American Pacific Mining has commenced mobilisation of a planned 15,000m drilling programme at its Madison Copper-Gold Project in Montana, with the first of two drills currently on-site.

The second drill is expected to arrive at the site in the coming weeks.

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

The campaign will employ both reverse circulation (RC) and diamond core drilling methods.

The forthcoming programme is structured to investigate both near-surface and deeper targets, allocating 10,000m to skarn zones close to the surface and 5,000m to deeper porphyry targets.

According to the company, five of the high-priority skarn and porphyry targets have been selected for drilling, with these locations identified through technical work and detailed data analysis.

Diamond drilling is set to target deeper porphyry zones.

Drilling activities at Madison are scheduled to begin shortly, with the first assay results expected later this summer.

American Pacific Mining CEO and director Warwick Smith said: “We are excited to be systematically testing the most compelling skarn and porphyry targets we have ever defined on the project.

“These targets are the culmination of extensive data compilation, careful interpretation of both historical and recent work, and detailed 3D modelling. Our team is eager to see how results from the programme validate and refine our geological understanding of Madison.”

Earlier this month, the company secured drilling contracts with two contractors to complete this phase, which is planned for 2026.

The RC drills are expected to be used for rapid testing of skarn targets, as well as to establish pre-collars for diamond core tails, while the diamond rigs will target porphyry zones at depth.

Recent technical evaluation by the company suggests the Madison project may form part of a broader, evolving mineralised system.

Target selection for this campaign reportedly stems from geological and structural mapping, reviews of historical drilling data, surface geochemistry, high-resolution geophysics and advanced 3D modelling.

The company aims to test up to eight of the high-priority targets as part of this programme.