Challenger Gold's four-rig Hualilan drilling program: two rigs running, two still to join

Challenger Gold (ASX: CEL) is partway through a diamond drilling program of at least 35,000 metres at its Hualilan Gold Project. The company said on 30 July 2026 that the first two of four rigs were on site and drilling. The remaining two are still to join, and the announcement gives no date for them.

Why it matters

Hualilan is described as the company's flagship and is 100%-owned. Its existing Mineral Resource is 2.8 million ounces of gold, and the company says it remains open along strike and at depth. This is the first exploration drilling there in more than three years. The last campaign, completed in 2023, was mainly designed to support the current resource estimate.

What the program covers

• About 5,000 metres of geotechnical drilling, to support the Phase 1 standalone heap leach project.
• The balance on targeted exploration drilling for extensions at depth and along strike.
• Resource conversion drilling within the existing open pit design.

If conversion drilling succeeds, it would mean more of the existing resource is held with greater confidence inside the pit design. If exploration drilling succeeds, it would mean the resource could grow. Neither outcome is assured, and no results have been reported in the inputs provided.

Funding and other work

The company says it is fully funded for this program and a significantly larger follow-up, following a recently announced $85 million capital raise. The announcement does not state the currency, though it says dollar amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise stated. A geophysical data review across the wider property has also started. The company has begun a geological data review at its El Guayabo project in Ecuador.

What is uncertain

The program's timing is unstated beyond the 30 July start, so completion and the arrival of the last two rigs cannot be dated. The filings since then include securities quotation applications, substantial holder notices and director interest changes in August. An announcement on 13 August is titled "Sharpens Hualilan Development Pathway". The inputs do not include the contents of any of these.

A note on the asset list

The valuation inputs list three oil and gas interests: Aliso Canyon (8%), Mercury Stetson (50%) and Silverthread (20%). Their estimates date from 2008 to 2011, and the Hualilan announcement does not mention them. We have not been able to tie them to the company's current gold activities from the material provided, so readers should treat them with caution.