Evergold Minerals has begun an 8,000-metre reverse-circulation program at Mt Monger, targeting a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Duchess of York in early 2027. The same campaign will test a much larger gold-arsenic anomaly at Vanguard and historical mineralisation at Kiaki Soaks.
- 8,000m RC program underway at Mt Monger
- Duchess of York resource estimate targeted for early 2027
- Vanguard anomaly extends across 900m by 650m based on arsenic geochemistry
- Metallurgical results expected later in November
- First portfolio production remains targeted for the second half of 2027
Duchess of York drilling moves towards resource estimate
Evergold Minerals Limited (ASX:EG1) has moved its Mt Monger project into a more consequential phase, beginning an approximately 8,000-metre reverse-circulation drilling program designed to support a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at Duchess of York in early 2027.
Drilling began on 11 November, with the Duchess of York component expected to finish by the end of the month. The program follows a maiden RC campaign that returned 25 metres at 3.47 grams per tonne gold from 3 metres, including 1 metre at 52.7 grams per tonne. Selected holes in the new campaign will test extensions at depth and help establish the continuity, geometry and grade distribution needed for resource modelling.
The program builds on the high-grade Duchess drilling reported in October, when Evergold said its Mt Monger work had confirmed broad and high-grade mineralisation. The company has not yet reported a resource, reserve or production decision for Duchess of York, making the early-2027 target dependent on the results of the current drilling and subsequent geological work.
Vanguard anomaly expands the exploration target
About 600 metres northwest of Duchess of York, Vanguard will receive follow-up RC drilling in December. The target began with a shallow aircore result of 19 metres at 0.86 grams per tonne gold from 28 metres, including 4 metres at 2.37 grams per tonne, but bottom-of-hole geochemistry now points to a substantially broader system.
Evergold says gold above 0.1 grams per tonne defines an anomaly measuring roughly 450 metres by 300 metres, enclosed by an arsenic anomaly of about 900 metres by 650 metres above 50 parts per million arsenic. The company interprets the arsenic footprint as a pathfinder for gold mineralisation, while acknowledging that much of the anomaly remains untested at depth and down dip. True widths and the geometry of the mineralisation are not yet known.
The Vanguard work follows the Vanguard gold-zone discovery, which identified shallow mineralisation open to the southwest and at depth. Evergold says the new anomaly sits largely within a low-density body interpreted from 3D gravity modelling as a concealed sanukitoid intrusion, with the gold anomaly straddling its northern margin. That is a targeting model, not a resource estimate, and the December RC drilling will determine whether the geochemical footprint translates into coherent mineralisation.
Kiaki Soaks receives first Evergold drilling
December drilling will also test Kiaki Soaks, where historical results include 40 metres at 2.49 grams per tonne gold from 32 metres, alongside shorter historical intersections of 12 metres at 1.8 grams per tonne and 6 metres at 1.5 grams per tonne. This will be Evergold’s first drilling at the prospect, so the historical results have not yet been tested under the company’s current program. The company states that historical results have not been independently verified.
Metallurgical test work on Duchess of York samples covering oxide, transitional and fresh mineralisation began in October, with results expected later in November. Those results, alongside the resource drilling, are intended to inform the company’s planned development pathway, which includes a mining lease application in early 2027 and development studies and approvals later in the year.
Production ambition remains tied to several milestones
Evergold continues to target first gold production from its portfolio in the second half of 2027. At Mt Monger, the stated sequence runs from the Duchess of York resource estimate to mining approvals and development studies, while Vanguard, Kiaki Soaks and other prospects remain in exploration or follow-up stages.
The company is also planning resource definition drilling at Craig’s Rest, Victor Bore and Great Northern at its Leonora Goldfields Project in the second quarter of 2027, subject to the broader work program and approvals. For shareholders, the immediate tests are more concrete: whether Duchess of York can support a maiden resource, whether metallurgical results are favourable across the tested ore types, and whether Vanguard’s large geochemical footprint produces meaningful RC intersections.
Bottom Line?
The next few months should replace geological ambition with harder evidence: RC results, metallurgical data and the proposed Duchess of York resource estimate will determine how much weight the 2027 production target can carry.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Duchess of York drilling establish enough continuity and grade distribution for a maiden resource in early 2027?
- Do the November metallurgical results support the company’s intended development pathway across oxide, transitional and fresh mineralisation?
- Can December RC drilling show that Vanguard’s 900m by 650m arsenic footprint contains a substantial gold system rather than a broad pathfinder anomaly?