Far East Gold begins resource expansion drilling at Idenburg

Far East Gold Ltd has started a 36-hole, 3,670 metre diamond drilling program at the Idenburg Gold Project in Papua, Indonesia. Two rigs are now active at the Bermol prospect, with the campaign aiming to expand the project's current JORC-compliant inferred resource of 540,000 ounces at 4.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and test the broader Exploration Target of up to 7.2 million ounces at 6.1 g/t gold.

Drilling will span four prospects—Sua, Mafu, Bermol and Kwaplu—targeting both infill and step-out zones. Core samples will also support metallurgical testing.

Map showing the location of the Idenburg COW in Papua Indonesia relative to the locations of world class multimillion ounce gold-rich porphyry copper deposits.

“This marks a major step in unlocking Idenburg’s true potential. With strong grades already confirmed, we’re confident this drill program can drive significant resource growth and deliver real value for our shareholders,” CEO Shane Menere said.

Map showing prospect and resource areas within the Idenburg COW tenement. The planned holes will attempt to expand current defined gold resources within the Sua, and Bermol prospects and complete initial drilling at the Kwaplu prospect area southwest of Sua.

Bermol prospect: Testing strike extensions and depth

The largest component of the program is at Bermol, where 12 holes totalling 1,050 metres are designed to test a 1 kilometre strike length and depths of up to 100 metres. 

Previous drilling outlined a substantial gold-mineralised fault zone at the Bermol Prospect, characterised by quartz-sulphide veins and lenses traced over 600 metres of strike and up to 300 metres in width. The structure is intensely deformed and dips shallowly to the west—at less than 25 degrees—suggesting the presence of multiple mineralised zones.

Photo of an outcrop exposed within the Bermol prospect area. The photo shows a body of quartz surrounded by intensely fractured and deformed rock.

Historical drilling, consisting of seven holes for 771 metres, primarily targeted the central portion of the Bermol Prospect across a 400-metre strike. However, this program did not investigate the prospective southern extension of the fault system, nor the known mineralised continuation to the north at North Bermol.

Significant results from the campaign included:

• BRD001: 5 metres at 5.40 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 16 metres depth
• BRD003: 5 metres at 4.15 g/t gold from 46 metres depth

The thrust fault plane ranges from 1 metre to 7 metres in apparent true width. Interpretation by IMI suggested the presence of five discrete mineralised veins, a conclusion that Southern Geoscience Consultants (SMGC) deemed consistent with the known quartz-hosted gold lenses at Bermol.

Further sampling has reinforced the area’s potential, with recently reported high-grade gold assays from grab samples at Bermol and North Bermol returning values of 19.31 g/t, 53 g/t, 16.75 g/t, 10.18 g/t and 8.43 g/t gold. 

3D topographic image of the Bermol prospect area showing the locations of histrorical drillholes (in white) and the planned FEG drillholes (in yellow) The interpreted trace of the thrust fault plane containing the gold mineralised quartz lenses is shown (in orange). The fault has an interpreted shallow dip ( 25 degrees to the west) and ranges from 1 to 7m in thickness. Mineralised quartz lenses occur within the fault zone. The planned drilling with test the fault along a strike length of approximately 1 kilometre and to 100m depth. 

Sua prospect: Extending high-grade fault-hosted mineralisation

The drill program includes five holes totalling 1,120 metres at the Sua prospect. The aim is to extend known fault-hosted gold zones identified in earlier drilling. Historical intercepts include:

• 5 metres at 21.8 g/t gold from 107 metres (KSD008)
• 6 metres at 8.22 g/t gold from 10 metres (KSD013)
• 3 metres at 9.56 g/t gold from 75 metres (KSD021)

Mafu prospect: Infill drilling near historic intercepts

Seven holes for a total of 500 metres are planned at Mafu, focusing on infill targets and potential feeder zones near known intercepts:

• 12.6 metres at 8.01 g/t gold from 6 metres (014MD00)
• 8.1 metres at 7.50 g/t gold from 14.4 metres (017MD00)
• 6 metres at 2.99 g/t gold from 4 metres (017MD00)

Kwaplu prospect: First-ever drill testing

Kwaplu will see its first drill program, with 12 holes planned for 1,000 metres. This area hosts anomalous gold-in-soil readings peaking above 1,200 parts per billion (ppb) and rock sample assays up to 269 g/t gold. The target is a large, previously untested anomaly southwest of Sua.

Geological context and structural analysis

Idenburg is classified as an orogenic (mesothermal lode) gold system, with mineralisation concentrated in quartz-sulphide zones. To refine structural understanding, Murphy Geological Services is conducting a detailed evaluation of the tenement.

The Idenburg Contract of Work lies within a complex geotectonic setting near the Mamberamo Fold and Thrust Belt.

Completion of structural modelling is expected in Q2 2025.