Banyan Gold (TSX-V:BYN) has commenced a diamond drilling program at its Nitra project in the Yukon’s Tombstone gold belt.
The helicopter-supported program uses two diamond drills focused on testing targets identified through geophysical surveys and surface work.
Banyan has allocated 7,500m to testing regional targets, with treasury capacity to expand the program based on exploration success.
Targeting 10 prospects identified across Nitra and the broader AurMac property, the drilling targets aim to identify satellite deposits in greenfields zones surrounding the AurMac deposit.
“Our technical team has leveraged our extensive regional data sets and geophysical coverage to identify highly prospective targets,” VP of Exploration Duncan Mackay says.
Regional targets have been identified using new geophysical surveys combined with soil sampling anomalies, knowledge of placer mining locations, and prospecting work.
Over 95% of AurMac and Nitra remains untested by drilling, with most previous exploration limited to surface geochemical work and airborne geophysical surveys.
“With a fully funded treasury […] Nitra represents exactly the kind of discovery opportunity that can extend our pipeline well beyond the existing large gold resource,” CEO Tara Christie says.
Banyan commenced drilling for the 2026 season at AurMac in February and has completed over 28,000m to date on the Airstrip and Powerline deposits.
Geophysical surveys, metallurgical work, geotechnical work, and environmental surveys complement the drilling, along with engineering studies required for a preliminary economic assessment scheduled for H2 2026.
The AurMac project hosts an indicated mineral resource of 3.64 million ounces of gold @ 0.68 grams per tonne and an inferred resource of 4.99Moz @ 0.58g/t across 167.3 million tonnes and 267.2Mt respectively.
Banyan Gold is a Canadian explorer focused on advancing and de-risking its 100%-owned AurMac gold project in Canada’s Yukon Territory, one of the country’s newest and rapidly growing mining districts.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Banyan Gold
