# ELK: Maiden hole complete with additional visible gold Canonical Atlas analysis: https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/elk-maiden-hole-complete-with-additional-visible-gold--d928c425-cf22-4241-8407-234a36e4a6a1 Original source: https://www.asx.com.au/asx/v2/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?display=pdf&idsId=03148837 Publisher: asx Original announcement: 2026-10-05T23:03:00.000Z Analysis by Minestarters Atlas Atlas analysis published: 2026-10-06T00:15:37.245Z Atlas analysis updated: 2026-10-06T00:15:37.245Z - Company: Elk Range Mining Limited - Ticker: ELK - Exchange: ASX - Region: Idaho, USA - Primary commodity: Gold - Secondary commodities: None reported - Document categories: Other, Drill results - Extracted: 2026-10-06 00:15:38 UTC Narrative sentiment: 0.20 · Bullish ## Minestarters Atlas summary Elk Range Mining Limited has completed its maiden drill hole \(26FRD001\) at the Friday Gold Project, identifying multiple occurrences of visible gold, including some extending beyond historical drilling limits. Assays for this hole are pending and expected in late October to early November 2026. A second hole \(26FRD002\) is now underway, designed to infill and extend known mineralization. Reasoning: The completion of the maiden drill hole with multiple visible gold occurrences, particularly beyond historical limits, is geologically encouraging and represents a significant step in the exploration program. However, the lack of assay results means the economic significance remains unquantified, leading to moderate novelty but low confidence in the immediate impact. - Positive factor: Visible gold identified - Positive factor: Maiden drill hole completed - Positive factor: Extension beyond historical drilling - Positive factor: Oriented core recovered for structural data - Positive factor: Second hole underway - Negative factor: No assay results reported - Negative factor: Visible gold is not a proxy for grade or continuity - Negative factor: Assays pending Low confidence — this extraction should be reviewed alongside the original source. Facts used in scoring: 2 ## Classification and evidence **QA/QC Disclosed** Polarity: positive Story-specific tag Definition: Release includes QA/QC disclosure — certified lab, QP sign-off, or stated methods \(blanks, standards, duplicates\). Why it applies: The JORC Table 1 details sampling techniques, quality control procedures including standards, blanks, duplicates, and independent check analysis, and names Paragon Laboratories as the primary lab. Evidence · text > Quality control procedures adopted \(eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks\) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy \(ie lack of bias\) and precision have been established. ... Paragon Laboratories is the primary laboratory for current Elk Range samples. ... Selected results are intended for independent check analysis as part of the current-programme verification framework. **Step-Out Extension** Polarity: positive Story-specific tag Definition: Mineralization extended beyond the previously known limit. Why it applies: The maiden drill hole 26FRD001 extended approximately 200m beyond the historical hole, and visible gold was observed in this extended section, indicating potential for mineralization beyond previously known limits. Evidence · text > Maiden drill hole completed to planned depth, delivering core through the targeted Friday gold system and continuing about 200m beyond the historical hole. ... The 455ft, 524.5ft and 767ft occurrences lie beyond the end of the historical hole, and the deeper 767ft occurrence is along a veinlet extending for more than 1cm. **Infill Drilling** Polarity: neutral Story-specific tag Definition: Confirmatory drilling to raise resource confidence, not new discovery. Why it applies: The second hole, 26FRD002, is explicitly designed to infill historical drilling to increase drill density and support a future Mineral Resource estimate. Evidence · text > The second hole, 26FRD002, is underway... It is designed to infill historical drilling at Friday, increasing drill density to support a future JORC-compliant Mineral Resource estimate ## Extracted facts Stored fact records: 2. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record. ## Drill Results (2) ### 26FRD001 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/elk-maiden-hole-complete-with-additional-visible-gold--d928c425-cf22-4241-8407-234a36e4a6a1#fact-drill-facts-0) Friday #### Identity - Hole ID: 26FRD001 - Project: Friday - Region: usa\_id - Reported Region: usa\_id - Ticker: ELK #### Geometry - Hole Depth: 336.8 m #### Classification - Program: exploration - Sample Type: drill - Mining Method: unknown #### Location - Easting: 2677761 - Northing: 1471426 - CRS: NAD83 / Idaho West \(ftUS\) - EPSG: 8732 - Elevation: 1419.17 m - Azimuth: 88 ° - Dip: -63 ° - Loc. Confidence: high - Loc. Source: document #### QA/QC - Laboratory: Paragon Laboratories - QA/QC Disclosed: Yes - QP Signed: Yes - QA/QC Methods: standards, blanks, duplicates #### Review - Needs Review: No - Interp. Status: scored - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: The completion of the maiden drill hole with visible gold observations, particularly extending beyond historical limits, is a positive exploration step, but the lack of assays limits immediate economic interpretation. - Positive factor: Maiden hole completed - Positive factor: Visible gold identified - Positive factor: Extended beyond historical drilling - Positive factor: Oriented core recovered - Negative factor: Assays pending - Negative factor: Visible gold is not a proxy for grade Evidence · table > 26FRD001 Context: 336.8 #### Tags used in scoring **QA/QC Disclosed** Polarity: positive Definition: Release includes QA/QC disclosure — certified lab, QP sign-off, or stated methods \(blanks, standards, duplicates\). Why it applies: qaqc\_disclosed is true **Cut-off Undisclosed** Polarity: negative Definition: High-grade interval reported without stating the cut-off grade used for compositing. Why it applies: no cutoff\_grade was stated ### 26FRD002 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/elk-maiden-hole-complete-with-additional-visible-gold--d928c425-cf22-4241-8407-234a36e4a6a1#fact-drill-facts-1) Friday Historical result Needs review: historical\_restatement #### Identity - Hole ID: 26FRD002 - Project: Friday - Region: usa\_id - Reported Region: usa\_id - Ticker: ELK #### Geometry - Hole Depth: 365.76 m #### Classification - Program: mixed - Sample Type: drill - Mining Method: unknown #### Location - Easting: 2678360 - Northing: 1471894 - CRS: NAD83 / Idaho West \(ftUS\) - EPSG: 8732 - Elevation: 1445.69 m - Azimuth: 250 ° - Dip: -65 ° - Loc. Confidence: high - Loc. Source: document #### QA/QC - Laboratory: Paragon Laboratories - QA/QC Disclosed: Yes - QP Signed: Yes - QA/QC Methods: standards, blanks, duplicates #### Review - Needs Review: Yes - Review Reason: historical\_restatement - Interp. Status: scored - Historical: Yes #### Dates - Event date: 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: The commencement of the second drill hole, targeting both infill and extension, represents routine progress in the exploration program. - Positive factor: Drilling underway - Positive factor: Targets infill and extension Evidence · table > 26FRD002 Context: 365.76 #### Tags used in scoring **QA/QC Disclosed** Polarity: positive Definition: Release includes QA/QC disclosure — certified lab, QP sign-off, or stated methods \(blanks, standards, duplicates\). Why it applies: qaqc\_disclosed is true **Cut-off Undisclosed** Polarity: negative Definition: High-grade interval reported without stating the cut-off grade used for compositing. Why it applies: no cutoff\_grade was stated **Infill Drilling** Polarity: neutral Definition: Confirmatory drilling to raise resource confidence, not new discovery. Why it applies: drill\_program\_type is "mixed" ## How Atlas produces this analysis Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.