What Is Behind Arika Resources' (ASX:ARI) Push Into Diamond Drilling at Pennyweight Point?

Sonal Goyal

12 November 2026 11:32 AM AEDT

What Is Behind Arika Resources' (ASX:ARI) Push Into Diamond Drilling at Pennyweight Point?

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Key Highlights

Phase 2 diamond drilling started at Pennyweight Point on 9 November 2026, with up to eleven holes planned for about 3,000 metres.
The program aims to test down-plunge extensions of high-grade lodes below the limits of earlier RC drilling.
Previous drilling has defined mineralisation up to 30 metres true width over 350 metres of strike, extending to about 250 metres vertical depth.
Initial diamond holes are expected to take around six weeks, with the remaining holes scheduled for early in the new year.

Arika Resources Limited (ASX:ARI) has commenced Phase 2 diamond drilling at its Pennyweight Point prospect within the 100 percent-owned Yundamindra Gold Project, according to an announcement dated 12 November 2026. Drilling started on 9 November and is planned to comprise approximately eleven holes for 3,000 metres. The project lies about 65 kilometres southwest of Laverton in the Northeastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The program follows a series of previously reported intercepts that the company says define a large, open gold system at the prospect.

Program design and contractors

The program is built around HQ-sized diamond tails, with a diameter of 63.5 millimetres, that extend a selection of reverse circulation pre-collars drilled earlier by Strike Drilling. The diamond work is being carried out by Kalgoorlie-based Westralian Diamond Drillers. Most planned holes are inclined at minus 60 degrees towards an azimuth of 300 degrees, and two deeper holes, EIS_P01 and EIS_P02, are each planned to reach 600 metres.

The primary aim is to test the down-dip and down-plunge extensions of the high-grade Pennyweight Point lodes beyond the limits of previous RC work. The company also intends to collect oriented core for structural and litho-geochemical data, which should refine the geological model before deeper testing under the WA Government's EIS co-funding scheme. Representative samples will be used for preliminary metallurgical test work, the results of which are not yet available.

The previous drilling behind the program

The company points to several high-grade intercepts reported in earlier announcements. These include 14 metres at 15.48 g/t gold from 46 metres in hole YMRC077, 35 metres at 1.22 g/t gold from 142 metres in hole 25AYRC172, and 33 metres at 1.28 g/t gold from 149 metres in hole 26AYRC004A. The deepest result cited is 21 metres at 4.65 g/t from 251 metres in hole 25AYRC148, which the company describes as the deepest drill hole completed on the Yundamindra project.

Taken together, the company says the drilling has defined wide, high-grade gold mineralisation, with copper present in some zones, up to 30 metres true width over a strike length of 350 metres. The mineralisation extends from surface to a vertical depth of 250 metres, and the company notes that the system remains open at depth and along strike. Those intercepts were previously reported, and the update does not present new assay results.

Timelines, interpretation and uncertainties

The initial holes are expected to take about six weeks to complete, with the remaining holes to be drilled early in the new year. Approximately 10,000 metres of RC samples from the nearby Kookynie Project are also being processed, with assays still pending. The company says news flow from both programs is expected to be frequent over the coming months, a view that depends on the timing of laboratory results.

The company has described its geological interpretation as preliminary. It suggests the prospect may represent the upper part of a larger gold-copper porphyry system with an orogenic gold overprint, but that model still needs to be tested by the diamond program. Deeper targets are planned for testing under the EIS co-funding scheme, which means the scale of future work depends on the results of the current drilling and the terms attached to the grant.

Final Word

Arika's diamond program at Pennyweight Point is designed to extend known high-grade lodes deeper and to test a broader geological model. The past intercepts give the company a clear target, yet the new holes will need to confirm continuity below the existing RC coverage before the scale of the system can be assessed. The results from the first holes, the Kookynie assays and the metallurgical work will indicate whether the program can move the prospect beyond its current stage.

FAQs

Q: How many holes are planned at Pennyweight Point?

A: The program comprises up to eleven holes for approximately 3,000 metres, including two deeper holes planned to reach 600 metres.

Q: Who is carrying out the diamond drilling?

A: Westralian Diamond Drillers is undertaking the diamond drilling, and Strike Drilling completed the pre-collars.

Q: What is the EIS co-funding referred to in the update?

A: It is a WA Government co-funding scheme that the company plans to use to test deeper targets after the current diamond program refines the geological model.

Q: When are results expected from the diamond drilling?

A: Initial holes are expected to take about six weeks to complete, and the company says the remaining holes will be drilled early in the new year.

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