Lexington Gold has expanded its Kroonstad drilling database in South Africa from 12 to 64 primary drillholes as it advances a Jorc-compliant exploration target.

The Aim-listed company said 73 drill deflections have also been catalogued, with the exploration target estimation work scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, Creamer Media reported on September 14.

The programme aims to reassess a substantial portion of Kroonstad’s existing independent, non-code-compliant grade-tonnage estimate, which ranges from 6-million to 62-million ounces of gold at grades of about 5 g/t to 11 g/t.

Lexington Gold CEO Dr Bernard Olivier said the expanded drilling database is strengthening the geological basis for the project.

“We are materially expanding the geological information base, verifying and correlating that information and using it to build a modern 3D geological and structural model for Kroonstad.

With 64 primary drillholes now incorporated into the database with 12 previously, we believe we have a substantially stronger technical foundation from which to define a robust Jorc exploration target for our Kroonstad project,” Olivier said.

The company expects the larger dataset to improve its ability to constrain mineralised volumes and assess grade distribution.

Environmental consultancy Shango has advised, however, that it is not yet possible to reliably determine how much the historical grade and tonnage ranges can be narrowed. That assessment will depend on the completion of geological modelling and estimation work.

Shango’s remaining programme includes further historical data acquisition and validation, confirmation of borehole collars, internal quality assurance and quality control, stratigraphic correlation and 3D geological and structural modelling using Leapfrog Geo.

The consultancy will then estimate appropriate upper and lower tonnage and grade ranges and prepare a Jorc-aligned technical report. It is also expected to recommend a future drilling strategy to further test the project.

Harmony Gold has granted Lexington access to a historic core area, which could provide an additional opportunity to verify geological information.

Lexington expects to issue further updates as database compilation and verification, 3D modelling and the Jorc exploration target estimation progress during the fourth quarter.

Chairperson Ed Nealon said the work could provide a stronger basis for future exploration at Kroonstad.

“Such work should give us a far stronger platform for targeting future drilling and progressively advancing what we believe represents a potentially significant Witwatersrand gold opportunity beyond the Jorc exploration target stage,” Nealon said.