Key Highlights

  • El Dorado has commissioned an airborne magnetic survey covering about 2,440 line-kilometres across Oko North and Oko South.
  • Flight lines are spaced 100 metres apart and the survey is flown at a nominal height of about 80 metres.
  • The program runs through Guyana's national airborne geophysics program and is targeted for completion by 31 December 2026.
  • Survey results will be combined with a 5,000-sample soil geochemistry program to rank targets for trenching and drilling.

El Dorado Goldfields Ltd (ASX:EDO) has commissioned an ultra-high-resolution airborne magnetic survey across its Oko North and Oko South Gold Projects in Guyana's Cuyuni Mining District. The announcement, dated 10 November 2026, positions the work as a step towards turning existing geological interpretation into drill-ready targets. The projects sit along strike from the Oko gold system, which the company describes as hosting about 9.3 million ounces, although that figure relates to neighbouring ground rather than El Dorado's own tenure.

Survey Scope and Flight Design

The survey is fixed-wing and is planned at a nominal height of about 80 metres. Traverse lines will run north to south at 100-metre spacing, with an estimated total of roughly 2,439 line-kilometres. Around 1,509 line-kilometres fall over Oko South and about 930 over Oko North. Flight planning is complete for both blocks, and Acquisition has been targeted for the current quarter, with the company setting a completion date of 31 December 2026.

The company says the dataset is designed to identify shear zones, faults, fold closures and contacts, which it links to gold mineralisation in the district. Intersections, flexures and changes in direction are identified as priority areas. The estimates for line-kilometres and timing may change once final flight plans are optimised, and the company notes that aircraft availability, government approvals and weather may also affect delivery.

Government Program and Cost Considerations

The survey will be flown under the government's Guyana Mineral Advancement and Prospecting Strategy airborne program, run by Global Venture Consulting for the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. Flying under the industry partners arrangement gives El Dorado access to established aircraft, crews and program infrastructure. The company argues this offers time and cost advantages over a standalone survey, although the announcement does not disclose the cost of the program.

El Dorado retains ownership of the survey data, while the government agencies hold a confidential archival copy. Final products, including processed magnetic databases, grids and a technical report, are expected within eight weeks of acquisition, with preliminary products available shortly after flying.

Link to Soil Sampling and Drill Planning

The airborne work is being run alongside an existing soil geochemistry program of about 5,000 samples. The company intends to integrate both datasets to identify and prioritise targets for trenching and maiden drilling. Soil sampling reveals chemical signatures at surface, while magnetic data maps structure beneath cover, and the combination is intended to narrow down where drilling should begin.

Airborne magnetics is an indirect exploration tool. The company cautions that magnetic features do not in themselves indicate gold mineralisation, and any targets produced will require ground follow-up and drilling before the presence of mineralisation can be determined. The projects are greenfields exploration properties, and no mineral resources or ore reserves have been estimated on the company's tenure.

Geological Context Around the Oko Projects

The Oko North and Oko South blocks cover roughly 180 square kilometres across 40 mining permits, in the Cuyuni greenstone belt. Oko North adjoins former G2 Goldfields ground close to the New Oko discovery, while Oko South is interpreted to cover the southern continuation of the mineralised trend. Nearby ground is held by other explorers, including G Mining Ventures, Altair Minerals and G3 Goldfields, whose Peters Mine lies about 25 kilometres north-west of Oko South.

The company is careful to note that discoveries nearby are not necessarily indicative of mineralisation on its own tenure. Nearby results and geological similarities do not guarantee exploration success, and the company makes no commitment that a mineral resource will be defined.

Final Word

The Oko survey is one component of a broader effort to turn geological interpretation into a set of drill-ready targets. Its value will depend on whether the magnetic data clarifies structures that are otherwise hidden under deep weathering and rainforest cover, and whether those structures align with soil anomalies. Until the final products are delivered and integrated, the scale of any resulting drilling program remains uncertain, and the company has not indicated timing for that next stage.