Canadian-listed explorer Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) has officially commenced its Phase 1 reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Eldorado Project in eastern Oregon, marking a significant milestone in the company’s exploration strategy. This campaign follows a series of encouraging historical and recent results, setting the stage for what is anticipated to be the largest and most impactful exploration initiative the company has undertaken at this site to date.
Building on Historical Foundations
The Eldorado Project, located approximately 60 kilometres northwest of Vale, Oregon, holds a rich legacy of mineral exploration. Over 240 historical drillholes have been logged in the area, pointing to widespread shallow gold mineralisation. However, much of the property remains underexplored beyond depths of 100 metres.
A recent assessment of the project’s potential has strengthened confidence in its untapped value. The site hosts a non-compliant resource estimate of 1.98 million ounces of gold, grading at 0.753 grams per tonne, and is believed to hold significant expansion potential—especially as mineralisation has been found to extend beyond 200 metres and remains open in multiple directions.
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A New Phase with Strategic Vision
Provenance Gold’s current campaign is a direct response to promising results from its 2023-24 drilling program. That initiative uncovered a zone of continuous gold mineralisation, reinforcing the belief that Eldorado holds an open-ended gold system that could support a large-scale resource.
Rauno Perttu, CEO of Provenance Gold, shared his optimism about the campaign’s prospects:
“At Eldorado, our drilling will look to expand the extent of known mineralisation, but also explore several key stepout target areas that are up to or more than a kilometre away from our EC-01 discovery hole.”
He added that historical drilling efforts had largely overlooked deeper structures, as most prior holes averaged just 90 to 100 metres in depth.
“Because of our upcoming drilling and other activities, I believe 2025 will be a pivotal year for our company,” Perttu said.
Drilling to Define a District-Scale System
The Phase 1 program is designed to advance Provenance Gold’s geological understanding by targeting areas previously untouched by exploration rigs. These include both infill zones to expand the current footprint of known gold mineralisation and stepout regions with strong structural and geochemical signatures.
Early-stage work suggests that gold at Eldorado occurs in both oxidised and unoxidised zones, beginning at surface and extending vertically, which enhances the site’s potential for both open-pit and underground mining strategies.
Furthermore, several kilometres of prospective ground remain underexplored, offering long-term upside and positioning the company to define a potential district-scale gold system in an area with minimal modern exploration.
A Three-Pronged Asset Strategy
While Eldorado remains the flagship project, Provenance Gold’s broader exploration portfolio spans other promising targets in the US. These include the White Rock and Silver Bow projects, each offering exposure to various precious metal systems across Nevada and Oregon.
The company has taken a measured approach to exploration, building momentum through successive fieldwork campaigns, technical assessments, and community engagement. This strategic framework aims to de-risk each stage of development, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders.
Looking Ahead
With drilling rigs now turning at Eldorado, Provenance Gold enters a defining chapter in its corporate journey. The results of this campaign are expected to play a critical role in shaping future resource estimates and may eventually support a compliant mineral resource in line with international reporting standards.
The company has not provided a definitive timeline for results, but updates are expected throughout the remainder of 2025 as drilling progresses and assays are returned from laboratories.
Investors and stakeholders will be closely watching for signs of further mineralisation, particularly from stepout targets that could dramatically expand the known gold envelope. Should Provenance Gold deliver consistent intercepts and extend the depth and strike length of the system, it could reposition Eldorado as one of the more significant emerging gold projects in the Pacific Northwest.
As CEO Rauno Perttu aptly concluded,
“We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible at Eldorado.”
