Bellavista Resources is advancing a 15,000-metre drilling campaign and early development studies at Pickle Crow, while assay results have been pushed into October after Canadian laboratory delays. At Brumby, continuity drilling is complete and CSIRO column leach testwork is being prepared.
- 3,000 metres drilled at Pickle Crow to early September
- Assay results delayed by laboratory turnaround times of up to 10 weeks
- Environmental and metallurgical studies commence at Pickle Crow
- Brumby completes 4,000-metre RC drilling program
- CSIRO column leach testwork being prepared at Brumby
Pickle Crow Assays Move Into October
Bellavista Resources Limited (ASX:BVR, OTCQX:BVRXF) has made progress on its 15,000-metre drilling program at the Pickle Crow gold project in Ontario, but the first test of that work will arrive later than planned. Results from roughly 3,000 metres drilled into the western ends of Zones 1 and 3 are now expected in October, after Canadian laboratories delivered turnaround times of up to 10 weeks.
The company has started processing with an additional Canadian laboratory this week as it assesses ways to increase assay capacity. That changes the timing rather than the substance of the exploration program: drilling remains focused on the upper 260 metres of the existing Mineral Resource, where Bellavista is targeting resource expansion and upgrade opportunities.
Near-Surface Resource Under Drill
The targeted section contains 1 million ounces of gold at 4.1 grams per tonne, using a 0.5 grams-per-tonne cut-off and without applying open-pit or underground mining shapes. It sits within a total Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.8 million ounces at 7.2 grams per tonne. Bellavista says those figures remain based on its 2 February 2026 announcement; this update does not report new assays or a revised resource estimate.
Alongside the drilling, the company has begun preliminary environmental baseline work with CSL Environmental and Geotechnical and commissioned Primero Group Americas to review earlier metallurgical testwork and design a program for the near-surface mineralisation being drilled. The work gives the campaign a wider purpose than simply adding metres: it is also intended to build the environmental and processing evidence needed to assess the project further.
Brumby Moves Towards Resource Definition
In Western Australia, Bellavista has completed a 4,000-metre reverse-circulation drilling program at Brumby. The campaign tested the continuity of mineralisation and is intended to generate targets for a proposed resource definition drilling program later this year.
Bulk samples from the program are now being prepared for column leach testwork with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. A September site visit involving CSIRO, the Australian National University, Bellavista personnel and consultants was followed by a Perth workshop to finalise the testwork and analysis arrangements.
The immediate information gap is therefore clear: Pickle Crow’s October assays should indicate whether the shallow drilling supports the company’s resource expansion and upgrade objectives, while Brumby’s testwork will provide technical evidence on its leaching response. Neither outcome is available in this update, leaving the next milestones dependent on laboratory throughput, testwork results and whether the proposed Brumby resource definition program is confirmed.
Bottom Line?
The exploration pipeline is moving on two fronts, but Bellavista still needs October assays and Brumby testwork to convert activity into resource evidence.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the delayed Pickle Crow assays support expansion or upgrading of the near-surface resource?
- Can the additional Canadian laboratory reduce assay delays for the remainder of the drilling program?
- What will Brumby’s CSIRO column leach testwork show, and will it lead to confirmed resource definition drilling?