Why Is AusQuest (ASX:AQD) Trading at a 52-Week Low?

Sonal Goyal

26 October 2026 09:46 PM AEDT

Why Is AusQuest (ASX:AQD) Trading at a 52-Week Low?

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Key Highlights

AusQuest (ASX:AQD) traded at $0.03, down 11.77%, after touching a 52-week low during the 26 October 2026 session.
Permits for 20 additional drill pads at the 100% owned Cangallo project in Peru were received.
Stage 4 RC drilling is designed to test up to one kilometre south of the southern-most drill section.

AusQuest Limited (ASX:AQD) shares touched a 52-week low during the Trading session on 26 October 2026, trading at $0.03, down 11.77% on the day. AusQuest is a Perth-based explorer whose key asset is the 100% owned Cangallo Porphyry Copper-Gold Project in Peru. The company's latest project announcement, dated 20 October 2026, covers the receipt of permits for a fourth stage of drilling.

Stage 4 Drill Permits Received

The 20 October 2026 announcement states that permits for an additional 20 drill pads (Stage 4) at Cangallo have been received, allowing targeted southern extensions of the copper mineralisation to be tested. The highlights list drill coverage being extended one kilometre south of current copper intersections.

Stage 4 reverse circulation (RC) drilling is designed to test up to one kilometre south of the southern-most drill section, on sections 250 to 300 metres apart, with holes spaced at 250 to 300 metre intervals. Access preparations will begin as soon as possible to allow drilling to start later this year, subject to drill rig and crew availability.

The announcement summarises the drilling design rather than listing hole coordinates, describing the sections as 250 to 300 metres apart and the hole spacing as 250 to 300 metres. It states that the drilling has the potential to significantly expand the copper footprint, which is a statement of potential and not of a result.

Surface and Geophysical Basis for the Southern Target

AusQuest said surface rock-chip sampling and a more recent controlled source audio-magnetotelluric (CSAMT) survey suggest that copper mineralisation, with or without gold, could extend well south of the current drill coverage. The existing copper footprint, defined by earlier RC and diamond drilling, spans about 1.5 kilometres of strike, according to the announcement.

Earlier rock-chip samples in the southern area, reported in 2023, returned highly anomalous copper values of up to 1.0% and molybdenum of up to 68 parts per million within outcropping volcanics and narrow porphyritic dykes, plus several samples with anomalous gold, occasionally above 1.0 gram per tonne. The company said the results suggest the mineralised porphyry, or possibly a new porphyry centre, could lie beneath altered volcanic outcrops or covered areas that the next phase will test.

Reverse circulation drilling uses compressed air to bring rock chips to the surface through a drill rod, and it is generally used for fast, lower-cost testing of targets. Controlled source audio-magnetotellurics (CSAMT) is a geophysical technique that measures electrical resistivity and can indicate conductive or resistive zones at depth. The announcement includes two figures showing the location of the Stage 4 drill pads relative to earlier drilling and surface geochemistry.

About AusQuest

AusQuest Limited is headquartered in Ardross, Western Australia. Its Cangallo project is a porphyry copper-gold system in Peru. The announcement notes earlier drilling results released on 11 February and 4 March 2026, which established the copper footprint now being extended.

Porphyry copper-gold systems are large mineralised systems associated with intrusive rocks, and the announcement notes the possibility of a new porphyry centre in the southern area. The company's statements about the potential to expand the footprint are expressed as potential, not as a reported result.

Risks

The southern extension is an exploration target supported by surface sampling and geophysics, and the announcement states that mineralisation could extend rather than that it does. Drilling is subject to rig and crew availability, so timing may change. The company's wording about expanding the footprint depends on drilling results that have not yet been obtained, and exploration holes can return results that vary from the surface indications.

The announcement also refers to the Stage 4 drilling as dependent on permits that have now been received, so remaining dependencies are access preparation, drill rig and crew availability and the weather and site conditions in Peru. The company cautions in its forward-looking statements that results may differ from expectations.

Catalysts on Investors' Radar

The company has said access preparations will start as soon as possible, with drilling planned to begin later this year. Assay results from Stage 4 holes would follow once drilling and sampling are under way. Further updates on rig availability and drilling progress would be released as they occur.

Final Perspective

AusQuest touched a 52-week low six days after announcing Stage 4 permits at Cangallo. The permits add 20 drill pads and extend planned coverage by one kilometre to the south, with drilling targeted for later in the year.

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