P2 Gold Drills 158m Record Intercept Beyond Gabbs Pit Boundary

P2 Gold has just drilled the thickest mineralised interval ever recorded at its Gabbs Project in Nevada, and the intercept sits outside the pit boundaries used to build the company’s 2025 preliminary economic assessment.

The 12 August 2026 release from P2 Gold covered a western Lucky Strike Zone campaign comprising ten reverse circulation and four diamond drill holes, with the programme structured to feed directly into a Q4 2026 mineral resource estimate (MRE) update. The headline intercept from hole GBR-119, at 158.50 metres of continuous gold-copper mineralisation, exceeded anything previously recorded at Gabbs. For investors watching the resource growth trajectory ahead of the Q1 2027 feasibility study, the timing and location of these results carry specific implications.

Here is what the four reported holes actually returned, why their position beyond the current pit shell matters, and which numbers in the Q4 2026 resource update will tell you whether the August drilling has materially moved the project forward.

Four holes, one deposit record, and a pit shell that no longer fits

The standout number is 158.50 metres. Starting from 83.82 metres depth, GBR-119 graded 0.37 g/t gold and 0.16% copper across that full interval, with a higher-grade core running 67.06 metres at 0.49 g/t gold and 0.18% copper beginning at 96.01 metres. P2 Gold confirmed it as the longest mineralised interval in Gabbs history.

It was not an isolated result. All four holes released on 12 August were oriented southwest or positioned as step-outs beyond the 2025 PEA pit margins, and each returned broad gold-copper mineralisation reported under NI 43-101 standards (the Canadian reporting code that governs how companies classify and disclose mineral resources).

Gabbs record: GBR-119’s 158.50-metre mineralised interval is the thickest ever reported at the project, and it sits outside the 2025 PEA pit shell.

The consistent southwest direction of mineralisation across four separate holes tells you that what was modelled as the edge of the deposit in the 2025 PEA is not actually the edge. Additional step-out results were still pending as of late August 2026, meaning this is not the complete picture. For investors using the 2025 PEA as a baseline, these intercepts signal that the resource underpinning the project economics is larger than the model assumed.

Junior resource stock investing at the drilling-to-feasibility transition stage, where P2 Gold currently sits, involves a distinct set of risk factors compared to earlier exploration positions, including resource classification risk, strip ratio sensitivity, and the timeline compression risk between an MRE update and a binding feasibility study.

Why Lucky Strike’s geology makes these step-outs more than promising drill holes

Thick intercepts are one thing. Whether those intercepts reliably predict mineralisation between holes is another, and at Gabbs, the geology argues that they do.

At Lucky Strike, gold-copper mineralisation occupies a tabular quartz monzonite unit, an intrusive body with a broadly planar geometry that extends laterally across the deposit. The mineralisation is not confined to narrow, structurally complex veins that can pinch out unpredictably between drill holes. Instead, it follows a layered architecture:

• Hanging wall gabbro: the overlying rock unit, sitting above the mineralised zone
• Gold-dominant monzonite core: approximately 100 metres thick, hosting the highest gold grades
• Copper-gold pyroxenite footwall: 20-60 metres thick, adding a copper-rich zone beneath the primary body

When those layers are combined, the resulting column of continuous mineralisation can reach 160 metres in total thickness, the same figure GBR-119 intercepted.

How the Sullivan analogue increases confidence in the Lucky Strike model

The adjacent Sullivan Zone shares the same ore controls and mineralisation style as Lucky Strike. According to Ken McNaughton, Chief Exploration Officer at P2 Gold, matching geological controls between the two zones increases confidence that projections between drill holes are reliable when the resource model is updated. In July 2026, three engineering holes drilled at the PEA pit margins all intersected gold-copper mineralisation, providing the first direct confirmation that the current pit shell boundary sits inside the actual mineralised footprint.

That geological predictability reduces a specific category of risk: the chance that the Q4 2026 resource update disappoints on continuity grounds. In a tabular, lithologically controlled system like this, thick southwest intercepts are consistent with what the geology would predict rather than isolated anomalies. Understanding this distinction helps you separate exploration risk (will more drilling find more ore?) from resource update risk (will the model convert what has been drilled into classified tonnes?). At Gabbs, the geology argues strongly for the latter.

What the Q4 2026 resource update needs to show for the August results to count

Drilling results generate interest. Resource updates determine whether that interest is justified. When the Q4 2026 MRE lands, five specific metrics will tell you whether the August results have actually improved the project’s economics or simply grown the resource on paper:

The conversion process from drilling intercepts into classified tonnes hinges on how mineral resource estimates are constructed, particularly the geostatistical techniques used to interpolate grades between drill holes in tabular, lithologically controlled systems like Lucky Strike.

1. Total contained gold-equivalent ounces in measured plus indicated (M+I) versus the 2025 PEA baseline, the most direct measure of whether the deposit has grown in the categories that support mine planning
2. Classification upgrades from inferred to indicated at Lucky Strike, since indicated material is what supports reserves in a feasibility study; upgrades do not add new ounces but move existing ounces into a higher-confidence category
3. Pit-constrained average grade assessed jointly with strip ratio, because incorporating lower-grade halo material around a higher-grade core often lowers average grade while increasing tonnage; the two numbers only make sense together
4. Pit-slope assumptions from the engineering holes, which will determine wall angles and directly affect how much waste must be moved to access ore
5. Mine sequencing changes across Lucky Strike, Sullivan, and Car Body, since an expanded Lucky Strike resource could shift which zones are mined first and how the gold-copper production profile is staged

Lateral expansion of the pit can increase waste movement. But the thick, continuous intervals suggested by the August results, particularly GBR-119’s 158.50-metre intercept, improve the odds that additional ore offsets additional strip. The direction of change in overall strip ratio and unit mining costs will only be confirmed once updated pit optimisation and geotechnical inputs are published.

The downstream timeline is concrete. The feasibility study targets Q1 2027 completion, with the updated plan envisaging throughput of 12 Mtpa and annual output of roughly 150,000 ounces of gold alongside 45-50 million pounds of copper.

Investors who wait for a single headline number and ignore grade-tonnage jointly, or miss the strip ratio disclosure, risk misreading whether the August results have actually improved project economics.

The Q1 2027 feasibility study will translate the expanded resource into feasibility study metrics, including NPV, IRR, and capital cost estimates, that determine whether the project attracts construction financing at the scale required for 12 Mtpa throughput.

What the August results change, and what remains to be resolved

The August drilling has settled several things. Lucky Strike’s western zone contains thick, continuous gold-copper mineralisation that extends beyond the 2025 PEA pit boundaries. The deposit’s geological predictability, confirmed by matching ore controls at Sullivan, supports confident interpolation between holes. The resource underpinning the next economic study will be larger than what was available for the PEA.

What the August drilling has settled:

• Mineralisation extends beyond the 2025 PEA pit shell in multiple directions
• GBR-119’s 158.50-metre interval confirms deposit-scale thickness in the western Lucky Strike core
• Geological controls support continuity between holes, reducing resource model risk

What remains open:

• The geometry of GBR-119 and the broader southwest intercepts has not been fully resolved; further drilling at depth is needed to establish true thickness across the western core
• Direction of change in strip ratio and unit mining costs will only be resolved after updated Whittle pit optimisation with new geotechnical inputs

For investors tracking P2 Gold (TSXV: PGLD; OTCQB: PGLDF), the August results set a clear expectation for Q4 2026: a larger, better-classified resource with an expanded pit design. The feasibility study should reflect that expanded base. Permitting baseline studies are already underway, which tells you the company is not waiting on drilling alone to advance the project.

Nevada mining capital efficiency arguments are particularly relevant to Gabbs, where proximity to established infrastructure corridors and the state’s mining-friendly permitting framework can compress pre-production capital requirements relative to comparable jurisdictions.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. These statements are speculative and subject to change based on market developments and company performance.