Barton Gold Holdings (ASX:BGD) has wrapped up a five month, four rig drilling blitz at its Tunkillia gold and silver project in South Australia, and the assays coming back are high grade enough to matter. The campaign, 38,760 metres across 311 holes, is aimed squarely at growing the resource ahead of a pre feasibility study the company wants finished in early 2027. It lands at a good time for developers with gold in the ground, with the metal trading near record levels around $6,200 an ounce in Australian dollar terms.
High grade hits inside the starter pits
The latest batch of Phase 2 infill results includes 6 metres at 6.61 grams per tonne gold from 70 metres, with a standout 1 metre interval at 32.4g/t, plus 11 metres at 2.87g/t from 79 metres including 1 metre at 10.6g/t. Barton Gold says the intercepts sit within the shallow zones of Tunkillia’s existing “starter pit” outlines from the May 2025 optimised pit study, which matters because near surface, high grade ounces tend to move the needle most on project economics. The company is now waiting on a final batch of assays before folding the results into an updated JORC Mineral Resource for both gold and silver.
Part of a broader resource upgrade wave
Barton Gold is not alone in chasing bigger numbers this year. Westgold Resources recently lifted its ore reserves 41 percent to 4.1 million ounces, and Astral Resources has been pulling high grade hits out of the ground near Kalgoorlie as it pushes toward development. Strong prices have given ASX gold developers room to fund aggressive drilling programs like Tunkillia’s, and resource growth stories are attracting fresh investor attention as the sector works through a wave of consolidation. Firmer bullion also supports steady official sector buying, which the World Gold Council says has remained a consistent pillar of demand through 2026.
What comes next for Tunkillia
With Phase 2 drilling complete, Barton Gold’s next milestones are the updated resource estimate, followed by the pre feasibility study targeted for the first quarter of 2027 and an eventual mining lease application. The company has also been drilling the nearby Tolmer silver discovery and its Challenger gold project, giving it more than one lever to pull as it works toward a development decision. For investors watching the ASX gold developer space, Tunkillia is shaping up as one of the more advanced pre production stories in South Australia’s Gawler Craton.
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