The First Assay
Thursday Drill Digest
TSX · TSX-V · CSE · NYSE-A · Nasdaq · July 16, 2026
7 companies · 31 qualifying holes · 3 jurisdictions
Copper owned a busy Thursday. Two porphyry systems — Vizsla's Thira in central BC and ATERRA's Frontera in Chile — each returned Exceptional grade-thickness starting at or within metres of surface, and between them account for the four largest intercepts on the sheet. Onyx Gold and Thunder Gold carried the gold side with broad Timmins-camp envelopes, while Allied Critical Metals opened its Borralha campaign with 23.8 m of 0.68% WO₃, the first tungsten hole to clear the screen since the metal was added on Monday. No company on today's sheet is on a multi-day streak.
⚑ Hole of the Day
◉ Shallow · From 13.2m
Extension · Step-out
Canada · Stable
Porphyry-Cu
Vizsla Copper VCU TSX-V · C$92M
Poplar (Thira Discovery), Canada (BC)
TH26-154: 472.8m of 0.40% CuEq* from 13.2m
incl. 304.8m of 0.48% CuEq from 13.2m
| GT | AuEq·m | GT/MCap | Deposit |
| 189.1 %·m | 252.0 | 2.05× | Porphyry-Cu |
| Exceptional | Cu basis | (Cu) |
Nearly half a kilometre of continuous porphyry mineralisation starting 13 m below the collar, with a 304.8 m core at 0.48% CuEq and a 45 m section at 0.58%. At 189 %·m this is the largest intercept on the sheet by grade-thickness and clears the Exceptional copper threshold comfortably. The grade is ordinary — this is bulk-tonnage open-pit arithmetic, not a high-grade story — but starting at 13 m means no meaningful pre-strip, which is where the economics actually live. It extends the TH25-138 discovery rather than opening new ground; Thira now measures roughly 800 × 900 m, and an 8,000 m Phase 2 starts late July. At 2.05× GT/MCap against C$92M it is the best ratio attached to any Exceptional hole from an institutionally-backed name today. Caveat: the PR's CuEq assumes US$4.00/lb Cu and US$2,500/oz Au with conceptual — not tested — recoveries, well below 2026 spot.
* Drilled widths — true width not determined pending geological modelling.
GT/MCap Spotlight — Top 5
Au, Cu, WO₃ and Zn metrics are on different price bases — not directly comparable across metals.
ATC AFROD01 Cu ◉ — 17.41×
ATC ATOD01 Cu ◉ — 7.62×
LOT TOM-25-009EXT Zn — 4.64×
TGOL TM26-204 Au — 3.07×
VCU TH26-154 Cu ◉ ★ HOTD — 2.05×
ATERRA tops the sheet at 17.41×, but that is a ~C$10M shell drilling its maiden Phase I holes — the ratio reflects the denominator more than the discovery, and the market cap is April-dated and likely stale. The best ratios with substance behind them are TomaGold at 4.64× and Thunder Gold's TM26-204 at 3.07×, both sub-C$31M juniors. Vizsla's HOTD at 2.05× is the highest ratio on an Exceptional hole from a company with real backing.
◉ From depth ≤200m (shallow) · ⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · ✓ True width stated · ★ HOTD
Today's Qualifying Intercepts — Top 10 of 31
| Rating | Company | Metal | Hole | m | Grade / COG | GT | AuEq·m | GT/MCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | Onyx GoldONYX | AuOrogenic | MC26-274A* | 28.1 | 3.5 g/t / n/s | 98.4 | 98.4 | 0.665 |
| Great | Thunder GoldTGOL | AuOrogenic | TM26-204* | 142.0 | 0.668 g/t / n/s | 94.9 | 94.9 | 3.065 |
| Great | Onyx GoldONYX | AuOrogenic | MC26-274A (2nd)* | 17.8 | 5.3 g/t / n/s | 94.3 | 94.3 | 0.637 |
| Great | Onyx GoldONYX | AuOrogenic | MC26-324* | 93.0 | 1.0 g/t / n/s | 93.0 | 93.0 | 0.628 |
| Great | Thunder GoldTGOL | AuOrogenic | TM26-204 (2nd)* | 45.0 | 1.793 g/t / n/s | 80.7 | 80.7 | 2.607 |
| Great | Thunder GoldTGOL | AuOrogenic | TM26-204 (3rd)* | 1.5 | 44.100 g/t / n/s | 66.2 | 66.2 | 2.137 |
| Good | Vior GoldVIO | AuOrogenic | LI-26-024* | 2.9 | 5.17 g/t / n/s | 15.0 | 15.0 | 0.289 |
| Good | Vior GoldVIO | AuOrogenic | LI-26-034* | 2.0 | 7.37 g/t / n/s | 14.7 | 14.7 | 0.284 |
| Good | Vior GoldVIO | AuOrogenic | LI-26-034 (2nd)* | 3.7 | 3.45 g/t / n/s | 12.8 | 12.8 | 0.246 |
| Exceptional ★ | Vizsla CopperVCU | CuPorphyry-Cu | TH26-154* | 472.8 ◉ | 0.40 % / 0.10 % | 189.1 | 252.0 | 2.052 (Cu) |
↗ View all 31 intercepts in Google Sheets
+21 not shown, incl: ATC AFROD01 (Exceptional, 17.41×), ATC ATOD01 (Great, 7.62×), ACM Bo_13/26 ×4 (Great, WO₃), VCU TH26-154 304.8m (Great, 1.59×), VCU TH26-163 (Great, 0.60×), LOT TOM-25-009EXT (Good, 4.64×), ONYX ×6, TGOL TM26-200 (Great, 2.00×)
Near-Miss
| Near-miss | Thunder GoldTGOL | AuOrogenic | TM26-203* | 13.5 ◉ | 0.612 g/t / n/s | 8.3 | 8.3 | 0.267 |
| Near-miss | TomaGoldLOT | ZnVMS | TOM-25-009EXT (2nd)* | 13.75 | 1.83 % ZnEq / n/s | 25.2 | 5.9 | 1.744 (Zn) |
| Near-miss | Vior GoldVIO | AuOrogenic | LI-26-034 (3rd)* | 2.0 | 3.26 g/t / n/s | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.126 |
TGOL TM26-203 and VIO LI-26-034 (3rd) are secondary zones in holes that also produced qualifying intercepts. LOT's 13.75 m clears neither the Zn+Pb GT floor nor the AuEq·m floor.
✓ True width stated in PR · * Drilled width — TW not determined · ◉ From ≤200m (shallow)
⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · n/s = COG not stated
GT thresholds — Au: Good >10, Great >50, Exceptional >200 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · WO₃: Good >1, Great >5, Exceptional >20 %·m (through-cycle APT basis) · Zn+Pb: Good >50, Great >150 %·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 July 16, 2026
Many holes today report no from-depth; depth flags are omitted where the PR is silent. Deposit type shown under metal symbol.
⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · n/s = COG not stated
GT thresholds — Au: Good >10, Great >50, Exceptional >200 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m · WO₃: Good >1, Great >5, Exceptional >20 %·m (through-cycle APT basis) · Zn+Pb: Good >50, Great >150 %·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 July 16, 2026
Many holes today report no from-depth; depth flags are omitted where the PR is silent. Deposit type shown under metal symbol.
Not Screened
Fortitude Gold (FTCO · OTCQB) — East Camp Douglas, Mineral County, Nevada. Best intercept: 9.14 m of 2.84 g/t Au within 21.34 m of 1.43 g/t Au. OTC-only listing — outside exchange coverage. Would have rated Good on GT had it been listed on a covered exchange.
Nobel Resources (NBLC · TSX-V) — Cuprita, Chile. Best intercept: 21 m averaging 504 ppm Cu (0.05%), with 1 m at 3,237 ppm. Anomalous-only copper — no interval approaches the Cu GT screen; the release is primarily an IP-survey and vectoring update, not an assay result.
Nobel Resources (NBLC · TSX-V) — Cuprita, Chile. Best intercept: 21 m averaging 504 ppm Cu (0.05%), with 1 m at 3,237 ppm. Anomalous-only copper — no interval approaches the Cu GT screen; the release is primarily an IP-survey and vectoring update, not an assay result.
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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