Key highlights

  • NexGen Energy (Canada) Ltd (ASX:NXG) shares closed at $12.18, down 1.70%, on 19 October 2026.
  • A 24 August 2026 release reports the high-grade subdomain at Patterson Corridor East now extends 644 m vertically, up 94 m, with hole RK-26-293 intersecting mineralisation at 930 m depth.
  • NexGen is adding a fifth drill rig, with 20,138.7 m of a planned 42,000 m completed in 2026.

NexGen Energy Ltd (TSX: NXE; NYSE: NXE; ASX: NXG) is a uranium developer building the Rook I Project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin and exploring the nearby Patterson Corridor East (PCE) discovery. On 19 October 2026, the stock finished the session at $12.18, down 1.70%. In a news release dated 24 August 2026, NexGen reported results from the early part of its 2026 summer drilling at PCE and said it would add a fifth drill rig.

Key drill results

Hole RK-26-293 extended the high-grade subdomain’s vertical extent by 94 metres, or 17%, to 644 metres, intersecting a cumulative 4.7 metres of mineralisation above 10,000 counts per second (cps), including 0.1 metres above 61,000 cps at 930 metres depth. The strike extent remains 210 metres. The company says the mineralisation is accompanied by broad hydrothermal alteration with potential for further continuation nearby and below.

Down-plunge test hole RK-26-290c1 intersected multiple stacked uranium veins across 40 metres of the high-grade subdomain, with a cumulative 19.5 metres above 10,000 cps, including 12.9 metres surrounding 5.2 metres above 61,000 cps. RK-26-294 returned a cumulative 6.9 metres above 10,000 cps, including 3.1 metres above 61,000 cps, located 27 metres from RK-24-222, which had intersected 17.0 metres at 3.85% U₃O₈. RK-26-296 returned 3.5 metres above 10,000 cps and expanded the shallowest portion of PCE by 50 metres. The company ranks RK-26-290c1 as the best hole at PCE by the 61,000 cps measure since discovery.

Program status

Drilling at PCE restarted on 28 May 2026, and 20,138.7 metres of a planned 42,000 metres have been completed, including 11 holes totalling 7,425.2 metres at PCE this summer. Samples are being sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council Geoanalytical Laboratory, so assay results are still to come. The company says the bulk of the high-grade subdomain is about 70 metres shallower than the A2 High-Grade Zone, and that parallel trends will be tested later in the season.

The reported figures are radioactivity readings from a handheld scintillometer rather than assays, and they indicate the presence of uranium rather than its grade.

The release explains how the counts-per-second readings are used: yellow, red and purple outlines on the core photographs mark readings above 1,000, 10,000 and 61,000 cps respectively, with 61,000 cps being the upper limit of the instrument. Hole RK-26-294 recorded 3.1 metres of off-scale readings between 656.9 and 665.4 metres down hole.

NexGen says the high-grade subdomain is still open in most directions and that the strike extent remains 210 metres, since recent tests concentrated on confirming deep-seated interpretations. The company notes that the bulk of the subdomain sits about 70 metres shallower than the A2 High-Grade Zone, and that results from the 2026 holes will follow once the independent laboratory has reported.

Sector backdrop

The benchmark index finished the session higher. The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) stood at 8,845.70 at 4:25 pm (GMT+11) on 19 October 2026, up 0.44%, or 39.00 points, for the day. On the sector map, Energy rose 2.16%, the largest gain among the labelled segments. More broadly, Energy rose 2.16%, Industrials 0.93%, Financials 0.85%, Utilities 0.38% and Consumer Staples 0.25%, while Information Technology fell 1.35%, A-REIT 0.34%, Consumer Discretionary 0.18%, Telecommunication Services 0.16% and Health Care 0.13%.

Risks shareholders should weigh

Radiometric counts per second are not a measure of grade, and laboratory assays will determine the uranium content. PCE is a discovery at an exploration stage, and the company’s model of the high-grade subdomain is an interpretation that may change as drilling continues.

The company is advancing Rook I construction in parallel, which involves financing, permitting and construction risk that the release does not discuss. Seasonal drilling depends on weather and access, and the program’s 42,000-metre plan is not yet complete.

What’s next

NexGen will add a fifth rig, complete the remainder of the 42,000-metre 2026 program, test the parallel trend at PCE and release laboratory assays as they are received.