requires substantially less capital than building a new standalone mine, because the processing plant and site infrastructure already exist.
The pathway from exploration to production runs through two key milestones. Drilling first builds a Mineral Resource, which is a geologically defined body of mineralisation with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Further technical and economic work can convert portions of that Mineral Resource into Ore Reserves, which are the tonnes that formally underpin mine life and future production schedules. Growing the resource base at all three assets is, in effect, building the foundation for future production decisions.
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Beyond the operating assets — building the next generation of growth
The greenfields portfolio represents the longer-dated layer of Evolution Mining’s growth pipeline, distinct from the brownfields programs at its operating mines.
Two positions were highlighted in the presentation:
- Arizona Gold & Silver (9.9% strategic investment): High-grade epithermal gold Philadelphia project in northwest Arizona, USA. The presentation described this as an opportunity with “EVN-scale potential.”
- Nechako, British Columbia, Canada: The Two Times Fred project (100% EVN) and the Clisbako project (EVN option); both are high-grade epithermal gold-silver targets with potential to support growth objectives.
Taken together, the FY27 exploration strategy reflects a disciplined capital allocation framework: directing the majority of a significantly increased budget at three brownfields assets where new discoveries can be converted into Mineral Resources, and ultimately into Ore Reserves, while maintaining a greenfields portfolio to create optionality for the next generation of growth across both gold and copper.
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