Xali Gold Advances Permitting and Contractor Selection for Drilling at Pico Machay
Xali advances Pico Machay drilling permits while its cash runway remains critically short.
Xali Gold Corp. is moving forward with permitting and contractor selection for a planned 3,000-meter diamond drill program at its Pico Machay Gold Project in Peru. Drilling is targeted to commence by the end of September 2026, pending final regulatory approval. The company has received positive initial feedback from Peru’s DGAAM regarding its Ficha Técnica Ambiental (FTA) drilling permit application.
The program will consist of approximately 2,000 meters of twin drilling to validate historical resource data and 1,000 meters of exploration drilling to target high-grade controls. Diamond drilling replaces historical reverse circulation (RC) methods to improve core recovery and geological and structural data integrity. Contractor site visits are underway to finalize logistics and equipment selection.
Administrative context notes recent share issuances from RSU exercises and warrant exercises from a December 2025 private placement.
Xali Gold Corp. (XGC) announced expected, incremental progress toward its goal of updating the historical resource estimate and advancing a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Permitting feedback and contractor selection represent standard operational milestones following the baseline studies completed in May 2026 and the sampling programs conducted from April to July 2026.
The company noted that the shift to diamond drilling is a methodological improvement, though management explicitly stated this carries no assurance of higher grades. The announcement includes no new financial results, resource upgrades, or financing announcements. The market had already priced in the drilling timeline based on prior updates, and the news aligns with the company's previously communicated development roadmap.
Xali Gold Corp. (XGC) is a pre-revenue exploration company focused on the Pico Machay Gold Project in the Southern Peru Epithermal Gold-Silver Belt. The project was acquired in December 2025 from Pan American Silver and Aquiline Resources for up to $17.5 million in deferred and contingent payments.
Historical engineering studies targeted a low-cost, low-strip-ratio open-pit heap-leach operation based on a $700/oz gold price assumption. The company is currently in the advanced exploration stage, systematically validating historical data through underground and surface sampling, followed by diamond drilling to upgrade the resource. Management aims to bring the project into near-term production, leveraging untested exploration targets and prior engineering work.