CORE DRILLING ONGOING AT CASTLE ZONE (EASTSIDE)
TONOPAH, NEV., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - A2Gold Corp. ("A2Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: AUAU) (OTCQX: AUXXF) (FRA: RR7) is pleased to announce gold and silver assay results from a recent surface channel sampling program completed at the Blackrock Target, located within the Castle Zone at the southern end of the Company's district-scale Eastside Gold-Silver Project in Esmeralda County, Nevada, within the Walker Lane Trend.
The results confirm the presence of high-grade gold and silver mineralization exposed at surface and further support the Company's interpretation that the Blackrock Target may represent a higher-grade epithermal vein system within the broader Castle Zone. Importantly, the mineralized veins identified at Blackrock are hosted in Paleozoic basement rocks, which represents a potentially important exploration opportunity in addition to the volcanic-hosted mineralization historically drilled at Castle.
Highlights
- Surface channel sampling returned assays of up to 10.5 g/t gold and 74.7 g/t silver, confirming high-grade precious metals mineralization at surface.
- The Blackrock Target is located within the Castle Zone, at the southern end of Eastside's land position, and represents an additional high-priority target area within the broader Eastside district.
- The program identified classic epithermal quartz vein textures, including banded to massive quartz veins and quartz-after-calcite blade replacement textures, which are commonly associated with productive low-sulfidation epithermal systems.
- Historical drilling at Castle primarily focused on broad zones of volcanic-hosted gold-silver mineralization. The Blackrock results suggest potential for an additional style of mineralization associated with deeper, basement-hosted vein structures.
- The Company's ongoing core drilling program is designed to evaluate both the known volcanic-hosted mineralization at Castle and the potential for higher-grade basement-hosted vein targets.
Peter Gianulis, CEO of A2Gold, commented: "The Blackrock sampling results are highly encouraging because they show high-grade gold and silver mineralization right at surface within the Castle Zone, including results of up to 10.5 g/t gold and 74.7 g/t silver. These results reinforce our view that Eastside is not simply a large gold-silver system, but a district with multiple opportunities to identify higher-grade zones within its broader mineralized footprint.
Importantly, Blackrock fits directly into the evolution of our exploration strategy at Eastside. While Eastside already hosts a significant resource base, our current focus is increasingly aimed at identifying and drilling the higher-grade feeder structures that may have driven mineralization throughout the system. Blackrock is an important example of that opportunity and gives us another compelling target within the Castle Zone. With drilling ongoing at Castle and additional targets being advanced across the district, we believe Eastside has the potential to grow not only in size, but also in quality as we continue to refine and test these higher-grade targets."
Table 1: Channel Sample Gold and Silver Assay Results
The highest-grade gold result was returned from sample 1871515, which assayed 10.50 g/t Au and 33.6 g/t Ag from a banded quartz vein hosted in Paleozoic basement rock. Additional high-grade precious metal values include sample 1871516, which returned 5.63 g/t Au and 68.7 g/t Ag, and sample 1871510, which returned 0.59 g/t Au and 74.6 g/t Ag. These results support the Company's interpretation that Blackrock may represent a higher-grade epithermal vein target within the broader Castle mineralized system.
Sample ID | Gold (g/t) | Silver (g/t) | TrueWidth (m) |
1871501 | 0.04 | 2.1 | 0.34 |
1871502 | 0.05 | 1.9 | 0.61 |
1871503 | 0.05 | 2.1 | 0.61 |
1871504 | 0.27 | 2.9 | 0.20 |
1871505 | 0.17 | 0.6 | 0.20 |
1871506 | 0.03 | 0.8 | 0.20 |
1871507 | 0.03 | 3.9 | 0.61 |
1871508 | 0.03 | 2.1 | 0.61 |
1871509 | 0.21 | 15.7 | 0.26 |
1871510 | 0.59 | 74.6 | 0.76 |
1871511 | 0.28 | 10.3 | 0.91 |
1871512 | 0.02 | 8.0 | 0.69 |
1871513 | 0.14 | 17.1 | 0.61 |
1871514 | 0.19 | 9.9 | 1.22 |
1871515 | 10.50 | 33.6 | 0.26 |
1871516 | 5.63 | 68.7 | 0.28 |
1871517 | 0.14 | 7.0 | Grab |
1871518 | 0.31 | 64.6 | 0.51 |
1871519 | 0.28 | 21.1 | 0.20 |
Geological Significance
The Blackrock Target is characterized by exposed quartz veins hosted within Paleozoic basement rocks. The veins display textures commonly associated with low-sulfidation epithermal systems, including banded quartz, massive quartz, and quartz pseudomorphs after calcite blades. These textures may indicate favorable conditions for precious metals deposition and support the Company's interpretation that Blackrock could represent a structurally controlled, basement-hosted vein target within the broader Castle mineralized system.
Previous exploration within the Castle Zone has largely focused on broad zones of disseminated gold and silver mineralization hosted within volcanic rocks. The identification of basement-hosted vein mineralization at Blackrock provides an additional exploration opportunity and may help define higher-grade feeder structures within the larger Eastside system. The Company's ongoing 7-hole, 2,500 metre diamond core drilling program is designed to evaluate the extent, continuity and depth potential of these newly identified targets.
The current inferred Castle Zone resource (see Table 2 and footnote below) does not include any resource from the Blackrock Target nor does it include any silver resources. The current inferred resource estimates 314,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.49 g/t Au.
Table 2: Entire Castle Project Inferred Gold Resources
* The updated resource estimate ("Updated Resource Estimate and NI 43-101 Technical Report, Eastside and Castle Gold-Silver Project Technical Report, Esmeralda County, Nevada") conducted by Mine Development Associates ("MDA") of Reno, Nevada, with an effective date of July 30, 2021, contained a pit-constrained Inferred Resources (cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t Au) of 61,730,000 tonnes grading 0.55 g/t Au and 4.4 g/t Ag at the Original Pit Zone (1,090,000 ounces gold and 8,700,000 ounces silver) and 19,986,000 tonnes grading 0.49 g/t Au at the Castle Area (314,000 ounces gold). A copy of the Eastside Technical Report can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. |
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
A2Gold follows strict QA/QC protocols on all exploration programs. The surface sampling program included the insertion of certified reference standards, blanks and duplicate samples. Samples were submitted to American Assay Laboratories in Reno, Nevada, an ISO 17025-certified analytical facility. Gold analyses were completed using a 30-gram fire assay method, while multi-element analyses were conducted using ICP-OES techniques.
Channel and surface rock samples are selective in nature and may not be representative of the grade or style of mineralization present across the target area. There can be no assurance that results from surface sampling will be indicative of mineralization encountered through drilling.
The sampling program was completed by the A2Gold geological team under the supervision of John Marma, Vice President of Exploration and the Company's Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
Qualified Person
John Marma, CPG, a Certified Professional Geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.
About A2Gold Corp
A2Gold Corp. owns three highly prospective gold projects in the United States all of which are in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Nevada. A2Gold's flagship, district-scale Eastside Gold-Silver Project hosts a large and expanding gold and silver resource and is in an area of excellent infrastructure.
On Behalf of the Board
Peter Gianulis, CEO
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SOURCE A2 Gold Corp
