Peako has completed its 100% acquisition of six Saudi Arabian gold projects covering 862 square kilometres, clearing the way for maiden drilling from October. Recent fieldwork has identified extensive high-grade vein systems, but the reported grades remain exploration indicators rather than a mineral resource.
- 100% acquisition of six Saudi gold projects completed
- 862km² portfolio in the Central Arabian Gold Region
- October drilling planned across Sukhaybarat South, Wadi Jarir and Jabal Jumaymah
- Surface samples reach up to 41.5 g/t gold
- Marcus Harden appointed as a non-executive director
Saudi Acquisition Clears the Way for Drilling
Peako Limited (ASX:PKO) has completed the 100% acquisition of six gold exploration projects spanning 862 square kilometres in Saudi Arabia’s Central Arabian Gold Region, moving the company from portfolio assembly to its first major test of the ground. Geophysics is nearing completion and a secured drill rig is expected to begin maiden drilling in October.
The portfolio sits near operating and multi-million-ounce deposits, including the approximately 2Moz Sukhaybarat mine and the approximately 3.4Moz Bulgah mine. Peako says the Arabian-Nubian Shield shares geological similarities with established gold provinces in Western Australia, West Africa and Canada, while Saudi Arabia remains relatively underexplored despite hosting 15 multi-million-ounce deposits.
High-Grade Veins Define Three Initial Drill Areas
At Sukhaybarat South, the company has identified the new Matar and Karak systems alongside the historical Redhill SE target. Matar, 2.5km south of the Sukhaybarat mine, returned rock-chip results of up to 22.9 grams per tonne gold, while the 2km by 1.5km Karak system produced samples up to 9.1 g/t gold. Historical drilling at Redhill SE returned 4 metres at 11.3 g/t and 5 metres at 5.5 g/t, with mineralisation described as open along strike and at depth.
Wadi Jarir offers the largest mapped surface target, an 8km by 2km quartz-carbonate vein corridor around a granite intrusion. Rock chips reached 41.5 g/t gold, while historical drilling included a 2-metre interval at 13.5 g/t, including 1 metre at 25.9 g/t at the end of the hole. Peako says earlier wide-spaced drilling often targeted areas between the principal veins, leaving the main structures insufficiently tested.
At Jabal Jumaymah, drilling will test extensions of a continuous 1.1km outcropping vein and breccia system. Surface samples reached 41 g/t gold, and historical scout holes included 7 metres at 10.12 g/t, 10.9 metres at 2.37 g/t and 7 metres at 5.44 g/t. The planned program is intended to assess continuity along strike and down-dip rather than simply repeat isolated high-grade results.
A Larger Pipeline Sits Behind the Maiden Program
Beyond the three initial drill areas, Peako has outlined earlier-stage targets at Ad Dirabi, Bulgah East and Wadi Ash Shuwayla. Ad Dirabi is centred on ancient workings and an 800-metre gold-bearing corridor with rock chips up to 11.4 g/t. Bulgah East carries a 10km gold-in-soil anomaly 14km east of the Bulgah mine, while mapping at Wadi Ash Shuwayla has identified alteration, quartz brecciation and chalcedonic veining consistent with an epithermal-style target.
The company has also appointed Marcus Harden to its board as a non-executive director. Harden is described as a geologist with experience across First Quantum, Gryphon Minerals, Bellevue Gold and Alicanto Minerals, and currently serves as president of TSX-V-listed Gladiator Metals and as a founding non-executive director of ASX-listed Many Peaks Minerals. The board and advisory group also includes chairman Gernot Abl, director Paul Kitto, strategic advisers Tony Manini and Johan van Vuuren, and in-country exploration manager Oliver Jones.
Exploration Potential Still Needs Drill Confirmation
The immediate attraction is clear: multiple large vein systems, high-grade surface samples and historical intercepts provide a substantial target pipeline across a newly assembled Saudi platform. But rock-chip assays and isolated historical drill intervals do not establish a resource, and the announcement contains no resource estimate, production forecast or new drilling results. The key test will be whether October drilling demonstrates coherent thickness, continuity and scale beneath the surface expressions.
Peako says the ten exploration licence blocks will ultimately be transferred to a newly incorporated Saudi subsidiary under statutory processes, approximately 12 months after the initial licence grants in March and April 2026. That administrative step is separate from the acquisition completion and remains part of the company’s execution agenda as drilling begins.
Bottom Line?
October drilling is the next value-defining event, with success dependent on converting spectacular but selective surface samples and historical hits into continuous mineralisation at depth.
Questions in the middle?
- Will drilling confirm continuity and scale beneath the Matar, Karak and Wadi Jarir vein systems?
- How much of the 862km² portfolio can Peako advance while maintaining exploration funding and focus?
- When will the transfer of the ten exploration licence blocks to the Saudi subsidiary be completed?