The Gold Sector’s Largest Drilling Programs
A look at some of the most aggressive pre-production exploration campaigns across the global gold sector
Fourmile
It’s been described as the greatest gold discoveries of this century and Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE: B) believes the 15.6 million ounces delineated at Fourmile in Nevada is just the beginning.
Barrick had 16 drill rigs at Fourmile last year, aimed at doubling the high-grade 7.8Moz resource.
Resources now stand at an indicated 4.6 million tonnes at 17.59 grams per tonne gold for 2.6Moz of gold and an inferred 25Mt at 16.9g/t gold for 13Moz of gold.
Barrick has ramped up exploration to 20 rigs this year with 120km of directional surface drilling planned, aimed at converting the exploration target of 30-34Mt at 15-16g/t gold, which could potentially see resources double again.
The current drill program is targeting 30-35m drill spacing for indicated resources and 80-90m for inferred resources, which translates to 370km of surface drilling and 80km of underground drilling by the end of 2028.
The 2025 preliminary economic assessment, released during last year’s Mining Forum Americas, indicated capital costs of US$1.5-1.7 billion for a 1.5-1.8Mt per annum operation to produce 600,000-750,000 ounces of gold per year at all-in sustaining costs of US$650-750 an ounce over more than 25 years.
Fourmile, where first ore is targeted in 2030, will be part of Barrick’s proposed North American spin-off later this year.
Cariboo
While Osisko Development Corp (NYSE/TSX: ODV) is moving towards construction of the Cariboo gold project in British Columbia, Canada, the company hasn’t forgotten about exploration.
Cariboo already has resources of 3.4Moz at around 3g/t gold, underpinning an C$881 million operation producing 190,000ozpa of gold at AISC of US$1157/oz over 10 years from 2028.
Osisko expects to have up to 20 drill rigs in operation throughout 2026, representing around 160,000m of drilling across Cariboo and regional targets.
The company last reported 11 active drill rigs, including four surface rigs targeting potential mineralisation below the current extent of the Cariboo deposit to depths of up to 1000m.
Last month, Osisko reported new results from infill and underground drilling.
Infill results returned 1.5m at 44.68g/t gold from 27.9m, including 0.5m at 133.62g/t gold and 2.5m at 25.78g/t gold from 41.3m, including 0.5m at 103.47g/t gold and 1m at 12.51g/t gold.
Underground drilling at the Lowhee zone returned best results of 2m at 31.64g/t gold from 50m; including 0.5m at 125.24g/t gold and 4.9m at 11.21g/t gold from 63.3m, including 0.7m at 58.19g/t gold and 0.7m at 17.57g/t gold.
O’Brien
In late 2025, Radisson Mining Resources Inc (TSXV: RDS) announced the expansion of its step-out exploration drill program at the O’Brien gold project in the Abitibi region of Québec, Canada, to 140,000m.
The expanded program, using up to eight drill rigs, marks the largest drill program in the history of the project.
The company expects to complete 72,500m of drilling this year and 32,500m in the first half of 2027.
In March, Radisson updated the resource at O’Brien to an indicated 10.37Mt at 5.08g/t gold for 1.69Moz of gold, up 82%, and an indicated 3.49Mt at 5.59g/t gold for 630,000oz of gold, up 8%.
It has set an exploration target of a further 5-10Mt at 4-6g/t gold for 600,000oz to 2Moz of gold.
Last week, Radisson reported 13.1m at 4.06g/t gold, including 1m at 23.79g/t gold; 13m at 3.52g/t gold, including 1.3m at 22.06g/t gold; 4.2m at 8.43g/t gold, including 1.1m at 26.08g/t gold; 4.3m at 5.38g/t gold, including 1.3m at 9.79g/t gold; and 1m at 9.9g/t gold from a single hole.
The hole intersected at least five separate zones of classic O’Brien gold mineralisation at 1720m vertical depth at “O’Brien Mine East”, the deepest yet extension of vein mineralisation beneath historical mine workings.
Boundiali
Aurum Resources (ASX: AUE) recently updated the resource for its Boundiali gold project in Côte d’Ivoire to 107.5Mt at 1g/t gold for 3.22Moz of gold.
The company, which recently welcomed Perseus Mining (ASX/TSX: PRU) as a 9.9% shareholder, has 16 diamond drill rigs active at Boundiali, targeting increased resource confidence, further resource growth and new discoveries.
All up, 100,000m of drilling is planned at Boundiali this year, as well as a further 30,000m at the 1.16Moz Napié project, 125km to the southeast.
Results reported this week from the BDT2 deposit included 6.54m at 13.36 g/t gold from 272m, including 3.7m at 23.32g/t gold, including 1.7m at 70.35g/t gold; 21m at 1.12g/t gold from 228m, including 1m at 14.99g/t gold; and 2.8m at 4.39g/t gold from 220.7m, including 0.9m at 12.68g/t gold.
An updated resource is due by the end of this quarter. The definitive feasibility study for Boundiali is due by the end of the year, following the recent release of a prefeasibility study.
Sunday Creek
Southern Cross Gold Consolidated (TSX: SXGC/ASX: SX2) is planning more than 100,000m of drilling at its Sunday Creek gold-antimony project, 60km north of Melbourne in Victoria.
The company has drilled almost 120,000m to date with results including 85 composite intersections exceeding 100g/t gold.
The mineralisation follows a “Golden Ladder” structure over 12km of strike length, with structures tested from surface to 1100 m depth.
Southern Cross has defined an exploration target of 2.2-3.2Moz at 6.4-8.3g/t gold and 0.9-0.9% antimony, or 8.3-10.6g/t AuEq.
An updated target is imminent, which will be followed by an initial resource in the first quarter of 2027.
Earlier this week, the first cut was fired as part of the development of a A$30 million exploration decline, marking the first new decline development in Victoria in more than two decades.
“From here, the team will drive the primary decline to establish underground drill platforms approximately 115m beneath surface, scaling us from the 11 surface rigs operating today towards 24 rigs working concurrently, and positioning Sunday Creek as one of the largest pre-development drill-outs globally,” Southern Cross managing director Michael Hudson said.
Guayabales
Collective Mining (TSX: CNL) is planning to deploy up to 14 rigs to drill 100,000m across three targets in 2026 at its Guayabales project in Colombia.
The pre-resource project neighbours Aris Mining Corporation’s (TSX/NYSE: ARIS) 8.7Moz Marmato mine.
Guayabales hosts the flagship large-scale, bulk-tonnage and high-grade gold-silver-copper-tungsten Apollo system.
Collective currently has 13 diamond rigs operating across the project.
Previous results have included 150.5m at 6.16g/t gold equivalent within 534.4m at 2.7g/t AuEq from the high-grade Subzone and 58.1m at 21.33g/t gold from the Ramp Zone.
Earlier this week, Collective announced it had discovered high-grade tungsten, gold, silver and copper mineralisation along the eastern contact of the Apollo breccia body with results including 27.35m at 1.68% tungsten, 11.62g/t gold, 54g/t silver and 0.43% copper, or 37.55g/t AuEq, from 300m.
Collective is planning to start construction on an exploration adit later this year and is progressing detailed engineering studies and permitting.
The adit will initially be used to construct underground drill chambers to test the Trap System, which was discovered in 2022 through surface drilling but has been sparsely drilled along a 1.4km mineralised corridor.
Oko
G2 Goldfields Inc (TSX: GTWO), which is soon to be acquired by G Mining Ventures (TSX: GMIN), has 100,000m of drilling planned across its high-grade Oko project in Guyana’s underexplored Guiana Shield this year.
Oko has a current inferred resource of 18Mt at 3.31g/t gold for 1.91Moz of gold and an indicated resource of 15.5Moz at 3.24g/t gold for 1.62Moz.
The most recent results, reported in May, included 84.5m at 3g/t gold from 915m, representing the deepest hole drilled to date by G2 and extending mineralisation by 140m vertically to 1km, where it remains open.
Infill drilling at the Ghanie deposit returned 20.8m at 9.6g/t gold, including 4.4m at 36.1g/t gold, while drilling in the “Border Zone” extended mineralisation south of the existing Ghanie resource, with a high-grade interval of 3m at 10.8g/t gold from 490m.
Eight drill rigs are active at Oko, focused on infill, expansion and discovery drilling.
The transaction with G Mining Ventures is expected to close this month.
Koné
While Koné in Côte d’Ivoire is under construction and due to pour first gold in the fourth quarter of this year, Montage Gold Corp (TSX: MAU) remains focused on exploration.
The company has completed 256,000m of exploration and grade control drilling since publishing its updated feasibility study in early 2024.
Since then, it has updated measured and indicated resources by 1.4Moz to 6.3Moz at 0.8g/t gold, representing a 27% increase in grade, and inferred resources by 1.6Moz to 2Moz at 0.68g/t gold, representing a 36% increase in grade.
It exceeded the October 2024 target of delineating more than 1Moz of measured and indicated resources at a grade more than 50% higher than the 2024 figure.
Montage has budgeted an initial US$14 million for 90,000m in 2026, focussed on infill and extension drilling of previously delineated deposits, the advancement of pre-resource targets towards maiden resource definition and the testing of new targets.
The company has intercepted mineralisation at 25 targets with a growing pipeline of more than 20 targets still to be drill tested.
Further resource updates are expected this year.
Spur
In early 2024, Waratah Minerals (ASX: WTM) kicked off exploration at the Spur project, which is just 5km west of Newmont Corporation’s (NYSE: NEM) Cadia operation in New South Wales, Australia.
The company had a strategy of targeting epithermal gold at the margin of a porphyry complex.
In August 2025, Waratah reported a hit of 208.7m at 1.17g/t gold from 514m, including 89m at 1.96g/t gold at the Consols discovery, giving it market momentum.
Since then, Waratah has reported 23 intercepts of more than 100 gram metres over multiple high-grade zones.
The Consols zone now spans more than 300m east-west, more than 400m north-south and over 600m vertically, while the Spur zone covers 1km by 250m.
This year, Waratah has 80,000m of drilling planned and has 10 drill rigs active.
New results released this week included 55.9m at 2.63g/t gold from 3.1m, including 31.9m at 4.45g/t gold, including 1m at 108g/t gold.
Bell Potter Securities is assuming a resource of at least 3Moz of gold.
Only 10% of a 50 square kilometre trend has been tested to date.
Bullabulling
In January last year, Minerals 260 (ASX: MI6) acquired the Bullabulling project in Western Australia’s Goldfields from China’s Zijin Mining (SH: 601899) for A$166.5 million in cash and shares.
It completed 117,000m of drilling last year, culminating in an update of the resource to 130Mt at 1g/t gold for 4.5Moz of gold.
The company has maintained its aggressive exploration program with 78,000m of drilling completed since December.
Ten drill rigs are on site, comprising four reverse circulation rigs, four diamond rigs, one aircore rig and one water bore rig.
Results reported last week included 20m at 3.4g/t gold from 93m at the 1.8Moz Phoenix deposit and 18m at 2.9g/t gold from 332m at the 630,000oz Dicksons deposit.
Most of the project’s deposits remain open at depth, which will be a focus of drilling.
A maiden reserve and prefeasibility study are due for release this month.
An updated resource, incorporating this year’s drilling, will be released in August.
Minerals 260 is targeting the release of a definitive feasibility study and final investment decision early next year, followed by first production in late 2028.
Kyzyltash
Earlier this year, Silvercorp Metals Inc (TSX: SVM) announced the US$162 million acquisition of a 70% interest in the Tulkubash/Kyzyltash gold projects in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The company and its free-carried partner, state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn, have already approved the US$166.3 million development of the first phase of Tulkubash.
As part of the phase two development of the Kyzyltash deposit, expected from 2028, up to 60,000m of drilling is planned this year, followed by the same amount next year.
Kyzyltash has a current measured, indicated and inferred resource of 5.5Moz at 2.7g/t gold, as well as more than 20Moz of silver.
There are currently 12 rigs drilling the Kyzyltash sulphide zone, including the Contact Zone and the Main Zone.
The 2026 program, comprising infill and step-out drilling, is aimed at converting the 1.57Moz inferred resource into measured and indicated, and to make new discoveries.
The drilling and study work planned will underpin the development of a 3-4Mtpa open pit and underground mine.
The above list comprises pre-production projects.
Some of the larger current drilling programs at operating mines include at Lundin Gold’s (TSX: LUG) Fruta Del Norte in Ecuador (14 rigs), K92 Mining’s (TSX: KNT) Kainantu in Papua New Guinea (14 rigs) and Greatland Resources’ (ASX/LSE: GGP) Telfer in Western Australia.