TG Metals adds second rig to ramp up first major Van Uden drill drive in 14 years

• TG Metals is expanding drilling at the Van Uden gold project in WA, drafting a second drill rig to site
• 2800m campaign will extend and infill known shallow mineralisation at Van Uden deposit
• Comes hot on the heels of $4m insto placement

Special Report: A second drill rig has been drafted to site at TG Metals’ Van Uden gold project as it gears up for the first large scale program at the Forrestania gold asset in 14 years.

With gold prices in excess of US$3700/oz (+A$5650/oz) and corporate activity shining a spotlight on the Forrestania region, the new drill campaign couldn’t be rolled out at a better time.

All up 41 shallow drill holes will be sunk for 2800m, with plans for another 150 deeper holes potentially to be drawn up.

The first rig on site is expected to complete a program within the historic Tasman pit in the next seven days.

Where the new RC rig will add value is testing under-drilled internal and extensional positions within the 2.5km long Van Uden deposit, to improve the strike and depth continuity of the resource.

Those holes will extend to a depth of less than 110m and be followed by a maiden drilling program at the Gold City prospect.

It comes on the back of previous exploration results which extended the mineralised strike at Van Uden to a massive 6.5km, as well as a $4m placement to institutional and sophisticated investors that has given TG a $6.5m warchest to grow the Van Uden project, which contains a resource of 227,000oz.

“Our recent capital raising has allowed us to accelerate the drilling onsite at Van Uden,” TG Metals CEO David Selfe said.

“Ultimately we want to be in a position as soon as possible to understand the full potential of this large gold system, leading onto a substantial update of the MRE early in calendar 2026. 

“The first drilling at the Gold City prospect is also important, as we explore for satellite deposits, in tandem with advancing the Van Uden deposit towards first mining studies. We look forward to updating investors with our drilling progress and reporting first assays from this current programme.”

Now Read: Gold City: M&A potential looms large in Forrestania gold belt as TG Metals locks in $4m placement 

More to come

It stands to reason there is likely resource growth on the cards at Van Uden, which was last seriously drilled when Aussie dollar gold prices were less than a third of current levels.

That would have made drilling for new deposits on the tenement package less palatable, despite its location just 120km from Southern Cross and well within trucking distance of the Marvel Loch and Edna May mills.

More exploration is planned, with additional program of work applications in with the WA Government for drilling testing gold in soil anomalies on the Van Uden Shear, which have doubled the known strike of mineralisation since TG bought the project from a Wesfarmers subsidiary.

TG Metals is one of a number of explorers who have moved into the Forrestania gold belt in recent years.

Previously overlooked thanks to the dominance of critical minerals operations like IGO’s Forrestania Nickel Operations and the Mt Holland lithium mine, the rising gold price has focused attention on the district, where gold discoveries from decades gone by have not been followed up.

TG6 saw fellow explorer Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS), led by former MinRes executive David Geraghty, take a significant 9.83% stake in the company last week, a vote of confidence in the attractiveness of the Van Uden project.

This article was developed in collaboration with TG Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.