Kiena Deep Drilling Hits 161.3 g/t Gold Intercept
Wesdome Gold Mines reported on March 26, 2026, that its underground exploration at the Kiena mine in Québec has yielded exceptional high-grade gold intercepts. The highlight of the announcement was drill hole N127-7058 in the Kiena Deep A Zone, which returned 161.3 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold over a 5.2-meter core length. This intercept included narrower sections assaying as high as 579.0 g/t Au and 552.0 g/t Au.
Further strong results across other zones underscore the deposit's potential. In the Footwall Zone, hole N127-7061 returned 17.6 g/t Au over 18.6 meters, while hole N127-7062 hit 43.4 g/t Au over 5.6 meters. The B Zone also showed promise, with hole N134-7192 returning 33.1 g/t Au over 2.2 meters with visible gold present. These results validate the company's geological models and point to robust mineralization.
Six New Lenses Signal Major Resource Expansion
The successful 2025 drilling program, which completed nearly 72,000 meters of drilling, has identified six new mineralized lenses. This development significantly enhances the potential to expand the mine's resource base and increase the number of ounces produced per vertical level. Three of the new lenses were found in the Kiena Deep zones, while three were discovered in the B Zone near existing infrastructure, transforming it into a near-term development opportunity.
These six newly discovered lenses highlight the substantial exploration upside in our mine’s deeper zones and strengthen our confidence in continuing to extend Kiena’s mine life well into the future.
— Anthea Bath, President and Chief Executive Officer.
This strategic expansion confirms the potential for lateral and deep extensions of the known zones. Wesdome plans to follow up with more drilling in 2026 to further test the continuity and grade of these new discoveries, aiming to formally increase the mine's mineral resource estimates.
Share Buyback Plan Precedes Positive News
Underscoring management's confidence, Wesdome announced an automatic share purchase plan (ASPP) on March 25, 2026, the day before releasing the positive drill results. The plan facilitates the repurchase of its common shares under its Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB), which allows the company to buy back up to 2% of its public float. This move to repurchase shares just before announcing value-accretive exploration results signals a strong internal conviction about the company's growth trajectory and current market valuation.
