Terrain Minerals Starts Smokebush Drilling to Upgrade Lightning Gold Resource

Terrain Minerals starts Smokebush drilling: 86-hole, 10,905m RC program under way

Terrain Minerals (ASX: TMX) has commenced its October 2026 drilling campaign at the 100%-owned Smokebush gold/silver (+tungsten) Project, located 350 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. The company’s geological team is on site preparing for the arrival of the drill rig and crew, expected later this week.

All site preparation works were completed earlier this month, with infrastructure in place to support the start of drilling.

The numbers are large for a company of this size. The campaign covers 86 holes for 10,905m of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling, all within the granted Mining Lease M59/796, and it is described as the largest drilling program undertaken by Terrain to date.

For you as an investor, a program with permits and infrastructure already in place removes some of the usual start-up friction. The announcement reports no new exploration results and gives no timeline for results.

Separately, the company flagged that its Right Issue closes on 22 October 2026 (5pm WST). The announcement gives no terms, and shareholders who have not received an application pack are asked to contact the company.

What does the program cover: resource growth and discovery drilling?

The 86 holes split into two jobs. One is growing and firming up what Terrain already has at Lightning. The other is hunting for new mineralisation nearby.

Resource drilling at Lightning and Monza

The 54 resource holes (5,735m) are directed across the Lightning project, targeting both the Lightning and Monza structures. They are designed to infill the existing drill pattern at a spacing that supports an upgrade in resource classification, and to drill the near-surface position of the deposit so that mineralisation currently outside the optimised shell may be brought inside a larger pit. The focus is on the top 150m.

The starting point is the maiden Lightning Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate, announced on 27 July 2026. It stands at 677,000 tonnes at 2.5 g/t gold for 54,000 ounces of gold and 156,500 ounces of silver.

Of that, 157,000 tonnes at 3.5 g/t gold for 17,500 ounces sits within the optimised open-pit shell, with the balance reported under underground mining assumptions. Mineralisation starts at surface and remains open along strike and at depth.

An Inferred resource carries the lowest geological confidence of the resource categories. Moving parts of it to Indicated is what would allow more detailed studies to proceed.

Justin Virgin, Executive Director

“This drilling program is designed to support an upgrade of parts of the Lightning Mineral Resource from the Inferred to Indicated category, which would enable initial mining studies to be undertaken. This aligns with Terrain’s stated strategy of working towards a potential small-scale toll milling operation, to fund future exploration and development across the broader project.”

Exploration targets

Of the 32 exploration holes, 16 test induced polarisation (IP) chargeability anomalies, 14 test interpreted strike extensions at Lightning North and Target 13, and 2 test the central soil geochemical anomaly.

Eight Lightning North holes (960m) are classed as exploration because they sit outside the current resource envelope. A successful result there could inform the next resource update.

The table shows five of the exploration targets listed in the announcement. All holes are planned as RC, with planned depths ranging from 30m to 250m.

On tungsten, around 12 holes are being designed to target newly identified mineralisation. These holes could be added to the program, subject to approvals (ASX release, 6 October 2026). Treat this as potential only until approvals are in place.

How are the targets chosen: IP and soil surveys explained?

RC drilling uses compressed air to bring rock chips to the surface from the hole, giving a quick, relatively low-cost read on what lies underground. Because holes cost money, explorers use surveys to decide where to put them.

Induced polarisation (IP) sends an electrical current into the ground and measures how rock holds a charge. Chargeability anomalies can flag zones worth testing. Soil geochemistry samples the surface for gold and pathfinder elements, which are trace elements that often travel with gold.

The announcement says the targets were generated from IP and soil datasets, together with existing drilling and geological interpretation. Key points:

• Terrain completed its second dipole-dipole IP survey earlier this year, covering 22 lines for 23 line-kilometres across the mining lease and surrounding tenure.
• Seven new priority IP targets were defined (ASX announcement, 21 August 2026).
• Most soil geochemical anomalies remain untested by drilling, including those in the centre of the mining lease, which also appear to coincide with an IP anomaly.
• Earlier drilling of soil targets coincident with IP anomalies delivered encouraging results, including three targets at the Wildflower area.

Terrain’s thesis is that Lightning is one member of a family of sub-parallel, shear-hosted gold systems within the same greenstone package at Smokebush.

What is the regional context?

Immediately north of the mining lease, along the same Yalgoo-Singleton greenstone belt, sits the Golden Range Project held by Capricorn Metals Limited (ASX: CMM). The announcement describes it as a group of gold deposits and historic open pits along a dominant structural corridor.

The nearby Rothsay Gold mine, held by Vault Minerals (ASX: VAU) and about 15 kilometres from Smokebush, is hosted in three discrete areas and within five individual shear zones. Terrain considers that similar structural repetition may be present on its own ground.

Two cautions apply. Terrain has not independently verified the third-party information, and mineralisation on nearby projects is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation on Terrain’s tenements.

The IP corridors are also one reasonable reading of the chargeability data, not confirmed geological structure. That applies particularly to the west of the survey area, which has not yet been drill-tested.

What does it mean for investors and what comes next?

The potential path is laid out in the announcement. It runs from a 54,000 ounce Inferred resource towards parts of it reaching Indicated status, initial mining studies, and the company’s stated strategy of working towards a potential small-scale toll milling operation. Alongside that sits discovery upside from the parallel structures being tested.

Exploration drilling is speculative, and the outcomes are unknown until the holes are drilled and assayed. The items to watch are:

1. Rig mobilisation and the first holes, with the rig and crew expected later this week.
2. Possible tungsten holes, subject to approvals.
3. Assay results from the program.
4. A potential resource update, which the announcement says could be informed by successful Lightning North results.
5. Future exploration priorities at Hurley, Paradise City and the Wildflower area.

Justin Virgin, Executive Director

“…the grassroots project knowledge gained through six years of exploration at Smokebush and the Lightning Deposit. This knowledge continues to build our confidence as we advance our other targets, which continue to return encouraging results, further strengthening our belief that Smokebush has the potential to develop into a multi-deposit gold camp.”

The announcement reports no new exploration results and gives no timeline for results. Until assays arrive, the program is a statement of intent backed by a defined drill plan, not evidence of an outcome.

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