New drilling by Spanish Mountain Gold (TSXV: SPA) at its namesake project in British Columbia points to an expansion of the property’s gold system. The stock rose.

Standout hole 26-DH-1390 cut about 94 metres grading 1.32 grams gold per tonne from about 76 metres downhole, as well as a higher-grade interval of 5 metres grading 3.23 grams gold from about 195 metres, Spanish Mountain said Monday in a statement. Both intervals are part of a broader 252-metre intercept grading 0.82 grams gold from about 76 metres depth, underscoring the mix of broad mineralization and higher-grade shoots the company is trying to define more clearly in its current program.

Vancouver-based Spanish Mountain is about 31% of the way through a 60,000-metre drill program planned for this year. Work on a feasibility study began in the second quarter, which will position the company to make a construction decision in 2028.

Main deposit

Monday’s results cover 10 diamond drill holes completed within the project’s main deposit, where the company is testing both the broad gold system and higher-grade structures associated with the nearby Orca fault corridor. The new assays come two weeks after Spanish Mountain released another set of high-grade results, including 27 metres grading 1.92 grams gold from about 243 metres depth. Results are still pending for 16 additional drill holes, leaving room for more data as the company continues to refine the geological model that will feed into future mine planning.

“Today’s results build directly on the company’s July 14th results, which cut wide and high-grade Orca-style mineralization across the western, southern, and eastern parts of the main deposit,” Atrium Research mining analyst Ben Pirie said Monday in a note.

“Together, the two batches continued to infill and extend the Orca fault corridor that hosts most of the deposit’s higher-grade material.”

Other highlights include hole 26-DH-1386, which cut 18 metres grading 0.96 gram gold from 236 metres downhole and 10 metres grading 2.19 grams gold from 296 metres depth. Hole 26-DH-1388 cut 22 metres grading 0.97 gram gold from 153 metres and 69 metres grading 0.75 gram gold from 217 metres downhole.

Shares of Spanish Mountain climbed 6.9% to 31¢ Monday morning in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about $163 million (US$115 million). The stock has traded between 12¢ and 42¢ over the past year.

Road access

Located about 500 km northeast of Vancouver, the project hosts one of British Columbia’s largest undeveloped gold deposits. It has year-round road access, nearby hydroelectric power and an experienced regional mining workforce, features that can reduce some of the logistical hurdles typically associated with remote northern projects.

Spanish Mountain has spent much of 2026 carrying out infill and expansion drilling to refine the geological model and incorporate the newly recognized Orca fault corridor into future mine planning.

In April, the company signed a US$55 million ($78 million) royalty agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX: WPM) tied to the project. Under the April 21 statement, Wheaton will acquire a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty on gold and silver production from the Spanish Mountain project.

A preliminary economic assessment released last year envisioned an open-pit mine processing 26,000 tonnes per day over a 24.5-year operating life. At a 5% discount rate and a gold price of US$2,450 an ounce, the mine would have a net present value of about $1 billion and an internal rate of return of 18%. Initial capital was estimated at $1.25 billion, with a payback period of 3.4 years.

Canadian mining investor Eric Sprott is one of the company’s biggest backers and holds a 9% equity stake in Spanish Mountain.