VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Almadex Minerals Ltd. is pivoting its exploration focus to Arizona, announcing plans to conduct a first-pass drill program at its New Hope porphyry copper-gold project before the end of 2025. This strategic move follows the completion and subsequent pausing of a four-hole scout drilling program at its Paradise Project in Nevada.
Paradise Project Drilling Paused After Technical Challenges
The company has received results from the third hole of its Paradise program but was forced to pause operations after losing the fourth hole due to exceptionally difficult drilling conditions. The fourth hole failed to reach its target depth after encountering faulting and challenging ground.
Results from the third hole, drilled in a previously untested northwestern area of the property, intersected propylitic alteration overprinted by zones of phyllic alteration with high pyrite content. The drill core also revealed several geochemically anomalous zones, including 1.60 metres grading 0.48 grams per tonne gold and another 0.50 metre interval grading 0.47 g/t gold.
Almadex has paused drilling at Paradise for scheduled crew breaks and to comprehensively review all collected data. The company has also received approval for a potential fifth drill site targeting both high magnetics and chargeability at depth. A decision on a potential follow-up drilling program in 2026 will be made after reviewing all information, including pending petrographic analysis.
New Hope Porphyry Project: The Next Target
With drilling paused in Nevada, Almadex is immediately redeploying its rig and team to its New Hope porphyry copper-gold project in Arizona. The company has already permitted drill holes designed to test a zone of porphyry-related veining mapped at surface and a nearby IP chargeability anomaly.
J Duane Poliquin, Chairman of Almadex, commented on the company's systematic approach: "We are carrying out our plan to drill test our portfolio of newly assembled projects in the western USA. Many of these projects cover large porphyry lithocap alteration zones that may conceal buried porphyry deposits... We are excited to move the drill to New Hope Arizona where this process will continue next."
Strategic Focus on Buried Porphyry Deposits
Almadex's exploration strategy is centered on its large portfolio of recently acquired projects in the western United States, which are prospective for porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold-silver mineralization. The company uses a proprietary, in-house approach to identify and acquire targets, focusing on zones of exposed advanced argillic alteration in specific geologic regions.
The company is financially equipped to conduct first-pass, vector-type drill programs across its project portfolio. These initial programs are inherently discovery-oriented, designed not only to test for mineralization but also to gather crucial three-dimensional geological data. This information is vital for vectoring future, more targeted drilling campaigns and for prioritizing the company's property portfolio for follow-up work.
