Yandal Resources posted its busiest exploration year yet, expanding the Arrakis discovery and ending FY2026 with 450,200 ounces of reported resources and $9.7 million in cash. But a larger loss, material going-concern uncertainty and a CEO transition leave the company needing to convert drilling momentum into resources and renewed funding support.
- 40,500 metres of drilling completed across Western Australian projects
- Arrakis expanded with high-grade intercepts including 3m at 52.8g/t gold
- Mineral Resource Inventory stands at approximately 450,200 ounces
- FY2026 loss widened to $12.3 million, with $9.7 million cash at year-end
- Chris Oorschot resigned as Managing Director and remains CEO until 30 November 2026
Arrakis Drives Yandal’s Exploration Year
Yandal Resources Limited (ASX:YRL) spent FY2026 turning the Ironstone Well-Barwidgee project from a collection of promising targets into a more substantial exploration story. The company completed approximately 40,500 metres of reverse-circulation, diamond and air-core drilling, with Arrakis at the Caladan Target Area emerging as the leading result.
Drilling extended Arrakis mineralisation about 150 metres to the southeast and supported continuity across a broader mineralised corridor. Diamond holes also confirmed mineralisation at depth, including 18 metres at 1.8 grams per tonne gold from 290 metres, with a 4.1-metre interval at 5.7g/t. The system remains open at depth and along strike, according to the report, but these results remain exploration results rather than a Mineral Resource Estimate.
The strongest assays arrived after year-end. Infill drilling returned 6 metres at 28.3g/t gold and 3 metres at 52.8g/t, described by Yandal as its highest-grade result from the IWB project since acquisition. Associated diamond drilling returned 17.5 metres at 2.3g/t and 17 metres at 1.1g/t. The company is targeting a south-plunging high-grade domain beneath the Yueh Shear Zone, although much of that target remains untested.
Resource Growth Extends Beyond Arrakis
Yandal’s reported Mineral Resource Inventory stood at approximately 450,200 ounces of gold, including 268,000 ounces at Flushing Meadows and about 182,200 ounces across the Mt McClure portfolio. At Flushing Meadows, framework diamond drilling intersected fresh-rock mineralisation below and beside the existing resource, including 20 metres at 1.7g/t and 9 metres at 2.7g/t. The company said several mineralised intervals sit outside the current resource model, creating scope for future growth, subject to further drilling and estimation work.
The New England Granite area supplied another set of exploration signals. Siona drilling identified a shallow zone adjacent to the original discovery, while Salusa air-core drilling returned 6 metres at 6.3g/t, including 2 metres at 18.2g/t. Yandal plans to use ultra-fine fraction soil sampling and multi-element analysis to target concealed mineralisation across the broader intrusive complex.
Cash Improved but Going-Concern Warning Remains
The exploration push came with a materially higher financial cost. Yandal’s loss after tax increased to A$12.27 million from A$8.21 million, while cash used in operating activities reached A$12.64 million. Exploration expenditure in the income statement was A$13.45 million, and the company invested A$1.70 million in property, plant and equipment, including the Stilgars Camp infrastructure.
Cash and cash equivalents nevertheless rose to A$9.66 million at 30 June 2026 from A$4.76 million a year earlier, helped by a A$13.5 million placement, A$2.6 million from option exercises and proceeds from the Gordons asset sale. The accounts also disclose a material uncertainty related to going concern. Directors said Yandal can reduce discretionary exploration spending and has a history of raising capital, while its cash-flow forecast indicated sufficient funding for commitments and working capital over the following 12 months. That is not the same as being funded through the next phase of resource definition.
Leadership Reset Arrives Before FY2027 Drilling
The company is entering that next phase with a changed leadership structure. Eduard Eshuys became non-executive Chair, Andrew Jackson joined the Board and Greg Evans moved from Chair to non-executive director. Katina Law and Chris Newman departed the Board, while Chris Oorschot resigned as Managing Director and will remain Chief Executive Officer until 30 November 2026. Yandal has begun searching for a replacement CEO and an additional director.
The immediate test is execution: whether Yandal can maintain drilling momentum at Arrakis, convert the emerging high-grade domains and Flushing Meadows extensions into updated resources, and do so without exhausting its cash position. The company’s stated longer-term ambition is approximately two million ounces of gold resources, but the distance between that target and the current inventory will be measured in metres drilled, capital raised and geological continuity.
Bottom Line?
Arrakis has supplied genuine exploration momentum, but FY2027 will test whether Yandal can turn high-grade intersections into resources while managing a funding gap and leadership transition.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the Arrakis mineralised system will survive closer-spaced drilling and support a future resource estimate?
- When will Yandal need to raise additional capital, and at what level of exploration spending can its cash runway be preserved?
- Can the incoming CEO and refreshed Board maintain exploration continuity while advancing the company toward its two-million-ounce resource ambition?