Peako Locks in 862km² Saudi Gold Portfolio With Drilling Set for October
Key Takeaways
- Peako has completed the 100% acquisition of six gold exploration projects covering 862 km² in Saudi Arabia's Central Arabian Gold Region, following shareholder approval on 17 August 2026.
- Maiden drilling across Sukhaybarat South, Wadi Jarir, and Jabal Jumaymah is scheduled to commence October 2026, with surface rock chips already returning grades up to 41.5 g/t Au at Wadi Jarir and 41 g/t Au at Jabal Jumaymah.
- Sukhaybarat South sits immediately adjacent to an operating ~2Moz gold mine, with two new discoveries — Matar (22.9 g/t Au) and Karak (9.1 g/t Au) — identified ahead of the drill bit.
- The 862 km² portfolio includes three earlier-stage targets beyond the October drill programme, including Bulgah East, located 14km from the ~3.4Moz Bulgah Gold Mine, with soil anomalies spanning 10km.
- Marcus Harden — a geologist with senior roles at First Quantum, Bellevue Gold, and Gryphon Minerals — has joined the board as Non-Executive Director concurrent with acquisition completion.
Acquisition complete — Peako enters Saudi Arabia’s emerging gold frontier
Peako Limited (ASX: PKO) has completed the 100% acquisition of six gold exploration projects covering 862 km² in Saudi Arabia’s Central Arabian Gold Region, following shareholder approval on 17 August 2026 and satisfaction of all conditions precedent. The portfolio sits within the Arabian–Nubian Shield, a geological province that shares comparable characteristics with world-class gold regions in Western Australia and West Africa.
The region has historically been dominated by a single state-affiliated operator, but it is now opening to foreign junior explorers. Major miners including Barrick, Zijin, and Hancock are already present, lending institutional validation to the jurisdiction. Maiden drilling across three project areas is planned to commence in October 2026.
Chairman Gernot Abl
“Completing this acquisition is a major step for Peako, positioning us in Saudi Arabia’s emerging gold sector. We have built a high-grade discovery platform across an exceptional geological setting that is significantly under-explored. With a leadership team that combines global discovery credentials and established Saudi relationships, we have the technical capability and in-country expertise to advance this exceptional discovery opportunity.
The work completed by our exploration team over recent months has already added value to our prospects and validates our exploration strategy and targeting methodology. With geophysics nearing completion and drilling to commence late October, shareholders are directly leveraged to a high-impact discovery program in a region attracting major global mining capital.”
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
What makes Saudi Arabia’s Central Arabian Gold Region significant
The Arabian–Nubian Shield is an ancient Precambrian geological formation, meaning it is composed of some of the oldest rock sequences on Earth. Precambrian rocks are the same geological family that hosts world-class gold districts in West Africa and Western Australia.
Saudi Arabia already hosts 15 multi-million-ounce gold deposits yet remains largely underexplored. Restricted historical access, dominated by a single state-affiliated operator, kept foreign capital out for decades. That is now changing.
For junior explorers, early-mover positioning in an emerging frontier can be transformative. The companies that entered West Africa and the Yilgarn before they became established gold provinces captured the most ground at the lowest cost. KSA is attracting serious global capital for four clear reasons:
- Geology: Arabian–Nubian Shield rocks share the same deposit-forming characteristics as proven global gold provinces.
- Government support: Saudi Arabia is actively encouraging foreign mining investment as part of broader economic diversification.
- Major miner validation: The presence of Barrick, Zijin, and Hancock signals that sophisticated capital has already assessed and committed to the region.
High-grade results already redefining the portfolio ahead of the drill bit
Before a single drill hole, Peako’s in-country team has completed extensive field mapping and reconnaissance sampling across the portfolio since the acquisition, delineating new discoveries and refining the company’s exploration models. The results across three priority targets have materially upgraded the quality of what is about to be drilled.
Earlier field work across Wadi Jarir and Sukhaybarat South identified the high-grade surface expressions that are now driving the October 2026 drill programme, with each target carrying open mineralisation and well-defined vectors ahead of the first hole.
Sukhaybarat South — adjacent to ~2Moz operating mine
Sukhaybarat South sits immediately adjacent to the operating ~2Moz Sukhaybarat Gold Mine, covering strike extensions of the mine’s underlying host rocks and geological structures.
Peako has made two new discoveries here. The Matar target, located 2.5km south of the mine, returned surface rock chips up to 22.9 g/t Au, with mineralisation hosted along the margins of the same intrusive suite that hosts the Sukhaybarat gold deposit. The Karak target, 10km south of the mine, covers a 2km × 1.5km vein system with rock chips up to 9.1 g/t Au.
Historical drilling at the Redhill SE target intersected significant mineralisation on wide 200m-spaced lines, including open intercepts of 4m @ 11.3 g/t Au and 5m @ 5.5 g/t Au, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.
Wadi Jarir — 8km high-grade vein corridor
Wadi Jarir covers an 8km × 2km corridor of quartz-carbonate veining focused around a central granite intrusion. Surface rock chips returned grades of 41.5 g/t Au, 23.6 g/t Au, and 10.6 g/t Au from previously unrecognised structures.
Historical wide-spaced drilling largely targeted zones between the primary veins, missing the main structures. A key historical intercept ended in mineralisation with 2m @ 13.5 g/t Au, including 1m @ 25.9 g/t Au in the final metre of the hole, left untested. Peako’s new interpretation targets the vein-hosted system directly, with maiden drilling designed to test what historical programs missed.
Jabal Jumaymah — 1.1km outcropping system with high-grade scout intercepts
Jabal Jumaymah features a continuous 1.1km outcropping vein and breccia system with surface grab samples up to 41 g/t Au. Limited historical scout drilling intersected wide high-grade zones at shallow depths, including 7m @ 10.12 g/t Au and 7m @ 5.44 g/t Au, both open along strike and at depth. Upcoming drilling is designed to test step-outs along strike and down-dip to evaluate the continuity and resource potential of the system.
| Project | Key Rock Chip Grade | Notable Historical Intercept | Adjacent Deposit | Drill Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhaybarat South (Matar) | 22.9 g/t Au | — | ~2Moz Sukhaybarat Mine | October 2026 |
| Sukhaybarat South (Karak) | 9.1 g/t Au | — | ~2Moz Sukhaybarat Mine | October 2026 |
| Sukhaybarat South (Redhill SE) | — | 4m @ 11.3 g/t Au; 5m @ 5.5 g/t Au | ~2Moz Sukhaybarat Mine | October 2026 |
| Wadi Jarir | 41.5 g/t Au | 2m @ 13.5 g/t Au incl. 1m @ 25.9 g/t Au | — | October 2026 |
| Jabal Jumaymah | 41 g/t Au | 7m @ 10.12 g/t Au; 7m @ 5.44 g/t Au | — | October 2026 |
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
Team, timeline and what’s next for PKO shareholders
Concurrent with acquisition completion, Marcus Harden has been appointed to the board as a Non-Executive Director. Harden is a geologist with international discovery credentials, having held former senior management roles at First Quantum, Gryphon Minerals, Bellevue Gold, and Alicanto Minerals. He is currently President of TSX-V listed Gladiator Metals and is a founding Non-Executive Director of Many Peaks Minerals (ASX: MPK).
Peako’s in-country exploration programme is led by Exploration Manager Oliver Jones, who brings 18 years’ experience specialising in gold systems across the Middle East, with over a decade focused specifically on the KSA minerals sector. Jones’s local deposit knowledge, gained from working across most of Saudi Arabia’s operating mines, was instrumental in identifying and acquiring the six project areas that now comprise Peako’s portfolio.
Beyond the three October drill targets, the 862 km² tenure supports a deeper pipeline of earlier-stage opportunities:
- Ad Dirabi: Centred on ancient mine workings, with rock chips up to 11.4 g/t Au confirmed over an 800m corridor.
- Bulgah East: A 10km soil anomaly on a parallel structural setting, located 14km from the ~3.4Moz Bulgah Gold Mine, with first-pass rock chips up to 5.1 g/t Au.
- Wadi Ash Shuwayla: Epithermal-style gold indicators (pyrophyllite-dickite-kaolin alteration and banded chalcedonic veining) mapped over 1.4km of strike.
Looking ahead, the near-term catalyst sequence is clearly defined:
- High-resolution ground magnetic surveys nearing completion across five key target areas.
- Maiden KSA drilling planned to commence October 2026 across Sukhaybarat South, Wadi Jarir, and Jabal Jumaymah.
- Saudi Arabia subsidiary incorporated; 10 licence blocks to be transferred in line with KSA statutory processes 12 months following initial licence grants in March and April 2026.
- Active joint venture and acquisition mandate across the Kingdom, leveraging local networks and refined exploration models.
PKO shareholders are positioned ahead of a multi-target maiden drilling programme in a geological setting with established multi-million-ounce deposit precedent. The pre-drill exploration work has already delivered new discoveries and open high-grade intercepts at each priority target, meaning the drill bit arrives with well-defined, high-priority vectors rather than greenfield uncertainty.
Don’t Miss the Next ASX Gold Discovery in Saudi Arabia
Get FREE breaking ASX gold alerts delivered to your inbox within minutes of release, complete with in-depth analysis already done. Join 30,000+ investors staying ahead of market-moving news the moment it breaks. Click the “Free Alerts” button at Discovery Alert to start receiving real-time coverage of ASX gold and mining stocks today.