Far East Gold Limited (ASX: FEG) (“FEG” or “the Company”) has delivered a standout exploration update from its flagship Idenburg Gold Project in Papua Province, Indonesia. The Company announced bonanza-grade gold intersections and coarse visible gold from the first hole drilled at the highly prospective Sua Prospect.
Hole KSD023 returned exceptional grades, including 131 g/t Au over 0.8 metres and 180 g/t Au over 0.4 metres. The broader mineralised zone delivered 13.77 g/t Au over 9.8 metres from 18.5 metres depth.
The results validate historical drilling and confirm the presence of high-grade gold mineralisation within a large-scale orogenic gold system.
Figure 1: Location map of the Idenburg Gold Project showing Sua Prospect and other key target areas
High-Grade Gold Confirmed at Shallow Depth
The Company’s first drill hole at Sua was designed to twin historical hole KSD002, which returned 11 g/t Au over 11 metres from 18 metres depth. KSD023 was collared approximately seven metres away and successfully replicated the high-grade intercepts.
Figure 2: Image showing the Sua prospect area and the locations of planned drillholes (yellow)
Key intersections from KSD023 include:
- 131 g/t Au over 0.8m (24.5m to 25.3m)
- 180 g/t Au over 0.4m (24.9m to 25.3m)
- 24.08 g/t Au over 5.3m (20m to 25.3m)
- 13.77 g/t Au over 9.8m (18.5m to 28.3m)
Coarse visible gold was observed within multiple quartz-sulphide veins. The presence of visible gold significantly enhances the project’s development potential and suggests intermittent zones of exceptional enrichment.
Figure 3: Photos of drill core from hole KSD023
Shane Menere, CEO and Director of Far East Gold, stated: “Not only did this new hole confirm the historical results, it actually outperformed them, returning higher grades and visible gold where previously none had been recorded. So that gives us a lot of confidence that this is a system that’s quite robust and that the historical data set is reliable. So it also tells us something more important.
This high-grade system may be richer and more continuous than previously modelled and with more than 30 stacked veins identified this opens up the possibility for multiple high-grade shoots along strike and at depth. We’re now moving into our step-out program to test continuity along strike and down dip and if these grades continue it creates a real pathway towards meaningful resource growth and potential grade uplift. And again to remind stakeholders, recently the Indonesian government reduced forestry classification at Idenburg which improves the pathway for future development by downgrading to production forest.
So combine these with the outstanding drill tip results it places the project firmly on a trajectory towards a tier one gold development potential.”
Geological Significance and System Scale
Mineralisation at Sua is hosted within a series of stacked milky-quartz veins containing sulphides. More than 30 individual gold-bearing quartz veins have been identified within the system.
The Sua vein system occurs within the 5-kilometre-long Sua-Afley shear zone. This structural corridor presents significant potential for additional high-grade discoveries along strike and at depth.
Historical drilling at Sua has delivered some of the most compelling intersections, including:
- KSD002: 7.5 metres at 13.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 21 metres, including 2 metres at 8.78 g/t gold from 78 metres.
- KSD008: 5 metres at 21.8 g/t gold from 107 metres, including 3 metres at 35.0 g/t gold.
- KSD013: 6 metres at 8.22 g/t gold, including 2 metres at 52.3 g/t gold from 13 metres.
- KSD010: 18 metres at 2.05 g/t gold from surface and 8 metres at 2.58 g/t gold from 44 metres, including 1 metre at 14.3 g/t gold.
The Company noted that although visible gold has been reported in other historical drill holes at Sua, it was not recorded in hole KSD002. This suggests that drill testing of previously undrilled parts of the system has the potential to intersect new occurrences of coarse gold.
Figure 4: Cross section showing drill hole KSD023 and the twinned historical hole KSD002
Resource Expansion Programme Underway
The Sua drill programme is designed to confirm geological interpretations and expand the current resource area. The Company plans to complete 10 diamond drill holes for a total of 1,820 metres.
Historical drilling was completed at 100-metre spacing. The planned holes will test lateral continuity at 50-metre intervals and include several step-out holes to expand the resource along strike and at depth.
The Idenburg Gold Project hosts a JORC (2012) inferred mineral resource of approximately 540,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 4.1 g/t Au. Within this, the Sua prospect contains an estimated 296,000 ounces at an average grade of 3.7 g/t Au.
Preliminary metallurgical test work completed on surface samples and drill core composites from Sua reported that 50-60% of the gold is recoverable by gravity. Overall recoveries by cyanide-in-leach (CIL) or resin-in-leach (RIL) processes exceeded 90%.
Kwaplu Extension Adds Further Upside
In tandem with the Sua drilling, the Company has started a detailed mapping and sampling programme over the Kwaplu prospect area, located approximately one kilometre to the west.
Figure 5: Map showing location of Sua and Kwaplu prospect areas
Historical exploration at Kwaplu reported discontinuous outcrops with narrow quartz-sulphide veins. Some samples returned assays exceeding 100 g/t Au. Ridge and spur soil sampling defined a 100-metre-wide strip with peak gold anomalies of 1.08 g/t and 3.88 g/t Au.
No trenching or drilling has been completed at Kwaplu. The Company believes the Sua shear zones and quartz vein system may extend into the Kwaplu area.
Market Context: Gold Prices Rally
The timing of this discovery aligns with a strong gold market. Spot gold is currently sitting at USD 4,046.27/oz, up 0.30% in a day and more than 6% over the past month.
Over the last year, gold has soared by nearly 48% as investors flock to safe-haven assets amid global geopolitical tensions. This macroeconomic backdrop enhances the appeal of junior gold explorers advancing high-grade projects in tier-one jurisdictions.
Figure 6: Gold price performance showing strong gains over the past 12 months
Investor Outlook
Far East Gold’s share price has responded positively to the announcement. As of 10 November 2025, the Company is trading at AUD 0.165 per share, within its 52-week range of $0.110 – $0.200. The Company currently has a market capitalisation of approximately $56.88 million with over 300 million shares on issue. 
Figure 7: FEG Price Chart
The confirmation of bonanza-grade gold and visible gold at Sua marks a significant milestone. The successful twinning of historical drilling validates the geological model and de-risks further resource expansion.
With a fully funded 10-hole drill programme now underway, investors can expect a steady flow of assay results over the coming months. The Company is also advancing exploration at multiple other prospects within the Idenburg Gold Project.
What’s Next
The remainder of the Sua drill programme will focus on:
- Testing continuity between 100-metre spaced historical holes
- Expanding the resource along strike to the east and west
- Drilling deeper to test for high-grade zones at depth
- Infill drilling to upgrade inferred resources to the indicated category
The detailed mapping and sampling programme at Kwaplu will define drill targets for testing following the completion of the Sua programme.
