This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Australian Gold and Copper. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
Focused on discoveries and long-term value, Australian Gold and Copper (ASX:AGC) is a precious metals explorer and developer advancing its portfolio in the South Cobar Basin of New South Wales.
Managing Director Glen Diemar explains that Australian Gold and Copper is focused on growth — through both the discovery of additional ounces and acquisitions — and creating additional shareholder value.
“We love that discovery moment,” Diemar says.
“We continue to do the type of generative exploration that leads to that type of discovery, while adding ounces through resource expansion drilling at Achilles and Evergreen.”
One of those discovery moments comes from the company’s greenfields discovery made in 2024, the Achilles Gold-Silver Deposit. The company identified a silver-gold mineralised body at Achilles, extending around 750m in strike and, with 10,800m of drilling undertaken in 2024 and 2025, released a JORC mineral resource estimate (MRE) in late 2025 for the deposit.
The initial MRE for Achilles outlines around 38.5 million ounces of silver equivalent, grading 10.3 million tonnes at 116 grams per tonne silver equivalent. Diemar notes that current work is focused on growing the company’s holding in the region to 80 million ounces of silver equivalent.
Growth through acquisition
Part of that growth will come from Australian Gold and Copper’s belt-scale acquisitions and consolidation across the basin.
“Value comes with scale,” Diemar says.
“We have now consolidated the South Cobar Basin, controlling 99% of a stretch that’s 200km long and about 50km wide.
“There was no known mineralisation in the Achilles district until we had the Achilles discovery two years ago. We believed it was fertile and we’ve been able to prove that with systematic work and a dogged focus.
“Through acquisition, we were able to double our landholding in the South Cobar Basin for less than 3% dilution on our capital structure, which has really paved the way for the next couple of years of significant growth.”
In November 2025, Australian Gold and Copper finalised the acquisition of the Browns Reef tenement package from Eastern Metals (ASX:EMS), which comprises four tenements adding 1,269km2 of prospective exploration tenure to the company’s existing landholding.
Drill rigs driving resource growth
In 2026, Australian Gold and Copper is targeting an MRE on part of this newly acquired tenure, the Evergreen silver-gold-base metals deposit.
The company commenced diamond drilling at Evergreen in mid-April 2026, having now completed 10 holes over 3,000m. Diamond hole 26DDBR006 highlighted a 6m zone with strong visible copper mineralisation, comprising semi-massive chalcopyrite and pyrite with a broad alteration zone.
Australian Gold and Copper notes that this visible mineralisation seems to be the broadest interval of copper intersected by the company to date.
The assay results from this drill program are expected in July 2026 and will be directly fed into the company’s MRE for the deposit.
More recently, Australian Gold and Copper finalised the acquisition of the Junee Gold Project, another strategic acquisition for the company that only sits 230km south of the South Cobar Project in New South Wales. The project boasts an impressive gold portfolio with 10 intercepts at 100 grams per metre and seven drill-ready targets in a highly prospective gold region.
“This acquisition will start to make a lot of sense once we get drilling there in the near future,” Diemar comments.
Alongside this most recent acquisition, the company received firm commitments for a two-tranche placement to raise $5 million, supported by major shareholder GeoZen, which will be used for drilling at Achilles and Evergreen as well as to accelerate the Junee Project.
These acquisitions sit hand-in-hand with Australian Gold and Copper’s 2026 growth strategy.
“We have two drill rigs going flat out, drilling both our Achilles deposit and our Evergreen deposit, which are 25km apart, and that’s how we believe we’ll double our ounces by the end of the year,” Diemar says.
“Adding those ounces is the baseline value while we continue the systematic search to generate another discovery moment.”
Balancing exploration with capital discipline
Australian Gold and Copper is entering the second half of 2026 with strong momentum, balancing aggressive exploration with disciplined capital management. Plus, a supportive cornerstone investor who has supported each of the company’s raises.
The company is looking to the medium term, even as near-term milestones continue to be delivered.
“It’s a great time to be adding ounces,” Diemar says.
“The heat has come out of the market which creates great buying opportunities, and for our company, we’re looking to the medium term with consistent focus on fundamentals.
“The optimal time to develop is when cost of capital is in your favour — and right now is an incredible time for our sector and it’s an incredible time to be adding ounces and to be pushing projects toward development,” Diemar says.
“If you asked any developer two years ago if they’d like gold at US$4,500 [$6,345] and silver at US$70, everyone would be putting their hands up and saying yes, please!”
Assays pending, results pipeline building
With assays pending from Achilles and Evergreen, plus 7.5km of generative aircore drilling recently completed, Australian Gold and Copper expects a steady flow of results over the coming months.
“Our share price is down right now, but that signals an amazing buying opportunity,” Diemar says.
“We won’t be here for long. The amount of drilling we’ve completed in the last six months is phenomenal, and we’re just on the cusp of seeing a lot of assays come through.”
Looking ahead, Australian Gold and Copper is positioning itself for significant growth over the coming months and years. For Diemar, building a precious metals business in New South Wales is as much about de-risking and protecting the downside as it is about capturing the upside.
“We’re building in one of the best regions in the world, in the best commodities. That’s how you put a floor under the downside and grow significantly over the medium to long term.”
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au and Australian Gold and Copper
