Challenger Gold starts its first Hualilan drilling in three years, with two more rigs still to come

Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL) began diamond drilling at its 100%-owned Hualilan Gold Project on 30 July 2026, the first exploration drilling there in more than three years. Two of the four planned rigs are operating. The company has not stated when the other two will join.

What is being drilled

The program is a minimum of 35,000 metres. About 5,000 metres is geotechnical drilling to support the Phase 1 standalone heap leach project. The balance targets extensions of known mineralisation at depth and along strike, plus drilling to upgrade existing resources inside the planned open pit design.

The current Hualilan Mineral Resource is 2.8 million ounces of gold. The company says it remains open along strike and at depth. The last campaign, completed in 2023, was designed mainly to support that estimate. The company has not given a completion date or timetable for results.

Why it matters

Hualilan is the company's flagship. If the drilling extends mineralisation, the resource could grow. If resource conversion succeeds, more of the pit design would rest on better-defined ounces. Neither outcome is assured.

Challenger says it is fully funded for this program and a larger follow-up after an A$85 million raise, fully settled on 6 August. At 30 June it held A$20.0m in cash before the A$61.9m second tranche of that raise.

The company also lists older oil and gas interests: 8% of Aliso Canyon (3 mmbbl prospective, P50, stated 2008), 50% of Mercury Stetson (600 bcf gas reserve, P50, stated 2011) and 20% of Silverthread (7 mmbbl prospective, P50, stated 2008). These estimates are many years old.

What has changed

• Peter Marrone is Chairman and Yohann Bouchard is COO and interim CEO, after Kris Knauer retired. Knauer stays as a consultant for six months.
• Felipe Riquelme became CFO from 10 August.
• On 13 August Challenger said it will move away from Casposo toll treatment, which suits its small-scale selective mining model poorly given the more disseminated grade. It plans a transition of roughly four months and is assessing an ore purchase deal with Casposo, aiming at the Phase 1 heap leach.
• A proposed sale of the El Guayabo project in Ecuador was withdrawn pending technical review, which has begun.

Still uncertain

The company has not said when the remaining rigs will arrive, when drilling will finish, or when results will be reported. A property-wide geophysical review is also under way to generate new targets, with no timing given.

Source: Challenger Gold ASX release, 30 July 2026.