Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has engaged Foraco Drilling to commence a 3,000-metre diamond campaign at the Tunkillia gold project in South Australia.
Drilling will target infill and expansion of the project’s geotechnical and metallurgical databases to support a mineral resource estimate upgrade, open-pit design optimisation, along with detailed recovery and production modelling.
This work will be used for a pre-feasibility study and mining lease application targeted by year end.
Barton has previously completed a Phase 1 upgrade campaign at Tunkillia comprising 18,900m of reverse circulation drilling to infill the S1 and S2 pit areas that returned broad, high-grade intersections for conversion to measured and indicated resource categories.
Further Drilling Planned
Best assays from the Phase 1 program were 23m at 2.25 grams per tonne gold from 62m including 2m at 5.45g/t from 69m, 1m at 7.5g/t from 75m and 1m at 8.9g/t from 81m, 22m at 2.43g/t gold from 100m including 1m at 17.6g/t from 107m, and 28m at 2.6g/t gold from 129m including 2m at 20.9g/t from 144m.
Phase 2 resource upgrade work will comprise a further 30,000m of drilling targeted at converting of the remainder of the project’s open pit mineralisation to the Indicated category.
This aligns with the modelling in an optimised scoping study Barton released in May 2025.
The study outlined a compelling development project with a forecast annual production of 120,000 ounces gold and 250,000oz silver, as well as a total life-of-mine operating profit of $2.7 billion.
‘Financial and Capital Leverage’
Barton managing director Alexander Scanlon was pleased with the work achieved to date at Tunkillia.
“The Tunkillia scoping study demonstrated the financial and capital leverage available to large-scale bulk processing operations, with the major advantage of a higher-grade ‘starter pit’ that can pay back development costs twice over in the first year—assuming A$5,000/oz gold and A$50/oz silver prices,” Mr Scanlon said.
“At current gold and silver prices, Tunkillia would be modelled to produce over $1 billion operating profit in the first year, and over $2 billion operating profit in the first two years.”
“Our recent Phase 1 resource upgrade results confirmed the mineralisation behind these compelling economics and we are now executing the balance of our drilling programs on an expedited timeline, targeting ore reserves, a robust pre-feasibility study and a mining lease application by the end of this year.”
“We now have three drill rigs advancing Tunkillia as quickly as possible, [and], following the submission of our Mining Lease application, we will expedite Tunkillia’s project finance discussions and work with all key stakeholders to bring Tunkillia online as soon as possible.”
