Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has received further assays from recent drilling at the Challenger gold project in South Australia, confirming extensions to potential new open pit mineralisation near its fully-permitted Central Gawler Mill.
The latest results come from the Challenger South-Southwest deposit and Challenger 3 target, each of which is being assessed as a potential new satellite open pit adjacent to existing mine infrastructure.
Barton recently completed 8,065 metres of reverse circulation (RC) resource upgrade drilling across the Challenger Main and Challenger West open pits, the Challenger South-Southwest deposit, and the Challenger 3 target.
The latest assays support a potential maiden JORC mineral resource estimate for Challenger 3 and provide further confidence in the existing Challenger South-Southwest resource.
New Open-Pit Feed
Barton is assessing near-surface material at Challenger as part of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) targeting a simplified Stage 1 restart operation.
The proposed three-to-four-year baseline operation would use historical higher-grade tailings from tailings storage facility 1 and limited near-surface materials without disturbing the historical high-grade underground mine or its infrastructure access.
That approach is designed to reduce restart risk, defer the technical and capital requirements of underground mining, and provide time to optimise future development scenarios.
The latest drilling results add to recent assays from the Challenger Main open pit wall and Challenger West open pit floor, where Barton reported grades of up to 170 grams per tonne gold and 60g/t gold respectively.
Challenger 3 Potential
Challenger 3 has returned broad near-surface mineralised intersections that indicate the system is longer than previously understood.
Key results saw 6m at 4.46g/t gold from 30m including 2m at 12.1g/t gold from 30m, and 10m at 2.28g/t gold from 33m including 1m at 9.12g/t gold from 42m.
Challenger 3 sits along strike from the existing Challenger Main and Challenger West open pits and close to the Central Gawler Mill
It has not yet been modelled as a JORC 2012 mineral resource, and its mineralisation remains open to extension.
The new drilling density, correlation with historical data, and shallow position of the mineralisation have increased the potential to convert Challenger 3 into a new mineral resource.
South-Southwest Confidence
Results from Challenger South-Southwest have increased confidence in consistent mineralisation across the deposit and point to potential growth beyond the current resource.
Highlight returns were 3m at 5.05g/t gold from 27m and 8m at 1.68g/t gold from 55m including 1m at 7.64g/t gold from 57m, and 10m at 1.63g/t gold from 85m including 1m at 9.53g/t gold from 90m.
“Following recent high-grade assays up to 170g/t Au and 60g/t Au from Challenger’s ‘Main’ and ‘West’ open pits, we are pleased to share new assays confirming significant mineralisation to support potential new adjacent open pits,” managing director Alexander Scanlon said.
“This kind of near-surface mineralisation adjacent to our existing Central Gawler Mill provides ideal low-risk feed to de-risk an operational restart at Challenger.”
“We look forward to sharing further Challenger updates soon.”
DFS Workstreams
Barton published a Challenger mineral resource estimate of 313,000 ounces gold in September 2025.
Ongoing DFS work includes resource classification upgrades for open-pittable mineralisation, geotechnical and metallurgical analysis from recent diamond drilling, mining studies, open pit optimisations and scenario modelling for start-up scale, development stages, feed sources, and operating costs.
Challenger is a fully approved mine site with an established Mining Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation.
Barton is also applying for approvals to mine and reprocess tailings from tailings storage facility 1, develop new open pits at Challenger South-Southwest and Challenger 3, and build a new tailings storage facility—a process the company is targeting completion of in parallel with the DFS by the end of calendar year 2026.
Reinstating the Central Gawler Mill would also improve development optionality across Barton’s regional assets including the Tarcoola gold project, Wudinna gold project, and Tolmer silver prospect.
