Aben Gold Corp. has begun its 2026 diamond drilling campaign at the company’s wholly owned Justin Gold‑Tungsten Project in southeastern Yukon, mobilizing a rig to the POW Zone and constructing additional drill pads as part of a planned 1,300‑metre programme.
Drilling mobilized; multiple targets on the program
Company updates indicate the first drill pad at the POW Zone is complete and the diamond rig has commenced drilling. Work is also underway to build a second pad at the same zone, with a third pad planned about 2 kilometres northwest at the Lost Ace zone. Aben Gold says the programme is running ahead of schedule.
The 2026 campaign centres on defining the continuity and depth of both gold and tungsten mineralization previously identified on the property. The effort will test gaps between historical discovery holes and step out toward legacy intercepts to better understand the distribution, grade and structural controls of mineralization.
Historic intercepts drive current targets
Previous diamond drilling and surface sampling on the Justin property have produced a number of significant intercepts and channel results that the current programme aims to follow up. Key historical results that inform the 2026 plan include notable gold intercepts, silver reported in at least one hole, and tungsten assays from re‑testing.
| Hole / Location | Reported Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| JN11‑009 | 1.25 g/t Au over 60 m | Historic 2011 diamond drill intercept |
| JN11‑010 | 2.52 g/t Au with 29.53 g/t Ag over 12 m | Re‑assaying returned 0.25% WO3 over the same interval |
| JN12‑018 | 88.5 m at 0.73 g/t Au | Earlier reported step‑out intercept |
| JN12‑016 | 5.6 m at 4.12 g/t Au (incl. 2.6 m at 8.20 g/t Au) | Also reported 8.5 m at 0.39% WO3 with a 1 m at 1.12% WO3 interval |
| Lost Ace (trenches) | 20.8 g/t Au over 4.4 m; 88.2 g/t Au over 1 m | Channel trench samples indicating high‑grade orogenic veins |
What the 2026 programme will focus on
Aben Gold’s stated objectives for this season include:
- Testing continuity and depth of gold and tungsten in the POW Zone between historic discovery holes;
- Stepping out toward hole JN12‑018 to confirm and expand earlier long intercepts;
- Investigating the distribution and structural controls of tungsten in a designated third target within the POW Zone;
- Assessing near‑surface high‑grade orogenic gold veins beneath the Lost Ace trenches.
Regulatory status and timeline
In May 2026, Aben Gold secured a Class 3 Quartz Mining Land Use Approval from the Yukon government’s Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, covering a five‑year period. That approval underpins exploration and drilling activity and establishes the regulatory framework for land use on the property.
The 1,300‑metre drill plan is relatively modest in scale but targeted, reflecting a program designed to confirm continuity and vector toward higher grades rather than a broad‑scale resource delineation. The company’s comments that the campaign is ahead of schedule suggest efficient pad construction and mobilization work in the field.
Regional context and local impacts
The Justin Project lies in southeastern Yukon near the historical Cantung Mine area. Exploration work such as this brings seasonal employment and contractor opportunities to the territory, while also engaging with regulatory and land‑use oversight. For Yukoners, the presence of both gold and tungsten on the project is notable: tungsten is a strategic metal with industrial uses, while gold remains a primary attractor of investment in the region.
As drilling progresses, assay results and detailed hole logs will be the next milestones to watch. Those data points will determine whether the current signals translate into a larger‑scale discovery or remain isolated intercepts. For now, the mobilization of the rig and the focus on previously reported high‑grade hits mark a clear move from reconnaissance toward targeted resource definition on the Justin property.
WE NEWS will continue to monitor results, regulatory filings and community engagement related to the Justin project and report on new assay releases and company updates as they are published.
