E79 unlocks final Cue tenure ahead of major gold drilling campaign

E79 Gold Mines Limited (ASX:E79) has cleared the final tenure hurdle at its Cue Gold Project, putting a planned 12,000-plus metre drilling campaign within reach. The company says an aircore rig will begin testing regional targets in early November, followed by reverse circulation drilling at its more advanced Ada and Chloe prospects, subject to the completion of a heritage survey and receipt of its report.

Final Tenement Opens Additional Drill Targets

The grant of P21/800 means the entire 67 square kilometre Cue project now sits on granted tenements. E79 has paid the final $25,000 option payment triggered by the grant, while the newly secured ground adds multiple priority targets to the exploration program.

A heritage survey covering P21/800 and other high-priority areas is scheduled for 12-16 October 2026. The report is expected approximately two weeks later, and drilling is planned to begin shortly afterwards. That makes heritage clearance the remaining stated prerequisite before the campaign can start.

Two Rigs to Test Ada, Chloe and Regional Targets

E79 plans to deploy two rigs and complete more than 12,000 metres before the end of 2026. The aircore program will test multiple early and advanced targets across the wider tenement package, including northwest-trending structures that the company considers analogous to those hosting nearby deposits such as Great Fingall and Break of Day.

The RC rig will focus on Ada and Chloe, where historical drilling produced several encouraging intersections. At Ada, reported results include 13 metres at 2.2 grams per tonne gold from 112 metres and 16 metres at 1.53 grams per tonne from 48 metres, including 8 metres at 2.4 grams per tonne. At Chloe, historical results include 4 metres at 6.96 grams per tonne from 90 metres, including 2 metres at 13.04 grams per tonne, as well as shallower intersections of 8 metres at 4.15 grams per tonne and 10 metres at 2.55 grams per tonne.

Those intersections are historical exploration results, not new assays, mineral resources or reserves. Their role in the current announcement is to explain why Ada and Chloe have been prioritised for follow-up drilling; whether they extend into coherent mineralised systems remains to be tested.

Results Expected Progressively Through Year-End

E79 says the campaign will provide the first systematic testing of several high-priority targets in almost 30 years, with assay results expected progressively as drilling advances. The project lies immediately south of Westgold Resources' Great Fingall operation in the Murchison Gold Province, a setting the company describes as prospective for quartz reef-hosted gold mineralisation.

For a company with 353.6 million shares on issue and a stated market capitalisation of $10.6 million, the program represents a concentrated exploration catalyst, but not yet a discovery or development milestone. The immediate timetable is clear: heritage work in October, drilling from early November if clearance arrives as planned, and a steady stream of results to determine whether the targets justify further work.