The First Assay Monday Drill Digest TSX · TSX-V · CSE · NYSE-A · Nasdaq · October 5, 2026 | 13 companies 66 qualifying holes 6 jurisdictions |
A heavy Monday catch-up covering Friday afternoon through this morning: 13 companies, 66 qualifying holes (plus 22 near-misses) across six jurisdictions, led by copper. Aldebaran's Altar porphyry in Argentina (1,728.9 m at 0.41% Cu) sets the scale, but it is a bulk-tonnage infill hole, so the sharper discovery signals are the C$127M Apex rare-earth step-out in Nebraska (116 m at 3.55% REO), Fitzroy's near-surface oxide copper in Chile (30.5 m at 2.48% Cu from surface) and Rua's gold-antimony intercepts in New Zealand (6.6 m at 10.5 g/t Au and 6.7% Sb). Argenta Silver's 4 m at 1,599 g/t Ag tops the GT/MCap table at 51× but is a cross-metal micro-bonanza; Thunder Gold (2.27×, C$54M) is the cleanest gold ratio. Coverage: all 19 numeric-assay releases were read; several rest on newswire mirrors or highlights only (see Not Screened and the sheet notes).
⚑ Hole of the Day
◉ Shallow · From 141m Infill · Resource Argentina · Moderate Risk ~ Porphyry-Cu
Aldebaran Resources ALDE TSX-V · C$499.6M ~ Altar Cu-Au Project (San Juan), Argentina ALD-26-260: 1,728.9m of 0.41% Cu from 141m incl. 756m of 0.68% CuEq (0.61% Cu) from 965m |
GT 708.8 %·m ExceptionalAuEq·m 1,036.3 Cu basis (PR CuEq × 1.332) GT/MCap 1.42× (Cu) |
ALD-26-260 returned 1,728.9 m at 0.41% Cu, 0.03 g/t Au and 1.34 g/t Ag (0.45% CuEq) from 141 m, including 756 m at 0.68% CuEq from 965 m and 88 m at 0.84% CuEq — an enormous, near-continuous porphyry copper-gold column with true thickness stated. GT is 708.8 %·m (Exceptional), but read it for what it is: a long, moderate-grade bulk interval from the 2025–26 infill and geotechnical program, so the number is driven by length rather than grade; the 756 m core at 0.61% Cu is the economic heart. GT/MCap is 1.42× on C$499.6M, and AuEq·m of 1,036 (company CuEq × 1.332) is the best Cu result of the 98 Cu-basis intercepts in the Sept 15–Oct 2 archives. Sister holes ALD-26-266 (918.8 m at 0.58% Cu) and ALD-26-271 (841.9 m at 0.50% Cu) are also Exceptional on GT, and the shallow starts (59 m and 193 m) point to a large open-pit scale. Argentina (San Juan) is a moderate-risk jurisdiction. Watch for the updated resource and any development-study news; infill holes confirm continuity but do not by themselves add new tonnage.
GT/MCap Spotlight — Top 5
Argenta's QVD-475 (51.2×) is a 4 m silver intercept — Ag's unit scale inflates GT, so it is not comparable with the Au and Cu names; ratio bars are scaled to it for #1 and to Apex's 3.23× for the rest. Best clean ratios: Apex RIFT26-024 (3.23×, TREO %·m, no AuEq), then Thunder Gold TM26-218 (2.27×) and Aldebaran ALD-26-260 (1.42×).
| AGAG QVD-475 Ag ~ cross-metal | 51.23× |
| APXC RIFT26-024 TREO | 3.23× |
| TGOL TM26-218 Au ◉ | 2.27× |
| ALDE ALD-26-260 Cu ◉ ✓ ~ ★ HOTD | 1.42× |
| LFLR SW-26-124 Au ◉ | 1.18× |
◉ From depth ≤200m (shallow) · ⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · ✓ True width stated · ★ HOTD
Today's Qualifying Intercepts — Top 10 of 66
| Rating | Company | Metal | Hole | m | Grade | GT | AuEq·m | GT/MCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | Galway MetalsGWM | Au | BL-332* | 48 | 2.8 g/t | 134.4 | 134.4 | 0.92 |
| Great | Thunder GoldTGOL | Au | TM26-218* | 298.5 ◉ | 0.409 g/t | 122.1 | 122.1 | 2.27 |
| Great | Osisko Gold GroupOGG | Au | BMU-26-121 ✓ | 16.15 ◉ | 7.28 g/t | 117.6 | 117.6 | 0.10 |
| Great | Rua GoldRUA | Au | ACDDH130 ✓ | 6.3 | 13.7 g/t | 86.3 | 91.8 | 0.61 |
| Great | Avanti GoldAGC | Au | MSDD0156* ⚠ | 12.27 | 5.39 g/t | 66.1 | 66.1 | 0.40 |
| Great | Argenta SilverAGAG | Ag | QVD-475* ~ | 4 | 1,599 g/t | 6,396 | 67.2 | 51.23 (Ag) |
| Exceptional ★ | Aldebaran ResourcesALDE | Cu | ALD-26-260 ✓ ~ | 1728.9 ◉ | 0.41 % | 708.8 | 1,036.3 | 1.42 (Cu) |
| Great | Fitzroy MineralsFTZ | Cu | BRT-DDH110* | 30.5 ◉ | 2.48 % | 75.6 | 100.8 | 0.50 (Cu) |
| Great | Sterling MetalsSAG | Cu | SC-26-27* | 187.36 ◉ | 0.32 % | 60.0 | 84.9 | 1.06 (Cu) |
| Great | Apex Critical MetalsAPXC | TREO | RIFT26-024* | 116 | 3.55 % | 411.8 | N/A | 3.23 (TREO) |
↗ View all 66 intercepts in Google Sheets+56 not shown: OGG ×4, AGC ×6, LFLR ×6, RUA ×6, ONYX ×4, GWM ×4, AGAG ×3, ALDE ×5, FTZ ×9, SAG ×2, RFR ×4, APXC ×3
Near-Miss (5 of 22 shown)
| Near-miss | Aldebaran ResourcesALDE | Cu | ALD-26-277 ✓ ~ | 112 ◉ | 0.13 % | 14.6 | 25.4 | 0.03 (Cu) |
| Near-miss | Fitzroy MineralsFTZ | Cu | BRT-DDH106* | 48 ◉ | 0.35 % | 16.8 | 22.4 | 0.11 (Cu) |
| Near-miss | LaFleur MineralsLFLR | Au | SW-26-104* | 11.2 | 0.53 g/t | 5.9 | 5.9 | 0.14 |
| Near-miss | Onyx GoldONYX | Au | MC26-277* | 44 ◉ | 0.2 g/t | 8.8 | 8.8 | 0.06 |
| Near-miss | Renforth ResourcesRFR | Ni | SUR-26-59* | 44 ◉ | 0.08 % | 3.5 | 10.2 | 0.30 (Ni) |
✓ True width stated · * Drilled width — TW not determined · ◉ From ≤200m (shallow)
⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk
GT thresholds — Au: Good >10, Great >50, Exceptional >200 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · TREO: Good >50, Great >200, Exceptional >500 %·m · Ag: Good >500, Great >2,000 g/t·m
AuEq: Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · APT $3,300/mtu · NdPr $70/kg · GT/MCap uses C$ mkt cap at October 5, 2026
REE AuEq requires NdPr% disclosure; "N/A" if basket not specified. Top 10 shown with a 3-per-company cap and a deliberate metal mix.
⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk
GT thresholds — Au: Good >10, Great >50, Exceptional >200 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · TREO: Good >50, Great >200, Exceptional >500 %·m · Ag: Good >500, Great >2,000 g/t·m
AuEq: Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · APT $3,300/mtu · NdPr $70/kg · GT/MCap uses C$ mkt cap at October 5, 2026
REE AuEq requires NdPr% disclosure; "N/A" if basket not specified. Top 10 shown with a 3-per-company cap and a deliberate metal mix.
Not Screened
Homeland Uranium (HLU · TSX-V · C$10.6M) — Cross Bones, USA. SC-07-06B 15.5 m at 0.049% U₃O₈ (0.76 %·m, would rate Great) — a 2006–07 historical hole; the release is a check-sampling of old core, not new drilling, so it is outside the screen.
Mineral Road Discovery (ROAD · CSE · C$6.1M) — Bergslagen W-Cu-F, Sweden. KD-007 10.5 m at 0.79% WO₃ (8.3 %·m), KD-006 12.6 m at 0.65%, KD-005 17.15 m at 0.42% — legacy drill intercepts framing a conceptual exploration target, not new drilling.
Renegade Gold (RAGE · TSX-V · C$14.0M) — Belanger, Red Lake, Canada. BL_E_C3 9.2 m at 2.52 g/t Au (incl. 5.1 m at 3.95) — surface channel samples, not drill holes; visible gold noted.
Northern Lights Resources (NLR · CSE · C$7.4M) — Pup, Yukon. Trench T2 7.5 m at 0.62% Cu — trenching, not drilling; results from 7 RC holes (277 m) still pending.
Geiger Energy (BEEP · TSX-V) — Apollo, Nunavut. APL26-002 45 m of shallow uranium from 40 m — raw cps only (downhole probe peak 402 cps, not off-scale), below the Radiometric Watch bar; assays pending later in 2026.
Bunker Hill Mining (BNKR · TSX) — Page property, Idaho. First hole intersected 15 ft of galena-siderite-sphalerite — visual only, no assays.
Program-start / no-assay releases — Wescan Goldfields (WGF), Kootenay/Rokmaster (KTRI), Xcite Uranium (XRI), Terra Clean Energy (TCEC), Total Metals (TT), Mink Ventures (MINK), Eastport (EVI, soil geochemistry), Azincourt (AAZ), Copper One (CEXY) and Viridian Metals (VRDN, sulphides only) reported no assay numbers; financings, M&A, PEA/PFS and corporate items were not drill results.
Data-quality caveats (rows ARE in the screen) — Osisko Gold: table read from a Stocktitan mirror (partial) and market cap approximated (~C$1.22B). Galway: from/to depths not available (highlights only). Apex: depths in an image table. Argenta QVD-479 interval stated 9.0 m vs 10 m span. Aldebaran CuEq is the company's own metal-price basis. Standard Uranium (Oct 1, possible cps) was not re-checked.
Mineral Road Discovery (ROAD · CSE · C$6.1M) — Bergslagen W-Cu-F, Sweden. KD-007 10.5 m at 0.79% WO₃ (8.3 %·m), KD-006 12.6 m at 0.65%, KD-005 17.15 m at 0.42% — legacy drill intercepts framing a conceptual exploration target, not new drilling.
Renegade Gold (RAGE · TSX-V · C$14.0M) — Belanger, Red Lake, Canada. BL_E_C3 9.2 m at 2.52 g/t Au (incl. 5.1 m at 3.95) — surface channel samples, not drill holes; visible gold noted.
Northern Lights Resources (NLR · CSE · C$7.4M) — Pup, Yukon. Trench T2 7.5 m at 0.62% Cu — trenching, not drilling; results from 7 RC holes (277 m) still pending.
Geiger Energy (BEEP · TSX-V) — Apollo, Nunavut. APL26-002 45 m of shallow uranium from 40 m — raw cps only (downhole probe peak 402 cps, not off-scale), below the Radiometric Watch bar; assays pending later in 2026.
Bunker Hill Mining (BNKR · TSX) — Page property, Idaho. First hole intersected 15 ft of galena-siderite-sphalerite — visual only, no assays.
Program-start / no-assay releases — Wescan Goldfields (WGF), Kootenay/Rokmaster (KTRI), Xcite Uranium (XRI), Terra Clean Energy (TCEC), Total Metals (TT), Mink Ventures (MINK), Eastport (EVI, soil geochemistry), Azincourt (AAZ), Copper One (CEXY) and Viridian Metals (VRDN, sulphides only) reported no assay numbers; financings, M&A, PEA/PFS and corporate items were not drill results.
Data-quality caveats (rows ARE in the screen) — Osisko Gold: table read from a Stocktitan mirror (partial) and market cap approximated (~C$1.22B). Galway: from/to depths not available (highlights only). Apex: depths in an image table. Argenta QVD-479 interval stated 9.0 m vs 10 m span. Aldebaran CuEq is the company's own metal-price basis. Standard Uranium (Oct 1, possible cps) was not re-checked.
THE FIRST ASSAY thefirstassay.com | Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · APT $3,300/mtu Not investment advice. |
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