ACDC Metals has moved Mount Jackson from target generation towards field execution, with BLM approval now in hand for a 15-hole program and up to 2,500 metres of RC drilling. The company ended September with $2.744 million in cash after raising $976,000 from an entitlement offer shortfall.
- 15-hole Mount Jackson program approved by the BLM
- Up to 2,500 metres of RC drilling targeted for Q4 2026
- 12 line-kilometre CSAMT survey to refine Pegasus and 3 Shaft targets
- Goschen Central secured under a 10-year retention licence
- $2.744 million cash balance and 4.55 quarters of estimated funding
Mount Jackson moves from targeting to field preparation
ACDC Metals Limited (ASX:ADC) has reached the most consequential stage yet in its Nevada exploration campaign: the company can now prepare the ground for drilling. The Bureau of Land Management approved the proposed environmental program after quarter end, covering a 12 line-kilometre CSAMT survey and 15 drill holes across the Pegasus and 3 Shaft zones.
The approval follows the company’s airborne magnetic and radiometric interpretation, which identified multiple targets associated with known gold, silver and copper mineralisation. ACDC has contracted FTE Drilling USA Inc for up to 2,500 metres of reverse-circulation drilling, targeted to begin in the fourth quarter of calendar 2026. The company also plans to use existing access tracks and cleared drill pads, which it says should reduce site preparation and reclamation requirements.
The permitting milestone, covered in the BLM approval for 15 holes earlier this month, does not mean drilling has started. A reclamation bond must still be lodged with the BLM, civil works must prepare the access tracks and pads, and the CSAMT survey is scheduled for completion and interpretation in October.
Three Nevada targets face their first serious test
At Pegasus, drilling is intended to test extensions of known epithermal-style gold-silver mineralisation to the north, east and south. The company says historical holes were generally shallow, with many ending in mineralisation. The 3 Shaft zone offers a different proposition: it was historically mined for copper, returned selective rock-chip results of up to 14.9% copper and 17.7 parts per million silver, and has not previously been drilled.
The Sinter Area is also considered a priority target based on its low-amplitude magnetic signature and geological similarity to the Pegasus host rocks. Those indicators are encouraging, but they remain exploration targets rather than estimates of mineralisation. ACDC specifically cautions that rock-chip samples are selective grab samples and may not represent the broader deposit.
Goschen Central gains tenure and a US defence channel
In Victoria, ACDC secured a 10-year retention licence over the full Goschen Central project area, including the existing JORC 2012 Mineral Resource, metallurgical work and Scoping Study footprint. The licence allows the company to preserve tenure while it advances technical work and assesses market and infrastructure conditions. It has also applied for an adjoining 9 square kilometres under EL009013.
ACDC’s acceptance into the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium gives Goschen Central a route to engage with defence agencies, prime contractors and research organisations around critical minerals. The company says the project could supply magnet rare earths, zircon and titanium minerals. Membership is not a funding award or contract, and the filing makes clear there is no certainty it will produce either.
That distinction matters because the US defence consortium membership creates access rather than revenue. ACDC’s stated next steps are onboarding to the consortium’s portal, assessing relevant solicitations and exploring potential teaming, offtake and downstream-processing opportunities.
Funding supports the next quarter, but drilling will consume capital
ACDC finished the quarter with $2.744 million in cash and cash equivalents after issuing 19.52 million shares at $0.05 to raise $976,000 before costs. The company reported $603,000 of combined operating and exploration outgoings for the quarter and calculated estimated funding of 4.55 quarters based on that spending rate. That is a snapshot, not a forecast: drilling, site works and additional exploration could alter the pace of expenditure.
The immediate test is execution. October’s CSAMT work and civil preparation should determine how the permitted holes are ranked, while the eventual RC results will provide the first meaningful subsurface test of the Pegasus extensions and the undrilled 3 Shaft zone. Until those results arrive, Mount Jackson remains a target-generation story with a funded, but not unlimited, work program.
Bottom Line?
ACDC now has permits, contractors and a defined field program, but the investment case still turns on whether drilling converts geophysical and surface indications into significant mineralisation.
Questions in the middle?
- Can the CSAMT survey materially sharpen the 15-hole program before drilling begins?
- Will the first holes at Pegasus and 3 Shaft confirm mineralisation at depth and along strike?
- How quickly can Goschen Central’s consortium membership lead to a concrete technical, funding or offtake opportunity?