Elk Range starts gold drilling with first results
Elk Range Mining has started its first drilling program at the Friday gold project in Idaho, shortly after its debut on the Australian Securities Exchange. The company is focusing on mineralization at the former mine, with results intended to support an initial resource estimate.
Eight holes to test historical high-grade zones
The current effort involves eight diamond drill holes covering about 2,850 meters. The program seeks to confirm past drilling results while examining deeper parts of the mineralized system, which has seen minimal exploration for over ten years.
Earlier drilling at the site produced intercepts such as 110.3 meters at 5.34 grams per tonne gold and 54.1 meters at 5.63 grams per tonne. The first hole of the new campaign will try to verify these findings before moving to greater depths.
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“We are excited to have rods spinning at Friday and to get down to the work we set out to do,” said Elk Range CEO Edward Keys. “The program has been carefully planned to confirm historical mineralization, add new resource-definition intercepts and test extensions of the system.”
Elk Range intends to combine new results with existing data to create a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate. Keys described this as an important step in showing the project’s value and potential, providing a basis for wider exploration across the Idaho site.
Existing infrastructure gives head start
The Friday project features underground development on several levels and access to the nearby Orogrande processing plant, which can handle 135 tonnes per day. Small-scale mining started in 2020 but paused in early 2022 because of COVID-19 supply chain issues.
Mineralization at the site consists of plunging shoots with possible down-dip extensions. The project lies within Elk Range’s larger Idaho holdings, which include multiple targets in the Orogrande Shear Zone, such as the Buffalo Gulch and Deadwood prospects.
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“Friday gives us a significant advantage,” Keys said. “We are drilling at a historically producing gold mine with underground development and established infrastructure already in place. This allows us to concentrate our capital on drilling, geology and building the modern resource base needed to develop the asset.”
The company secured $10 million through its recent initial public offering and is using those funds for the current exploration work. The effort aims to create a technical foundation for assessing the district-scale opportunity across its Idaho properties.
The company began trading on the ASX in early August. The Friday project remains its main priority, with no immediate plans announced for other targets within the Idaho land package.
