Key Highlights

  • Barton Gold (ASX:BGD) reported on 7 October 2026 final assays from its 39,000-metre Phase 2 RC drilling at the Tunkillia Gold Project in South Australia, including 53m at 2.51g/t gold from 60m in TKB0745.
  • Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling totals 57,653 metres across 520 RC and diamond holes, with Phase 2 comprising 38,760 metres across 311 holes.
  • Updated gold and silver resource estimates will follow, with a Pre-Feasibility Study targeted for the first quarter of calendar 2027 to support a Mining Lease application.

Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX:BGD) announced on 7 October 2026 the final assays from its Phase 2 resource upgrade drilling at the Tunkillia Gold Project in South Australia. The results are from infill drilling within the optimised open pit areas known as the Starter Pits.

This article describes the company, the sector context, the results and the factors that may influence the project.

About Barton Gold

Barton Gold Holdings Limited is an ASX-listed gold company, also quoted on the OTC market (BGDFF) and in Frankfurt (BGD3), with a registered office in Adelaide, South Australia. Its Tunkillia Gold Project in South Australia is the subject of the announcement. The company's May 2025 Optimised Scoping Study defined optimised open pit areas including Area 51, 223 North and Area 223.

Barton does not report production revenue in this announcement. The company states that remodelling of Tunkillia mineralisation is under way with nearly 58,000 metres of additional drilling since last year.

Sector backdrop

Infill drilling is used to reduce hole spacing so that more of a resource can be classified at higher confidence, which supports study and mining approval work. Developers typically follow drilling with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate, a Pre-Feasibility Study and an application for a Mining Lease.

Open pit gold projects commonly define early pits, sometimes called starter pits, that feature higher-grade material, because early cash flow can influence project economics. Modelled economic outcomes from scoping work depend on gold and silver price assumptions and are not forecasts.

South Australia has gold exploration in the Gawler Craton, and projects there progress through resource definition and approvals, including Mining Lease applications.

Final Phase 2 assays announced on 7 October 2026

Results

Reported intersections include 26m at 2.79g/t gold from 126m in TKB0724 (including 1m at 53.5g/t from 129m), 2m at 16.75g/t from 56m in TKB0736, 6m at 3.05g/t from 58m in TKB0737, 21m at 4.13g/t from 61m in TKB0742 (including 2m at 29.9g/t from 79m), 53m at 2.51g/t from 60m in TKB0745 (including 2m at 18.25g/t from 72m and 1m at 26.3g/t from 92m), 17m at 2.26g/t from 116m in TKB0746 and 14m at 3.80g/t from 67m in TKB0748 (including 2m at 11.0g/t from 77m).

Barton prepared cross-sections for the Area 51, 223 North and Area 223 optimised pit areas. The company says the results support the highest-grade Phase 1 results and the potential for new shallower zones of high-grade mineralisation within the existing Starter Pits.

Context and next steps

The company states that its Phase 1 results in December 2025 and January 2026 infilled the high-value S1 and S2 pits, which it says were modelled to produce about $1.8 billion of operating profit in the first 2.5 years at current gold and silver prices, with an unlevered pre-tax equity IRR of 73% and capital payback of under one year. These are modelled outcomes from earlier work.

Updated gold and silver JORC resource estimates are to follow, with a PFS targeted for the first quarter of calendar 2027 to support a Mining Lease application.

Phase 2 drilling was expanded to test for a new shallow zone of high-grade mineralisation within the existing S1 and S2 pit areas, and the announcement presents eight figures with representative cross-sections for the optimised pit areas from the May 2025 Optimised Scoping Study. The company says Phase 2 assays support the highest-grade results of Phase 1 drilling, which was reported in December 2025 and January 2026, and that all Tunkillia mineralisation is being remodelled with nearly 58,000 metres of additional drilling.

Core growth drivers and material operating risks

Core growth drivers

The items identified are the updated gold and silver resource estimates, the PFS, the Mining Lease application and remodelling of Tunkillia using nearly 58,000 metres of additional drilling.

Material operating risks

Individual high-grade intervals are short and may be diluted in a resource model. Modelled economics depend on price assumptions and earlier work that has not yet been updated, and the resource estimates are pending. The PFS timing is a target, and a Mining Lease application is a later step with approvals.

The company will need substantial funding for development, and reported intervals are downhole lengths.