ESGold drilling Montauban Project, Québec
ESGold Corp. [CSE: ESAU; OTCQB: ESAUF; FSE: Z7D] reported the start of its 2026 surface diamond drilling program at the company’s Montauban Project, located approximately 120 km west of Québec City, Québec.
The start of drilling marks an important milestone in ESGold’s systematic evaluation of the broader geological and exploration potential of the Montauban property.
The current program consists of approximately 5,000 metres of surface diamond drilling across 29 proposed drill holes, with a principal focus on the historic Montauban mine area. Forage Lamontagne has been selected as the drilling contractor for the program.
The drilling campaign will be conducted under the geological supervision of Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Ph.D., of GoldMinds Geoservices, who prepared the current drilling program and will oversee all geological aspects of the campaign, including drill-hole implementation, core logging, sampling and geological interpretation.
The initial drilling program was designed using extensive historical drilling and geological data from the Montauban mine area. The proposed holes are generally oriented east-west and positioned to test mineralized zones and the continuity of the geological structures interpreted from previous work.
Principal Objectives of The Drill Program: Validate mineralization within areas previously identified as mineralized; test continuity between historical drill holes and mineralized panels and investigate potential extensions of mineralization into areas that remain insufficiently tested.
This drilling program is designed not only to test individual mineralized intervals, but also to strengthen ESGold’s understanding of the geological architecture and controls on mineralization within the historic Montauban mine area. It will also test and validate mineralization documented through historical drilling and referenced in previous technical reports and historical estimates.
By generating modern geological, analytical and QA/QC data, the program may help the Company evaluate this historical information and determine what additional work is required to support a current mineral resource estimate in accordance with NI 43-101 standards.
The historical estimates should not be treated as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and a Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify them as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
ESGold is undertaking the drilling program as part of a broader effort to integrate the significant amount of historical geological, drilling and geophysical information available for Montauban with the company’s recent exploration work.
The new drill core will provide substantive geological and analytical data that can be incorporated into the property’s evolving three-dimensional geological interpretation. Together with the historical drilling database, these results are also expected to help the company assess the reliability and relevance of mineralization described in previous reports and determine the scope of any future work required for a current mineral resource evaluation.
As drilling progresses, the company will continuously evaluate new results alongside historical drilling data, geological interpretations, and available geophysical data. This integrated and iterative approach enables ESGold to refine its geological model, prioritize emerging targets and adjust the drill program as new geological and analytical information becomes available.
“The commencement of drilling marks an important milestone for ESGold as we begin systematically testing the Montauban Project using the extensive historical database together with the modern geological work completed by our team,” said Gordon Robb, CEO of ESGold. “Our focus is on defining the continuity and geometry of known mineralized zones, testing areas of mineralization identified through historical work, and building the geological framework needed to assess the broader exploration potential across the property.”
André Gauthier, geological engineer and director of ESGold, commented: “Montauban has benefited from substantial historical exploration, including previous technical reports that referenced historical estimates of mineralization. Our objective is not to treat those historical estimates as current resources, but to generate new drilling, geological and analytical information that will allow us to test the mineralization documented by earlier work, evaluate continuity between historical holes and determine what additional work may ultimately be required to support a current mineral resource evaluation.”
“At the same time, the program will contribute to the continued refinement of our three-dimensional geological model and help delineate future exploration targets across the property.”
Drill core will be geologically logged, photographed and sampled under the supervision of Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Ph.D., of GoldMinds Geoservices, in accordance with the company’s established sampling and QA/QC procedures.
Samples selected for analysis will be submitted to SGS and Swastika Laboratories. The company intends to use both laboratory facilities as part of its analytical workflow to streamline sample processing and, where possible, reduce assay turnaround times as the drilling campaign progresses.
ESGold will provide regular updates on the progress of the drilling campaign and announce assay results following their receipt, verification and interpretation.
Certain previous technical reports concerning the Montauban mine area have referenced historical estimates of mineralization. These historical estimates are not being treated by ESGold as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
ESGold Corp. is a fully permitted, fully funded, pre-production mining company advancing a scalable clean mining model across North America. The company’s flagship Montauban Gold-Silver Project in Québec is under construction.