Daura Gold Commences Drilling at Cerro Bayo Gold-Silver Project, Argentina

On February 17, 2026, Daura Gold Corp. (DGC) announced the commencement of a Phase One diamond drilling program at its Cerro Bayo Gold-Silver Project in Santa Cruz, Argentina. The program is modest in scale, consisting of 1,500 metres across 22 diamond drill holes. This equates to an average hole depth of only 68 metres. The drilling aims to test 15 targets across the northern and southern license areas, following up on 27 line-kilometers of Induced Polarization (IP) surveys completed in January 2026.

The news is a routine operational milestone for an exploration-stage company. While positive that the company is moving from "generative" geophysics to "active" testing, the materiality is limited for several reasons: - Scout Drilling Scale: 1,500 metres is a very small program for a project with 15 targets. Spreading this meterage across 22 holes suggests very shallow "scout" drilling that may not adequately test the depth potential of these epithermal systems. - Strategic Pivot: DGC has spent the last year highlighting high-grade surface samples in Peru (Antonella Project), but is now prioritizing an earn-in project in Argentina. This suggests permitting delays or social hurdles may be stalling the flagship Peru assets. - Cost of Awareness: The company recently committed US$100,000 to an "awareness campaign" with Resource Stock Digest. Often, news of "drilling commencement" is used to provide liquidity for such marketing efforts rather than representing a major technical breakthrough.

Daura Gold is a junior explorer focused on gold and silver in Peru and Argentina. - Flagship Project (Peru): The Antonella Project (Ancash, Peru) has delivered high-grade surface results (up to 55.83 g/t Au) and is located near the San Luis project. - Secondary Focus (Argentina): The Cerro Bayo project in the Deseado Massif, Argentina, where the company is currently drilling to earn an 80% interest from Latin Metals Inc.