The First Assay
Thursday Drill Digest
TSX · TSX-V · CSE · July 9, 2026
5 companies
37 qualifying holes
5 jurisdictions
A copper-heavy Thursday spanning five jurisdictions on two continents, and all of it infill or extension — no new discoveries on the tape. ATEX put three Exceptional intercepts on the board at Valeriano, headlined by 692m of 1.11% CuEq that ties the high-grade B2B breccia to the porphyry beneath it, while West Point Gold's GC26-168 (56.4m of 4.24 g/t Au) is the day's best value-per-dollar hole at 1.24× GT/MCap. NexGold flooded the tape with 27 qualifying shallow RC holes at Goldboro, and Minaurum's 953 g/t Ag step-down at Quintera carries the silver side.
⚑ Hole of the Day
▾ Deep · From 916m
Infill · Resource
Chile · Low-Moderate
Porphyry-Cu
ATEX Resources ATX TSX · ~C$790M
Valeriano (B2B breccia), Chile
ATXD23C: 692m of 1.11% CuEq (0.72% Cu, 0.31 g/t Au)* from 916m
incl. 124m of 2.65% CuEq from 1,236m and 20m of 4.10% CuEq from 1,260m
GT
498 %·m Exceptional
AuEq·m
891.7 computed (Cu+Au+Ag)
GT/MCap
0.63× (Cu)
ATXD23C ran 692m of 1.11% CuEq from 916m, with the guts of the hole grading 124m of 2.65% CuEq (1.67% Cu, 0.86 g/t Au) — among the best grade ever drilled at Valeriano — and, critically, it stitched the high-grade B2B breccia directly into the underlying high-grade porphyry before ending in mineralization. At 900m+ depth this is bulk-underground (block-cave) territory, and as infill it adds confidence and volume to the 475 Mt Indicated @ 0.88% CuEq resource rather than novelty. 0.63× GT/MCap is strong for a ~C$790M name; the hole ranks #3 among copper intercepts in the 30-day archive, behind NGEx's DPDH071 (728 %·m, yesterday) and AbraSilver's LC26-010 (516 %·m). Note the PR's CuEq deck (US$3.80/lb Cu, US$2,750/oz Au) is conservative against spot. Watch the remaining 35% of Phase VI assays through July — several holes are paused in mineralization, including the southern step-out ATXD19.
* Drilled widths — true width not determined pending geological modelling.
GT/MCap Spotlight — Top 5
Au, Ag and Cu metrics are on different price bases — not directly comparable across metals.
MGG AL26-215 Ag ✓
29.84×
MGG AL26-207 Ag ◉ ✓
14.07×
MGG AL26-200 Ag ✓
3.58×
WPG GC26-168 Au ✓
1.24×
WPG GC26-161 Au ✓
0.78×
Minaurum sweeps the top three slots on silver-unit math — but Ag GT is inflated by the metal's unit scale and is not comparable to the Au/Cu names. The best clean ratio on the sheet is West Point's GC26-168 at 1.24×, well clear of the next gold name; HOTD ATEX runs 0.63× despite its ~C$790M cap.
◉ From depth ≤200m (shallow) · ⚠ High jurisdiction risk · ~ Moderate jurisdiction risk · ✓ True width stated · ★ HOTD
Today's Qualifying Intercepts — Top 10 of 37
| Rating | Company | Metal | Hole | m | Grade / COG | GT | AuEq·m | GT/MCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptional | West Point GoldWPG | AuEpithermal-LS | GC26-168 ✓ | 56.4 | 4.24 g/t / n/s | 239.1 | 239.1 | 1.24 |
| Great | West Point GoldWPG | AuEpithermal-LS | GC26-161 ✓ | 68.2 | 2.20 g/t / n/s | 150.0 | 150.0 | 0.78 |
| Great | NexGold MiningNEXG | AuOrogenic | RC-26-147 ✓ | 6.0 ◉ | 12.06 g/t / n/s | 72.4 | 72.4 | 0.24 |
| Great | NexGold MiningNEXG | AuOrogenic | RC-26-102 ✓ | 18.0 ◉ | 3.84 g/t / n/s | 69.1 | 69.1 | 0.23 |
| Great | NexGold MiningNEXG | AuOrogenic | RC-26-144 ✓ | 7.0 ◉ | 9.31 g/t / n/s | 65.2 | 65.2 | 0.22 |
| Great | Minaurum SilverMGG | AgEpithermal | AL26-215 ✓ | 5.95 | 953 g/t / n/s | 5,670 | 70.8 | 29.84 (Ag) |
| Great | Minaurum SilverMGG | AgEpithermal | AL26-207 ✓ | 4.75 ◉ | 563 g/t / n/s | 2,674 | 37.7 | 14.07 (Ag) |
| Good | Minaurum SilverMGG | AgEpithermal | AL26-200 ✓ | 8.5 | 80 g/t / n/s | 680 | 8.2 | 3.58 (Ag) |
| Exceptional ★ | ATEX ResourcesATX | CuPorphyry-Cu | ATXD23C* | 692 | 1.11 %CuEq / 0.3% | 498.2 | 891.7 | 0.63 (Cu) |
| Exceptional | ATEX ResourcesATX | CuPorphyry-Cu | ATXD31A* | 530 | 0.71 %CuEq / 0.3% | 249.1 | 443.7 | 0.31 (Cu) |
↗ View all 37 intercepts in Google Sheets
+27 not shown: ATX ATXD31B (Exceptional, 0.30×), EMO EC102/EC099 (Good, polymetallic), NEXG ×24 further Good infill holes
Near-Miss
| Near-miss | Minaurum SilverMGG | AgEpithermal | AL26-202 ✓ | 4.25 ◉ | 96 g/t / n/s | 408 | 5.2 | 2.15 (Ag) |
| Near-miss | Emerita ResourcesEMO | CuVMS | EC105 ✓ | 1.0 | 5.4 % / n/s | 5.4 | 13.6 | 0.05 (Cu) |
| Near-miss | Emerita ResourcesEMO | CuVMS | EC104 ✓ | 3.3 | 0.8 % / n/s | 2.6 | 7.4 | 0.03 (Cu) |
EC105 is narrow but 5.4% Cu with 2.95 g/t Au; EC104 is El Cura's deepest, westernmost intercept — expansion vector west. NexGold's routine near-miss intervals (GT 5–10) from the 72-hole release are omitted.
✓ 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 · Ag: Good >500, Great >2,000, Exceptional >10,000 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m
AuEq: Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · GT/MCap uses C$ mkt cap at July 9, 2026
Polymetallic intercepts qualify via normalized cross-metal screen. 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 · Ag: Good >500, Great >2,000, Exceptional >10,000 g/t·m · Cu: Good >20, Great >40, Exceptional >150 %·m
AuEq: Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t · GT/MCap uses C$ mkt cap at July 9, 2026
Polymetallic intercepts qualify via normalized cross-metal screen. Deposit type shown under metal symbol.
Not Screened
Edge Copper (EDCU · TSX-V) — Zonia, Arizona. Reported nine further diamond holes July 8 with broad oxide-copper infill intervals (20 holes released from the program to date). The assay table was only published on a JavaScript-rendered source that was unreachable this run — not screened; will be picked up retroactively. Sulfide-zone assays and metallurgical work expected late July.
THE FIRST ASSAY
thefirstassay.com
Au $3,200/oz · Ag $33/oz · Cu $13,700/t
Not investment advice.
Not investment advice.
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