Banyan Gold's New Geological Model Confirms High-Grade Targets at Powerline and Airstrip
Banyan Gold reported eight drill holes from its AurMac Powerline and Airstrip deposits in the Yukon, with CEO Tara Christie saying the company's new geological model successfully predicted high-grade zones. Roughly 120 holes from a 178-hole, 43,000-metre program remain to be released, with a resource update expected in Q2 and a PEA in H2 2026.
Investor angle
With roughly 120 holes pending, a Q2 resource update, and a H2 PEA on deck, BYN has a packed catalyst path through 2026. Three open growth vectors (the Powerline-Airstrip gap, the Powerline SW extension, and the Airstrip west step-out), plus a potential silver credit stream at Powerline, give the story optionality beyond the current 7.7 Moz resource.
The KE Report recently sat down with Tara Christie, President and CEO of Banyan Gold Corp (TSX-V: BYN; OTCQB: BYAGF), to walk through the company's first drill release of 2026 — eight holes from the Powerline and Airstrip deposits at the AurMac project in the Yukon. The headline: the geological model built last year is working.
Christie framed the eight-hole release as "a start," but the more important signal was technical. Banyan developed a new geological model in 2025 that lets it project where the high-grade domains sit within the broader mineralization halo. The early 2026 holes returned consistent high-grade where the model predicted it would — 1.9 g/t (grams of gold per tonne of rock) over 31 metres, plus 1.3, 1.2, and 2.2 g/t intercepts, with some higher-grade sub-intervals. When a model correctly predicts grade at this stage of a project, that builds confidence for resource conversion.
The grades sit well above the company's PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) targeted threshold of 5 million ounces at +1 g/t. Christie said that milestone was the focus of last year's drill program — infill drilling, taking pit bottoms down in high-grade areas, and converting waste blocks to ore. The current resource sits at 7.7 million ounces; the PEA will draw on a 5-million-ounce subset at +1 g/t, with the next study picking up whatever the 2026 program adds.
Three growth vectors are emerging from the assays so far:
The Powerline-Airstrip gap. Roughly 400 metres separates the two deposits, and recent drilling suggests a third east-west high-grade zone may sit between them. Christie said the company is weighing whether to dedicate roughly 50 holes to infilling that gap — a tradeoff between locking in indicated resources and chasing a new high-grade lens. Southern Airstrip is widening in the latest assays, projecting further south.
The Powerline southwest extension. A 300-metre step-out hit mineralization where Banyan had previously modelled a pit boundary and expected the system to fade. One hole returned 1.4 metres at 8.8 g/t. The new geological model had projected this could extend further south. Christie framed it as condemnation drilling — drilling to confirm a zone is barren before placing infrastructure — that hasn't condemned anything yet.
The Airstrip west step-out. Holes 800 metres to almost a kilometre west of Airstrip intersected mineralization. If more high-grade zones are found along that trend, it could materially extend the deposit footprint.
About 120 holes remain from the 43,000-metre, 178-hole 2025 program — roughly 40% from Powerline and 50% from Airstrip. The remainder is expected to feed the Q2 2026 resource update, then the PEA targeted for the second half of 2026. The 2026 drill program hasn't been finalized, but Christie said it will feed the next study (post-PEA), giving Banyan more flexibility on targets. Both infill and expansion targets are on the table.
One more note: Banyan also flagged upcoming silver-focused holes at Powerline. At least six holes are pending that targeted a high-grade silver trend the company has discussed previously. With silver's price move since the new year, Christie said the structural trend has "significant length" and is worth following up. The current resource is gold-only, so any silver credits would be additive to the next study.
The takeaways for investors watching BYN:
- Model validation is the story. Eight holes aren't enough to size a deposit, but they confirm the new geological model predicts grade where it pointed. That is how a project moves from exploration toward development. - Catalysts are stacked. Roughly 120 holes still pending, a Q2 resource update, and a H2 PEA. Each is a potential inflection point for the story. - Growth optionality is real, not just talk. Three expansion vectors (the gap zone, Powerline SW, Airstrip west) all have early mineralized hits. None of them sit in the current resource yet. - Silver is a wildcard. If the high-grade silver trend at Powerline holds up at scale, it could add a credit stream the current 7.7 Moz resource does not reflect.
The next piece to watch is the next batch of drill results. Christie presented the eight-hole release as the start of a news flow cycle that runs into the Q2 resource update.
Generated by Pixys from the source video below. Not investment advice.
