Almadex Announces Plans to Drill New Hope Porphyry Project, Arizona and Provides Paradise Drill Program Update
None
The most recent news release from November 7, 2025, states that Almadex Minerals Ltd. is planning to move its drill rig to the New Hope Porphyry Project in Arizona. This move follows the completion of four drill holes at the Paradise Project in Nevada. The Paradise drill program encountered difficult drilling conditions, leading to the loss of the fourth hole before reaching its target depth. The assay results for Paradise holes indicated only anomalous gold intervals, specifically 0.48 g/t gold over 1.6 meters and 0.47 g/t gold over 0.5 meters, within altered rock, but no significant discovery. The Paradise program is now paused for review and planning. The Chairman, J. Duane Poliquin, reiterated the company's strategy to drill test its portfolio of newly assembled projects in the Western USA, emphasizing that these first-pass programs are designed to vector for potential Stage II programs.
The impact of this news is negative.
The Paradise Project was a key focus for drilling, with the company initiating diamond drilling in June 2025, targeting both near-surface gold and deep porphyry potential. Previous news (May 14, 2025) highlighted the definition of two high-priority drill targets based on geophysical surveys (magnetic-low, chargeability-high features) interpreted as possible upflow zones. The January 30, 2025, update mentioned that 2024 drilling at Paradise had confirmed a porphyry system at depth, intersecting porphyry B-type veining, but interpreted it as a "possible shoulder to a porphyry system," requiring further drilling.
The current update indicates that the 2025 drilling at Paradise yielded only anomalous gold values, which are not indicative of an economic discovery. More critically, operational challenges led to the loss of a drill hole and the pausing of the program for review. This suggests a significant setback in advancing Paradise, as the initial exploration did not yield the desired results and encountered unexpected difficulties. The "vectoring" strategy has not yet identified an economic target, and the operational issues add risk and potential cost overruns for future work.
While the move to the New Hope project is a planned progression (as outlined in the September 3, 2025, and January 30, 2025, news releases), the disappointing results and operational issues at Paradise overshadow this routine advancement. The company's expectation for Paradise to be a key porphyry copper-gold prospect has not materialized from this phase of drilling. This represents a miss on exploration expectations for a flagship project.
Almadex Minerals Ltd. (DEX) is a Canadian junior exploration company primarily focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties across the Western USA. The company also holds a diversified portfolio of net smelter return (NSR) royalties on various precious and base metal projects throughout North America, and it has an investment in Azucar Minerals Ltd.
Almadex's strategy involves a "generative model," where it identifies and stakes early-stage exploration targets, particularly porphyry lithocap alteration systems and epithermal precious metal systems, in the Western USA. The company leverages its in-house expertise and drilling capacity to advance these projects.
Flagship Projects/Key Assets:
- Paradise Project (Nevada, USA): A wholly-owned porphyry copper-gold exploration target. It covers a large (4.5 by 1.8 km) alteration zone typical of high-sulphidation environments above porphyry systems. It has been a primary focus of recent drilling.
- New Hope Project (Arizona, USA): A wholly-owned copper porphyry project. It covers intense hydrothermal alteration and a significant zone of sheeted quartz-magnetite veining, with an approved drill permit and strong geophysical targets. It is the next drill target.
- Logan Zinc-Silver Project (Yukon, Canada): A wholly-owned project with a significant NI 43-101 indicated resource of 2.6 million tonnes at 5.1% Zinc and 23.1 g/t Silver, plus an inferred resource. The company views it as a meaningful resource of critical minerals and is actively seeking a qualified partner to advance it.
- Ixtaca Royalty (Mexico): Almadex holds a 2% NSR royalty on the Ixtaca precious metal project, owned by Almaden Minerals Ltd. The royalty's value is currently tied to an ongoing international arbitration proceeding against the United Mexican States for over $1 billion USD in damages, due to alleged unlawful termination of mineral concessions.
- Azucar Minerals Ltd. Investment: Almadex is a significant shareholder in Azucar Minerals Ltd. (19.02% non-diluted), which has optioned three of Almadex's Nevada properties (Pilot, Confusion Hills, Red Ring) for exploration.
- Diversified Royalty Portfolio: Almadex holds NSR royalties on 15 other projects across North America, including projects owned by Kodiak, Westhaven Gold, Au Gold Corp., and Silver North Resources (Tim property, under option to Coeur Mining).
- Other Early-Stage Projects: The company's portfolio includes numerous other early-stage exploration projects acquired by staking, such as Rattlesnake (Arizona), Ruby Hill (Nevada), Red Antler (Utah), Big Sky (New Mexico), Bald Valley (Nevada), White Plains (Nevada), King (Colorado), Tierra Blanca (New Mexico), and Petaca (New Mexico, rare earth elements, seeking JV partner).