VANCOUVER / KENO CITY — A drill rig and ancillary equipment have been mobilized to the Marg Project in the central Yukon as Azarga Metals prepares to begin a diamond‑drilling campaign aimed at expanding known copper‑rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) mineralization approximately 40 kilometres east of Keno City.
The Vancouver‑based company said the initial phase of work will include more than 3,000 metres of diamond drilling distributed across eight priority holes. The program, scheduled to commence later this month, will test targets identified through earlier work including drilling, geological mapping, geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling.
What the program will target
Azarga intends to focus on:
- extending mineralized intercepts from previous drilling;
- testing historic structural and geochemical anomalies highlighted by recent field programs;
- probing areas open to the east, west and down‑dip that could host additional mineralization.
The company’s earlier maiden NI 43‑101 resource estimate, released in August 2025, quantified the project at 4.3 million tonnes of indicated material grading 2.9% copper equivalent (CuEq) and 10.0 million tonnes of inferred material grading 2.3% CuEq.
“The team has been working hard to prepare the Marg Project camp over the past month and we are excited to begin this season's drill campaign, the first conducted by the Company,” Gordon Tainton, Azarga’s president and CEO, said in a release.
Local context and potential
The Marg Project sits within the prolific Keno Hill mining district, an area historically known for polymetallic deposits. Azarga’s program will target copper, zinc, gold, silver and lead in a VMS setting where folded and stacked mineralized horizons can produce significant resource growth if new lenses or repetitions of mineralization are intersected.
Within the Marg deposit the company has identified an interpreted anticlinal fold hinge, and notes there is potential for fold‑related duplications at depth. Those structural features are often key to understanding how mineralization is distributed vertically and laterally in VMS systems.
Planned work and operational details
Azarga has moved its drill rig and supporting camp infrastructure to the property, signalling a shift from surface fieldwork to an active subsurface testing phase. The initial campaign’s scale — more than 3,000 metres across eight holes — is focused and purpose‑driven rather than an expansive, district‑wide drill program.
| Phase | Planned metres | Priority holes |
|---|---|---|
| Initial drill program | 3,000+ | 8 |
Azarga emphasises that the drilling will prioritise extensions of mineralization defined by its maiden resource estimate and will investigate multiple high‑priority targets identified through prior exploration campaigns.
Implications for the territory
For Yukon communities and stakeholders, an active drilling campaign can have several local implications: economic activity through camp operations and contractor work, environmental monitoring requirements, and continued engagement with Indigenous governments and nearby communities. The company statement notes preparatory work on the project camp occurred over the prior month, though it does not detail agreements with local governments or Indigenous partners in the release.
Regulatory oversight, permitting and reporting obligations will govern the work as it proceeds. Azarga’s results from the campaign, if positive, could inform updates to resource estimates and future development planning for the Marg Project.
Azarga acquired a 100 per cent interest in approximately 400 mineral claims covering roughly 8,400 hectares at Marg, according to the company release. The upcoming drilling marks the company’s first drill campaign at the project.
Results from the initial eight holes will be closely watched by investors and local stakeholders alike. Azarga has previously indicated the deposit’s polymetallic nature — copper, zinc, gold, silver and lead — and the forthcoming core will be analysed to refine grade continuity and the geometry of mineralized zones.
WE NEWS will follow up as assay results and further technical details from the program are released.
