Highlights

  • BAR071 returns 18.3m at 3.9 g/t AuEq from 63.0m, confirming the high-grade central corridor at closer spacing than the 2021 resource model assumed.
  • BAR070 intersects six stacked mineralised intervals between 31.4m and 106.1m, extending the north-eastern zone deeper than the 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment interpreted.
  • BAR069 returns a broad mineralised envelope of more than 50 metres downhole with four distinct intervals.
  • BAR062 and BAR067 confirm the western limit of mineralisation, providing important boundary control for resource estimation.
  • Maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate on track for the December 2026 quarter.

Northstone Resources Limited (ASX:NRL), formerly Minrex Resources, has reported the final batch of assay results from its initial infill drilling programme at the Barje Deposit within the Tlamino Gold-Silver Project in southern Serbia. The results, from seven diamond holes totalling 912 metres, complete the reporting of the full 38-hole, 4,005-metre 2026 drilling dataset. The completed programme has more than doubled the number of drill holes at Barje relative to the 2021 foreign estimate, and the geological modelling required for the maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is well advanced.

Latest Development

BAR071, drilled alongside earlier central corridor holes BAR047 and BAR045, returned 18.3 metres at 3.9 g/t AuEq from 63 metres — wider and at a comparable grade to the adjacent BAR045 result at a similar depth. This directly addresses the most commercially important finding of the infill campaign: the 2021 resource model, based on sparse 80–100 metre-spaced drilling, interpreted the mineralisation to thin through the central corridor, limiting resource confidence in that area. The 2026 results at closer spacing demonstrate that this area maintains thickness and grade, adding a potentially material increment to the resource. BAR070, in the north-eastern zone, intersected six stacked intervals over more than 70 metres downhole depth, with the deepest at approximately 106 metres below surface — extending the mineralised system significantly below the depth assumed in the 2021 PEA. BAR069 returned four intervals over approximately 50 metres downhole in the central corridor, including 15.6 metres at 2.8 g/t AuEq. BAR062 and BAR067, drilled at the western margin, returned no significant results, confirming the western boundary of mineralisation in those sections.

Company Background

Northstone Resources (formerly Minrex Resources) is an ASX-listed gold and copper explorer with Assets in Serbia and Australia. The Company was formed from the Merger of Minrex Resources and Electrum Discovery Corp (formerly Medgold Resources) in early 2026. The Tlamino Gold Project in southern Serbia consists of two exploration permits covering approximately 193 square kilometres, within the Serbo-Macedonian Massif, a Tertiary-age volcanic and Palaeozoic metamorphic terrane prospective for precious and base metals. The Barje Deposit is the flagship asset, characterised by a flat-lying to shallowly dipping hydrothermal breccia zone within a fault-bounded schist and conglomerate sequence, extending approximately 700 metres east–west and 250 metres north–south.

Sector Context

The Serbo-Macedonian Massif and broader Balkan region sit within the Tethyan metallogenic belt, one of Europe's most historically productive precious and base metal provinces. Serbia has become an increasingly prominent exploration Jurisdiction following improvements in the regulatory and Investment environment. The epithermal hydrothermal breccia style of mineralisation at Barje has clear analogues across the broader Tethyan belt, including several significant operating mines. European Union critical minerals policy creates a strategic backdrop for high-quality gold development projects within EU candidate states, of which Serbia is one, as the EU works to reduce dependence on non-European precious metal Supply sources.

Market Perception

The completion of the full 38-hole infill programme positions Northstone to deliver its maiden JORC MRE with a materially improved geological dataset than the 2021 foreign estimate. The confirmation that the central corridor holds its grade at closer spacing is the most commercially significant finding, as it was the primary area of uncertainty in the prior resource model. The pending estimate will incorporate current metal price assumptions and JORC (2012) reporting standards, resulting in a significantly more current and credible resource picture.

Growth Drivers

The 2026 programme has not only confirmed the resource geometry but has also added exploratory drilling results beyond the existing mineralised boundary. BAR070 in particular, extending depth in the north-eastern zone, demonstrates that the mineralised system is larger than the 2021 model interpreted. Exploration RC drilling targeting lateral extensions to the east, west, and south has also commenced, adding a new discovery dimension beyond the resource definition work. A Scoping Study is targeted to commence following completion of the maiden MRE.

Risks and Challenges

The Barje Deposit is at the resource definition stage, without a formal JORC-compliant estimate or Ore Reserve. The transition to a resource will require completion of all infill hole assays, block modelling, and an independent resource review. The 2021 foreign estimate's cautionary statement — that a Competent Person has not done sufficient work to classify it under the JORC Code — applies to all prior resource citations from that estimate. Serbia is an EU candidate jurisdiction with an evolving regulatory environment; permitting for future development will require navigating both domestic requirements and potential EU-level standards.

Recent Announcements

Prior batches of 2026 results, reported in August, September, and October 2026, progressively built the picture of the central corridor's high-grade character and the north-eastern zone's depth potential. The final seven holes complete the picture from the initial infill programme. Assays from two additional infill holes (BAR075 and BAR076) and from the exploratory programme remain outstanding and will be incorporated into the resource estimate where timing permits.

Key Insights

Northstone Resources has completed the geological work required to advance Barje from a foreign estimate into a maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate, with the high-grade central corridor and north-eastern depth extension now confirmed through close-spaced drilling. The confirmation that BAR071 — at closer spacing in the area the 2021 model interpreted to thin — returns widths and grades comparable to adjacent holes removes the most material geological uncertainty in the resource model. With the MRE on track for December 2026, Northstone is approaching the transition from exploration to formal resource definition that enables Downstream economic evaluation.