An Australian-listed explorer just put its first hole in the ground at a historic Idaho gold mine — and saw gold in the core. Elk Range Mining Limited (ASX: ELK) announced October 5 that it has completed diamond drill hole 26FRD001 at the Friday Gold Project in Idaho, the maiden hole of its Phase 1 program, with visible gold logged at multiple depths.
- Hole 26FRD001 reached 336.8 metres (1,105 ft), traversing the Friday gold system and extending roughly 200 metres beyond previous historical drilling in that area.
- Visible gold was logged at 124.1 m, 138.7 m, 159.9 m, and 233.8 m downhole — three of the four occurrences lie beyond the 137.16 m end of the historical hole, in ground never tested before. The deepest occurrence extends as a veinlet for more than 1 cm.
- The hole recovered high-quality oriented core, giving the project its first structural dataset directly tied to observed visible gold — the kind of data that feeds a modern geological model.
- Hole 26FRD002 is already underway with 24-hour drilling operations; the company expects faster rates after the maiden hole hit sheared ground requiring shorter runs.
- First assay results are expected late October to early November 2026.
The setup behind the hole
Friday is the centerpiece of Elk Range's Idaho portfolio, which also includes the Orogrande Processing Plant and the Buffalo Gulch and Deadwood projects. The company listed on the ASX in August 2026 and moved straight into drilling — Phase 1 is eight planned diamond holes for roughly 2,850 metres, aimed at validating historical high-grade intercepts, infilling for resource definition, and testing extensions of the Friday system. Friday comes with existing underground development and permitted infrastructure, so the capital goes into drilling and geology. The stated end goal: a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource for the project.
One caveat, kept visible
Visible gold is not a grade. Elk Range's own announcement says it plainly: visual estimates of mineral abundance should not be treated as a substitute for laboratory analysis — assays are required to determine grade, continuity, or true width. This is an encouraging first hole, not a resource. The assay results due later this fall are the real test.