Mineral exploration drillingPublished by Lannister MiningLast updated: November 2, 2026

Mineral exploration drilling at Basin Gulch: more than 320 historical holes

More than 320 historical drill holes have been completed at Lannister Mining's Basin Gulch Property in Montana.

That drilling is the starting dataset for Lannister Mining. Historical results show near-surface gold over long lengths, and the mineralization remains open at depth and along strike. The company plans expansion and confirmation drilling, then a maiden mineral resource estimate that combines historical drilling with new work programs.

What did historical drilling at Basin Gulch find?

Historical drilling returned long gold intercepts from surface, including 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters and 0.66 g/t Au over 326 meters, plus shorter high-grade intervals such as 156 g/t Au over 3 meters. Trenches returned both gold and silver. Lannister Mining plans confirmation drilling to test these historical results.

Drill highlights

Highlight drill hole intersections

Historical drill hole highlights at the Basin Gulch Property, as reported by Lannister Mining. Bar length shows intercept length in meters.

0.66 g/t Auover 326 meters (1,069.6 feet), from surface
1.8 g/t Auover 162 meters (531.5 feet), from surface
3.2 g/t Auover 72 meters (236.2 feet), from surface
25 g/t Auover 14 meters (45.9 feet)
156 g/t Auover 3 meters (9.8 feet)

Lannister Mining historical drill highlights at Basin Gulch
Grade	Length	Start
1.8 g/t Au	162 m (531.5 ft)	From surface
0.66 g/t Au	326 m (1,069.6 ft)	From surface
3.2 g/t Au	72 m (236.2 ft)	From surface
156 g/t Au	3 m (9.8 ft)	Not stated
25 g/t Au	14 m (45.9 ft)	Not stated

Surface sampling

Trench highlights: gold and silver

Lannister Mining historical trench highlights at Basin Gulch
Gold	Silver	Length
62 g/t Au	32 g/t Ag	159 m (521.7 ft)
4 g/t Au	23 g/t Ag	146 m (479 ft)
5 g/t Au	54 g/t Ag	34 m (111.6 ft)
25 g/t Au	45 g/t Ag	61 m (200.1 ft)

Lannister Mining map of the Basin Gulch Property area accompanying the historical drilling results — Property map supplied by Lannister Mining.

Reading the results

How to read exploration drilling results

What is mineral exploration drilling?

Mineral exploration drilling bores into rock to recover samples that reveal which metals lie below the surface and at what grades. Common methods include reverse circulation drilling, which returns rock chips, and diamond core drilling, which returns a solid cylinder of rock.

Mineral exploration drilling companies are often contractors hired by the explorer. The explorer designs the program, logs and samples the material, and sends samples to a laboratory. At Basin Gulch, Lannister Mining holds a dataset of more than 320 historical holes that will guide where new holes go.

What g/t and meters tell you

g/t means grams per tonne. Au is gold and Ag is silver. A result of 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters means a continuous 162 meter length of the hole averaged 1.8 grams of gold per tonne of rock.

Long intervals at moderate grade and short intervals at high grade tell different stories. Long intercepts from surface, like several at Basin Gulch, can point to bulk tonnage near surface, while short high-grade hits such as 156 g/t Au over 3 meters show where grade concentrates. Reported lengths are drilled lengths, not necessarily true widths.

Procedure

How does confirmation drilling work?

Confirmation drilling tests whether historical results can be reproduced with modern methods. Disclosure standards such as NI 43-101 in Canada and S-K 1300 in the US rely on data that a qualified person can verify, so explorers with historical datasets typically follow a process like this.

Compile historical hole locations, assays and logs into one database.
Choose historical holes to twin or offset, focusing on the intercepts that matter most to a resource.
Drill new holes with modern sampling and quality control, including standards, blanks and duplicates.
Compare new assays with historical results to judge whether the older data can be relied on.
Use the verified dataset, with expansion drilling, to support a maiden mineral resource estimate.

This is a general industry outline, not a published Lannister Mining work plan. For the full sequence from first sample to resource, see the stages of mineral exploration.

Part of the overview of Lannister Mining among mineral exploration companies.

Common questions

Short answers here. The full mineral exploration FAQ covers more.

How many holes have been drilled at Basin Gulch?: More than 320 historical drill holes have been completed at the Basin Gulch Property. Lannister Mining plans to use this historical drilling, together with new work programs and confirmation drilling, as the basis for a future maiden mineral resource estimate.
What are the best historical drill results at Basin Gulch?: Highlight historical intersections include 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters from surface, 0.66 g/t Au over 326 meters from surface, 3.2 g/t Au over 72 meters from surface, 156 g/t Au over 3 meters, and 25 g/t Au over 14 meters. Confirmation drilling is planned to test these historical results.
What did trenching at Basin Gulch show?: Trench highlights reported by Lannister Mining include 62 g/t Au and 32 g/t Ag over 159 meters, 4 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag over 146 meters, 5 g/t Au and 54 g/t Ag over 34 meters, and 25 g/t Au and 45 g/t Ag over 61 meters.
What does g/t Au mean in drill results?: g/t Au means grams of gold per tonne of rock. A result such as 1.8 g/t Au over 162 meters means a continuous 162 meter length of drill core averaged 1.8 grams of gold per tonne. Ag is the chemical symbol for silver and is reported the same way.
What is mineral exploration drilling?: Mineral exploration drilling bores into rock to recover samples that show which metals lie below surface and at what grades. Common methods include reverse circulation and diamond core drilling. At Basin Gulch, more than 320 historical holes provide the starting dataset for future confirmation and expansion drilling.
Why do companies redo drilling on historical results?: Confirmation drilling checks that historical results can be reproduced with modern methods and quality control. Disclosure standards such as NI 43-101 in Canada and S-K 1300 in the US rely on data a qualified person can verify. Lannister Mining plans confirmation drilling of historical intercepts ahead of its maiden estimate.
Where will future drilling at Basin Gulch focus?: Lannister Mining says future drilling will concentrate on additional mineralized target areas within the Basin Gulch Property, alongside expansion and confirmation drilling of historical intercepts. With two-thirds of the property unexplored and multiple high priority targets near the historic resource, step-out work is central to the plan.