Barton Gold finds more shallow high-grade support at Tunkillia

Shallow drilling adds weight to Tunkillia’s high-grade theory

A new batch of assays has strengthened Barton Gold Holdings Limited’s (ASX:BGD) case for a higher-grade zone sitting within the shallow portion of Tunkillia’s planned Starter Pits. The standout result is TKB0674, which returned 11 metres at 8.73g/t gold from 68 metres, including 2 metres at 36.9g/t. Nearby holes also delivered 21 metres at 3.62g/t from 57 metres and 50 metres at 1.45g/t from 62 metres.

The results come from the company’s Phase 2 reverse circulation resource upgrade drilling across the S1 and S2 areas of the main Area 223 open pit, as well as Area 51. Barton said the strongest shallow intersections are concentrated in the middle of the S1 pit, where holes TKB0667 to TKB0676 have been drilled among other high-grade results. The intersections are reported as downhole lengths, not true widths, so their eventual mining significance will depend on the interpreted geometry and resource modelling.

Assays point to more than isolated high grades

The latest results are notable not only for their peak grades but also for their width. TKB0676 returned 20 metres at 2.06g/t gold from 50 metres, TKB0693 delivered 10 metres at 4.30g/t from 54 metres, and TKB0749 produced 11 metres at 2.71g/t from 59 metres. At depth, TKB0712 returned 19 metres at 1.72g/t from 132 metres, while TKB0714 returned 42 metres at 1.12g/t from 139 metres.

Those results add to earlier Phase 2 intersections cited by Barton, including 13 metres at 5.01g/t gold from TKB0499, 4 metres at 7.60g/t from TKB0570 and 24 metres at 4.51g/t from TKB0703. The company’s interpretation is that the drilling is defining a “bonus” high-grade zone above mineralisation already included in the existing Starter Pit model. That remains an interpretation pending the final assays, geological sections and updated Mineral Resource Estimates.

Resource update remains the next valuation test

Barton is waiting on a final batch of Phase 2 assays before preparing comprehensive cross-sections and updating the gold and silver JORC resources. Those updates are the next substantive test of whether the new results improve the grade profile, pit inventory or mine schedule rather than simply add attractive individual intersections.

The company’s May 2025 Optimised Scoping Study modelled Tunkillia at about 120,000 ounces of annual gold production and 250,000 ounces of annual silver production, with the S1 and S2 pits providing a large early contribution. The cited economics are based on that earlier study and assumed gold and silver prices of A$5,000 and A$50 an ounce respectively; they are not the results of the forthcoming PFS. Barton has also said its environmental Scoping Report has been approved by South Australia’s Department for Energy and Mines, while surveys, infrastructure studies, financing work and Mining Lease preparation continue alongside the PFS.

Barton is targeting publication of the Tunkillia PFS in the first quarter of calendar 2027. Before then, the market has a more immediate sequence to digest: the final assays, the revised gold and silver resources, and whether the new shallow zone survives the discipline of resource estimation and mine planning.