Alma Metals plans 34 more Briggs infill holes this year, with 35 more due in 2027

Alma Metals (ASX:ALM) says it will drill 34 more infill holes, totalling 10,000m, at its Briggs copper project during 2026. A further 35 holes, about 17,500m, are planned for 2027, along with four exploration holes (1,250m) for the rest of 2026. The company has given the timing only as a year, not as specific dates.

Why it matters

Briggs is Alma's main asset. The company holds a 51% interest and has described the project as containing 2 million tonnes of copper. It says its May A$4.0M placement covers the spending needed to lift its stake to 70%.

The infill drilling is meant to upgrade part of the resource from Inferred to Indicated, a higher confidence category. Alma says the aim is to finish the first 41 holes (about 12,500m) by the end of 2026. Seven holes, about 2,300m, are complete. The results would feed an interim resource update and a prefeasibility study. Alma says the update would let it publish production and financial metrics for Briggs for the first time.

What the first assays showed

The first three holes returned long, consistent copper intervals that the company says match its resource model:

• Hole 39: 322m at 0.17% copper
• Hole 40: 388m at 0.15% copper
• Hole 41: 400m at 0.13% copper

These holes sit in the lower-grade granodiorite core, where the company expected lower grades. It says grades rise toward the contact with surrounding rock. Higher-grade zones inside the holes reached 0.22% to 0.25%.

What is uncertain

• Only three of the planned holes have reported assays. The company said in July that the first three would report in four to five weeks, and they arrived on 4 August. Results from the higher-grade southern side of the deposit are still to come.
• The company has not said whether the Indicated upgrade will be achieved, only that it is targeted for the end of 2026 drilling. The 2027 holes come after that.
• Cash and listed investments totalled A$6.8M at 30 June, with no debt. Alma has not stated the full cost of the 2026 and 2027 programmes, so it is unclear how much more funding it will need.
• A 16-person camp was due to be commissioned in August to allow a second rig. Drilling began in late April with one rig.

Alma has said it will publish regular progress reports and assays through the rest of the year.