Barton Gold Holdings Ltd – Tunkillia Phase 1 Upgrade Drilling Completed Ahead of Schedule

Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX: BGD) announced that the first phase of reverse‑circulation (RC) upgrade drilling at its South Australian Tunkillia Gold Project has been completed. The operation involved 18,893 metres of drilling across 209 holes over a period of 62 days, with an average throughput of more than 300 metres per day. The work was finished both ahead of the planned timetable and below the budgeted cost.

Key Technical Outcomes

  • Targeted Pits – The drilling concentrated on the high‑grade “Starter Pits” (S1 and S2) of the project.
  • Projected Resource – Modelling of the S1 pit indicates a recoverable resource of 206 k ounces of gold.
  • Operating Cost – The cost of producing gold from this pit is estimated at A$997 per ounce.
  • Cash Flow Projection – The project is expected to generate more than A$800 million in operating cash flow, with the initial development costs projected to be recovered more than twice during the first year of production.

Management Commentary

Managing Director and CEO Alex Scanlon highlighted that the S1 pit contains the project’s highest grades in a shallow, central zone. He noted that the pit is positioned to provide a rapid return on investment, with the first year of operations expected to repay the entire development expenditure multiple times over.

Context and Implications

The completion of Phase 1 upgrade drilling confirms the viability of the Tunkillia Gold Project’s key resource zones and strengthens Barton’s position as a gold exploration and development company operating in Australia. The results, combined with the company’s ongoing efforts to secure development and financing partners, suggest a favourable outlook for the project’s progression to a full-scale mine.

The announcement was issued on 25 November 2025 and is accompanied by detailed technical documentation, including a long‑section diagram of the main pit and its stages (Fig. 1) and a JORC MRE block model.

Source: www.finanznachrichten.de and hotcopper.com.au PDF announcements (25 November 2025).