Auriginal Mobilizes Second Drill Rig to Roger and Plans $2.0 Million Phase 2 Definition Drill Program for Completion by Year-End
Auriginal launches a $2m definition program to upgrade historical ounces at its Roger porphyry-VMS project with a second drill rig.
Auriginal Mining Corp. (AUME) released Phase 1 drilling results from its Roger project on July 16, 2026, confirming an expanded porphyry copper-gold system and an overlying gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) horizon. To fast-track the testing of the southwest porphyry extension and VMS continuity, a second drill rig has been mobilized to the site.
The company has budgeted an additional $2.0 million for a Phase 2 definition drill program scheduled for later in the summer or fall. This upcoming phase will target the expansion of the historical resource into the Inferred category and update the 2018 estimate using higher commodity prices.
Reported VMS intercepts from Hole AUR-26-03 include 4.2 meters at 1.55 g/t Au, 41.2 g/t Ag, and 0.18% Cu, which includes 1.5 meters at 2.27 g/t Au, 83.9 g/t Ag, 0.47% Cu, and 0.07% Zn. Another interval in the same hole returned 4.0 meters at 1.64 g/t Au, 11.7 g/t Ag, 0.29% Cu, and 0.11% Zn, including 1.5 meters at 3.07 g/t Au, 19.2 g/t Ag, 0.29% Cu, and 0.12% Zn.
Intercepts from the porphyry zone include Hole AUR-26-04A, which returned 2.8 meters at 4.01 g/t Au (including 1.5 meters at 5.39 g/t Au) and 1.2 meters at 32.6 g/t Au. Hole AUR-26-05 returned 1.1 meters at 12.2 g/t Au. Geological analysis indicates the porphyry strike has extended southwest by at least 750 meters and to a vertical depth of 525 meters.
Auriginal Mining Corp. (AUME) released a summary of previously published assay results from July 14, alongside an announcement of a second drilling rig and a $2 million Phase 2 program on July 16. The market had already incorporated the key intercepts, making this new information incremental.
For a pre-revenue explorer, expanding drilling and securing additional funding is positive, though expected given the company’s $6.8 million in cash. The Phase 2 budget is already covered. However, the discovery thesis remains unproven, as no economic base-metal VMS grades or bulk porphyry gold widths have been identified.
The stock has been range-bound around $0.05 for weeks, indicating the market is not pricing in a major discovery. This news is unlikely to move the stock materially.
Auriginal Mining Corp. (AUME), formerly known as Kintavar Exploration, is a Quebec-focused junior explorer managing four key projects: Roger (100%), Anik (25% joint venture with Iamgold), Mitchi (100%, stratiform copper), and Wabash (100%, copper-silver). The company’s flagship Roger Project hosts a 2018 historical resource of 535 koz AuEq (pit-constrained) and is currently being reinterpreted as a porphyry and overlying gold-rich VMS system.
The company is fully funded for 2026, holding $6.8M in cash and investments against a market capitalization of $13.2M. Its share structure is characterized by significant institutional and strategic holdings, with institutions owning 27% and strategic investors Orecap and XXIX holding large stakes.