LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. has increased its planned 2026 Phase 1 diamond drilling program at its 100%-owned Ishkōday Gold and Polymetallic Project from 3,865 metres to 5,605 metres across 22 drill holes, the company announced in its latest assay release. The expansion follows assay results from six holes—LBX26-113, LBX26-114A, LBX26-115, LBX26-116, LBX26-117 and LBX26-121—and is being guided by SRK Consulting's independent structural gap analysis of the A-Zone, which identified five priority target areas.
The significance of the program lies less in any single intercept than in its stated purpose: closing gaps in the existing drill database, improving understanding of the continuity and geometry of mineralization between holes, and building what the company calls a reliable technical foundation to support evaluation of a potential maiden Mineral Resource Estimate. That objective raises the stakes for every assay batch, because resource estimates depend on consistent, well-distributed data rather than isolated high grades.
The latest results include notable intercepts. LBX26-117 returned 1.80 metres grading 17.100 g/t gold, including 0.80 metres at 31.500 g/t gold, plus a broader 10.05-metre interval of gold-bearing polymetallic mineralization deeper in the hole. LBX26-121, drilled from the same collar at a shallower angle, intersected 5.20 metres grading 1.067 g/t gold with 1.11% zinc. LBX26-116 returned 2.80 metres grading 2.261 g/t gold and a 20.05-metre interval averaging 0.411 g/t gold with zinc. LBX26-115 cut 4.35 metres grading 0.820 g/t gold, 9.65 g/t Ag and 0.66% Zn. The company also disclosed that LBX26-113, designed as a twin of historical hole 92-65, returned lower grades than the historical results, and it will evaluate the implications for the historical database and its geological interpretation.
Six holes totalling 1,227 metres are discussed in the release, and the company noted that This figure is not the total 2026 program metreage. Supporting interpretation materials were also provided for LBX26-113 – Interpretation and for LBX26-116, while LBX26-114A replaced LBX26-114 after the latter was abandoned due to an orientation issue. The company stated that all core lengths are drilled thicknesses and true widths have not yet been determined.
For investors, the announcement matters because it signals a shift from opportunistic exploration toward systematic technical de-risking. LAURION describes itself as a mid-stage explorer focused on advancing the 57-square-kilometre Ishkōday Project, which hosts a single 6.0 km by 2.5 km mineralized corridor and has seen over 100,000 metres of drilling. The company's stated strategy emphasizes disciplined, data-driven exploration and positioning the project for a potential future resource estimate. Additional targets, sequencing and timing remain subject to ongoing results and available financing, and the release cautions that additional drilling may not support preparation of an MRE. Further details are available on http://www.LAURION.ca and in the original release at www.newmediawire.com.
