The First Assay Tuesday Drill Digest TSX · TSX-V · CSE · NYSE-A · Nasdaq · October 6, 2026 | 17 companies 84 qualifying holes 7 jurisdictions |
Wide, low-grade critical-metals and a deep Au tape-measure dominated a busy Tuesday: 17 releases carried numeric assays across Au, Ag, Cu, Ni, W and REE, led by Prospector's 41.34 g/t Au over 7.81 m at the Tess Zone, Yukon (the best clean gold hole of the day at 2.5× GT/MCap) and a 688 m, 0.81% TREO interval from Volta's Springer REE-Ga deposit. Silver was the surprise: Brixton and Prince Silver both posted Great-rated shallow intercepts, though their GT/MCap figures are Ag unit-scale artefacts and not comparable to Au or Cu. Sun Summit's Creek Zone (three Great holes, 2.2× GT/MCap) is the cleanest small-cap gold story. Several market caps (Prince Silver, Volta, Banyan) are secondary-source and approximate; see Not Screened for details.
⚑ Hole of the Day
◉ Shallow · From 4.6m Canada · Stable Carbonatite
Volta Metals VLTA CSE · ~C$43M (approx) Springer REE-Ga Deposit, Ontario, Canada SL26-35: 688.4m of 0.81% TREO * from 4.6m |
GT 557.6 %·m ExceptionalAuEq·m N/A basket not specified GT/MCap 12.94× (TREO) |
Volta's SL26-35 returned 688.4 m of 0.81% TREO (plus 68 g/t Ga₂O₃ and 254 g/t Nb₂O₅) from 4.6 m, essentially surface-to-688 m, in the Springer carbonatite-hosted REE-gallium deposit in Ontario. That is a bulk-tonnage open-pit-style result rather than a high-grade shoot: it scores Exceptional on the %·m screen because of sheer width, not grade. Hole context is not stated, and NdPr is not reported, so AuEq is not computable and the magnet-REE share of the basket is unknown. At roughly C$43M market cap the interval ranks 12.94× GT/MCap, and it is the best TREO result in the 30-day archive (#1; prior best was Apex's RIFT26-019 at 418.7 %·m). Two caveats: JMN's article was unreachable and the numbers come from a StockTitan summary table, and the C$ market cap is a conversion of an unverified US$30.3M figure. Existing resource is 56.6 Mt Ind @ 0.70% TREO; Ga and Nb are excluded from it, and an update is targeted for Q4 2026, which is the next catalyst. Runner-up on absolute GT is Prospector's ML26-056 (322.9 g/t·m Au), which is the better pure-gold discovery story at 2.53× GT/MCap.
* Drilled widths — true width not determined.
GT/MCap Spotlight — Top 5
All five are Ag intercepts (Brixton, Prince Silver): Ag g/t·m is inflated by unit scale against Au and Cu %·m and these are micro-caps — not comparable. Next on a unit-agnostic basis: INOMIN MINE 15.10× (Ni, rating caveat) and VLTA SL26-35 12.94× (TREO). Best clean Au ratio: PPP ML26-056 at 2.53×, then SMN CZ-26-023 at 2.23×.
BBB LM-26-449 Ag183.67×
PRNC PRC-59 Ag ◉137.04×
PRNC PRC-60 Ag ◉134.34×
BBB LM-26-412 Ag ◉96.58×
BBB LM-26-442 Ag ◉44.84×
◉ From depth ≤200m (shallow) · ⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · ✓ True width stated · ★ HOTD
Today's Qualifying Intercepts — Top 10 of 84
| Rating | Company | Metal | Hole | m | Grade | GT | AuEq·m | GT/MCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptional | Prospector MetalsPPP | AuStructurally | ML26-056 ✓ | 7.81 ◉ | 41.34 g/t | 322.9 | 322.9 | 2.53 |
| Great | Prospector MetalsPPP | AuStructurally | ML26-046 ✓ | 27.35 ◉ | 5.05 g/t | 138.1 | 188.6 | 1.08 |
| Great | GoldMiningGOLD | AuPorphyry-Au | YAR-45 * ~ | 399.9 ◉ | 0.34 g/t | 136.0 | 180.0 | 0.49 |
| Great | Sun Summit MineralsSMN | AuEpithermal / | CZ-26-023 * | 23.5 ◉ | 4.35 g/t | 102.2 | 103.4 | 2.23 |
| Great | Sun Summit MineralsSMN | AuEpithermal / | CZ-26-032 * | 32.5 ◉ | 3.02 g/t | 98.2 | 99.0 | 2.15 |
| Great | Brixton MetalsBBB | AgEpithermal | LM-26-449 * | 23.5 | 348.11 g/t | 8,180.6 | 84.3 | 183.67 (Ag) |
| Good | Tribeca ResourcesTRBC | CuIOCG | CSS001 * | 67 ◉ | 0.52 % | 34.8 | 56.5 | 1.49 (Cu) |
| Good | Blue Moon MetalsMOON | WO3W Skarn | NM-45 ✓ | 12.15 | 0.26 % | 3.2 | 101.3 | 0.00 (WO3) |
| Exceptional | Inomin MinesMINE | NiNi-Mg ultram | N/A * | 420 ◉ | 0.21 % | 88.2 | 145.7 | 15.10 (Ni) |
| Exceptional ★ | Volta MetalsVLTA | TREOCarbonatite | SL26-35 * | 688.4 ◉ | 0.81 % | 557.6 | N/A | 12.94 (TREO) |
↗ View all 84 intercepts in Google Sheets
+74 not shown (rows per company): AAUC ×30, SMN ×7, AUMB ×7, NCAU ×6, ALEX ×5, CTGO ×4, BYN ×4, BBB ×3, PRNC ×2, VLTA ×2, PPP ×1, LSTR ×1, MOON ×1, TLO ×1. Top 10 is metal-diversified (best row per metal first, max 3 per company).
Near-Miss (top 6 of 9)
| Near-miss | Banyan GoldBYN | AuPorphyry-Au | AX-26-899 ✓ | 1.7 ◉ | 5.76 g/t | 9.8 | 9.8 | 0.02 |
| Near-miss | Sun Summit MineralsSMN | AuEpithermal / | CZ-26-024 * | 21 ◉ | 0.46 g/t | 9.7 | 9.9 | 0.21 |
| Near-miss | Sun Summit MineralsSMN | AuEpithermal / | CZ-26-033 * | 23 ◉ | 0.41 g/t | 9.4 | 9.7 | 0.21 |
| Near-miss | 1911 GoldAUMB | AuOrogenic | UG16-26-069 ✓ | 2.4 | 3.51 g/t | 8.4 | 8.4 | 0.03 |
| Near-miss | 1911 GoldAUMB | AuOrogenic | UG16-26-075 ✓ | 3.4 | 2.25 g/t | 7.6 | 7.6 | 0.03 |
| Near-miss | Alpha ExplorationALEX | Au | ABD039 ✓ ⚠ | 6 ◉ | 1.11 g/t | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.18 |
✓ True width stated in PR · * 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 · Ag: 500 / 2,000 / 10,000 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · Ni: 5 / 10 / 40 %·m · WO₃: 1 / 5 / 20 %·m · TREO: 50 / 200 / 500 %·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 6, 2026 (US$→C$ at 1.4233 where converted; approximate for CTGO, PRNC, VLTA; BYN cap is July-dated)
REE AuEq requires NdPr% disclosure; "N/A" if basket not specified. Deposit type shown under metal symbol.
⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk
GT thresholds — Au: Good >10, Great >50, Exceptional >200 g/t·m · Ag: 500 / 2,000 / 10,000 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · Ni: 5 / 10 / 40 %·m · WO₃: 1 / 5 / 20 %·m · TREO: 50 / 200 / 500 %·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 6, 2026 (US$→C$ at 1.4233 where converted; approximate for CTGO, PRNC, VLTA; BYN cap is July-dated)
REE AuEq requires NdPr% disclosure; "N/A" if basket not specified. Deposit type shown under metal symbol.
Not Screened
Provenance Gold (PAU · CSE · C$29M) — Eldorado West. Two core holes (EC-10, EC-11) with geological observations only; no assays — results expected in ~4 weeks.
Zodiac Gold (ZAU · TSX-V) — Todi, Liberia. Best result is a TRENCH interval (34 m @ 0.71 g/t Au, incl. 18 m @ 1.18 g/t) — trench sampling, not drilling.
Allied Gold (AAUC) — screened; but note it is a producing mid-tier at C$3.9B, so GT/MCap is negligible.
Sun Summit, 1911 Gold, Banyan Gold, Tribeca, Prince Silver, Volta — market caps from secondary sources (StockAnalysis / StockTitan), approximate; JMN articles for AUMB, BYN, PRNC, TRBC, VLTA hit the long-URL 403 and were read via newswire/company mirrors.
Inomin Mines (MINE · TSX-V · C$5.8M) — Beaver-Lynx, BC. Headline 420 m @ 0.21% Ni scores Exceptional on the %·m screen but the release has no hole ID or assay table, and Ni in ultramafic rock is often non-payable silicate Ni; treat the rating with caution.
Lodestar rock sample, Prince Silver PRC-54/55 — grab sample (GMLH05) and holes not confirmed in today's release were left out.
Not drill results / out of scope — Torex (TXG, Q3 production), Canterra (CTM, resource estimate), Canagold (CCM, antimony metal production), District Metals (DMX), Golden Minerals (AUMN, OTCQB), Blossom Gold (BGAU, discovery claim, no assays), Sun Summit and Contango true widths pending. Talon (TLO) 26RL0009/0011 intersected mineralisation but no values given.
Coverage — all 18 candidate releases in the window were read; Oct 5 releases (ALDE, OGG, AGC, ONYX, TGOL, LFLR, RUA, GWM, AGAG, SAG, FTZ, APXC, RFR) were covered in yesterday's issue. The exploration listing timed out; junior-miner-news and drill-results listings were used.
Zodiac Gold (ZAU · TSX-V) — Todi, Liberia. Best result is a TRENCH interval (34 m @ 0.71 g/t Au, incl. 18 m @ 1.18 g/t) — trench sampling, not drilling.
Allied Gold (AAUC) — screened; but note it is a producing mid-tier at C$3.9B, so GT/MCap is negligible.
Sun Summit, 1911 Gold, Banyan Gold, Tribeca, Prince Silver, Volta — market caps from secondary sources (StockAnalysis / StockTitan), approximate; JMN articles for AUMB, BYN, PRNC, TRBC, VLTA hit the long-URL 403 and were read via newswire/company mirrors.
Inomin Mines (MINE · TSX-V · C$5.8M) — Beaver-Lynx, BC. Headline 420 m @ 0.21% Ni scores Exceptional on the %·m screen but the release has no hole ID or assay table, and Ni in ultramafic rock is often non-payable silicate Ni; treat the rating with caution.
Lodestar rock sample, Prince Silver PRC-54/55 — grab sample (GMLH05) and holes not confirmed in today's release were left out.
Not drill results / out of scope — Torex (TXG, Q3 production), Canterra (CTM, resource estimate), Canagold (CCM, antimony metal production), District Metals (DMX), Golden Minerals (AUMN, OTCQB), Blossom Gold (BGAU, discovery claim, no assays), Sun Summit and Contango true widths pending. Talon (TLO) 26RL0009/0011 intersected mineralisation but no values given.
Coverage — all 18 candidate releases in the window were read; Oct 5 releases (ALDE, OGG, AGC, ONYX, TGOL, LFLR, RUA, GWM, AGAG, SAG, FTZ, APXC, RFR) were covered in yesterday's issue. The exploration listing timed out; junior-miner-news and drill-results listings were used.
THE FIRST ASSAY thefirstassay.com | Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · APT $3,300/mtu Not investment advice. |
Archived: Google Sheets · Raw CSV also saved to the automation folder