Highlights

• Arika Resources has commenced Phase 2 diamond drilling at the Pennyweight Point Prospect within its Yundamindra Gold Project, with up to 11 holes for approximately 3,000 metres.

• The program is designed to test down-plunge and down-dip extensions of the high-grade Pennyweight Point gold lodes beyond the depth limits of previous RC drilling, where the mineralised system remains open.

• Previous drilling by Arika at Pennyweight Point has defined wide, high-grade gold and copper-gold mineralisation up to 30 metres true width over a 350-metre strike length to a vertical depth of 250 metres.

• Approximately 10,000 metres of RC samples from the Kookynie Project are currently being processed, with assays expected to contribute to an active period of exploration news flow for the company.

Arika Resources Limited (ASX:ARI), a gold exploration company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker ARI, announced on 12 November 2026 that Phase 2 diamond drilling had commenced at the Pennyweight Point Prospect within its wholly owned Yundamindra Gold Project, located 65 kilometres southwest of Laverton in the Northeastern Goldfields Mining district of Western Australia. The program, which began on 9 November 2026 and is planned to comprise approximately 11 holes for a total of around 3,000 metres, is designed to systematically test the down-dip and down-plunge extensions of the gold lodes that have been defined by previous RC drilling campaigns at Pennyweight Point. The drilling is being undertaken by Westralian Diamond Drillers, a Kalgoorlie-based specialist with over 60 years of continuous operations in Western Australia's mining industry.

Phase 2 Diamond Drill Program Design and Objectives

The primary technical objective of the Phase 2 program is to push below the depth limits of RC drilling — which is typically constrained by factors including rod weight, air pressure and water ingress at greater depths — and obtain continuous, oriented diamond core through the mineralised zones to both confirm continuity of the gold lodes and capture high-quality structural and litho-geochemical data. The geological and geochemical observations accumulated during Arika's earlier drilling campaigns have led the exploration team to develop an interpretation that the Pennyweight Point system may represent the upper portion of a larger, depth-extensive gold-copper system with characteristics consistent with both a porphyry-related system at depth and an orogenic gold overprint at shallower levels. Diamond drilling is essential to test this interpretation, and the oriented core will enable detailed structural mapping and lithogeochemical analysis to refine the geological model. Additionally, the program will generate material for preliminary metallurgical test work, an important step in understanding the processing characteristics of the ore at depth. Two of the planned holes are associated with deeper targets designed to be tested with co-funding support from the Western Australian Government's EIS scheme, recently approved in October 2026.

Pennyweight Point Mineralisation — What Has Been Established

The exploration results accumulated at Pennyweight Point to date represent a substantial body of work that has progressively built the case for a potentially large gold system. Drilling has defined wide intervals of high-grade and moderate-grade gold mineralisation, in some cases also carrying copper and silver credits, over a strike length of 350 metres and to a vertical depth of 250 metres. The system appears to remain open in multiple directions — along strike, down dip, and at depth — which is a characteristic typically associated with meaningful mineralised systems at the exploration stage. The managing director of Arika described the system as having the makings of a significant gold deposit, noting that grades and widths appear to be improving with depth, which provides geological encouragement for the diamond drill program being undertaken. The company described the Yundamindra region as situated within the Laverton Greenstone Belt, a gold-bearing Archaean terrane in the Yilgarn Craton that has historically produced in excess of 28 million ounces of gold from multiple major mines within the broader district.

Broader Project Context and Upcoming Catalysts

Beyond Pennyweight Point, Arika has an active RC drilling program at its Kookynie Gold Project, with approximately 10,000 metres of samples currently being processed through the laboratory, results from which are expected in the near term. The convergence of assay results flowing from the Kookynie RC program and diamond core results expected progressively from the Pennyweight Point Phase 2 program is expected to create an active news flow period for the company over the coming weeks and months. As both programs advance, the company will be building the geological and resource foundation for a future resource estimate at Pennyweight Point as a key development milestone. For investors monitoring Arika, the commencement of diamond drilling at Pennyweight Point represents the transition of the project from an RC-defined surface discovery into a deeper, more structurally understood mineral system, with the potential for significant additions to the known mineralisation envelope. The involvement of a highly regarded local diamond drilling contractor with over six decades of continuous Western Australian mining industry experience is also a practical asset for the program — specialist diamond drillers with deep knowledge of the geological conditions in the Northeastern Goldfields can contribute meaningfully to the quality of core recovery and the technical outcomes of the program, particularly when navigating complex geological sequences at significant depths. The geological interpretation being developed at Pennyweight Point — suggesting the possibility of a larger porphyry-related system at depth beneath an orogenic gold overprint — is particularly interesting from an exploration perspective because porphyry systems, if confirmed, can host mineralisation over far greater vertical extents and total metal inventories than typical orogenic gold veins. If the diamond drilling supports this interpretation, it could substantially expand the target size conceptualised for the Pennyweight Point system. While such interpretations are subject to revision as new data are collected, and no resource has been defined at the prospect, the geological rationale for the program is scientifically coherent and grounded in the structural and geochemical observations accumulated during the company's earlier drilling. The active news flow period anticipated from both Pennyweight Point diamond results and Kookynie RC assays should provide investors with a steady stream of technical updates to inform their assessment of the company's exploration trajectory.

Key Insights

Beyond Pennyweight Point, Arika has an active RC drilling program at its Kookynie Gold Project, with approximately 10,000 metres of samples currently being processed through the laboratory, results from which are expected in the near term. The convergence of assay results flowing from the Kookynie RC program and diamond core results expected progressively from the Pennyweight Point Phase 2 program is expected to create an active news flow period for the company over the coming weeks and months. As both programs advance, the company will be building the geological and resource foundation for a future resource estimate at Pennyweight Point as a key development milestone. For investors monitoring Arika, the commencement of diamond drilling at Pennyweight Point represents the transition of the project from an RC-defined surface discovery into a deeper, more structurally understood mineral system, with the potential for significant additions to the known mineralisation envelope. The involvement of a highly regarded local diamond drilling contractor with over six decades of continuous Western Australian mining industry experience is also a practical asset for the program — specialist diamond drillers with deep knowledge of the geological conditions in the Northeastern Goldfields can contribute meaningfully to the quality of core recovery and the technical outcomes of the program, particularly when navigating complex geological sequences at significant depths. The geological interpretation being developed at Pennyweight Point — suggesting the possibility of a larger porphyry-related system at depth beneath an orogenic gold overprint — is particularly interesting from an exploration perspective because porphyry systems, if confirmed, can host mineralisation over far greater vertical extents and total metal inventories than typical orogenic gold veins. If the diamond drilling supports this interpretation, it could substantially expand the target size conceptualised for the Pennyweight Point system. While such interpretations are subject to revision as new data are collected, and no resource has been defined at the prospect, the geological rationale for the program is scientifically coherent and grounded in the structural and geochemical observations accumulated during the company's earlier drilling. The active news flow period anticipated from both Pennyweight Point diamond results and Kookynie RC assays should provide investors with a steady stream of technical updates to inform their assessment of the company's exploration trajectory.