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Challenger Exploration (ASX: CEL) (“CEL” the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from drill holes GYDD-21-007 to GYDD-21-013, the next six drill holes at its 100% owned El Guayabo Gold-Copper Project in El Oro Province, Ecuador. The results follow the first seven drillholes which all recorded significant intersections including 257.8m at 1.4 g/t AuEq including 53.7m at 5.3 g/t AuEq(GYDD-21-008) and 309.8m at 0.7 g/t AuEq including 202.1 metres at 0.8 g/t AuEq (GYDD-21-006).
Highlights
- Next six holes all intercept over 300 metres of mineralisation, confirming a major Au-Cu-Ag discovery spanning multiple zones. Results include (refer Table 1):
- Four holes ended in mineralisation, including GYDD-21-011 (307.9m at 0.6 g/t AuEq from surface) stopped at 310m due to drilling problems 300 metres above the main target.
- GYDD-21-010 extends the main discovery zone 400 metres to 1000 metres of strike and GYDD-21-011 indicates the mineralisation is 1000 metres wide at the centre of this main discovery zone.
- GYDD-21-009 and GYDD-21-013 tested two new gold in soil anomalies, undrilled by CEL and the discovery of strong mineralisation significantly expands the scale of the discovery.
Commenting on the results, CEL Managing Director, Mr Kris Knauer, said
“These results confirm we have made a major discovery, that will significantly exceed our early expectations. We have extended the main discovery zone to over 1km of strike and in the central part of this zone, the mineralisation is 1 kilometre wide and remains open in all directions. Drilling on the first two, of fifteen, targets away from the discovery zone intersected significant mineralisation. Intercepts of 700 metres of gold-copper-silver mineralisation, at the first anomaly and 300 metres in the second,show we have a major system with multiple centers of mineralisation."
Highlights
All six holes reported in this release intercepted at least 300 metres of mineralisation, with two holes intercepting over 600 metres of mineralisation and four of the six holes ending in mineralisation. The results include wide ore grade intercepts from drilling testing the first two of fifteen additional Au soil anomalies, separate from the initial discovery zone in CEL's 100% owned El Guayabo concession.
The drill results and distribution of the mineralisation corelate well with the underlying Au in soil anomalies. The soil anomalies are interpreted as defining the surface outcrop of mineralised intrusive breccia bodies which are sub-vertical, at least 300 metres wide and oriented parallel to the main regional north-east structural control.
Highlights include, drillhole GYDD-21-011 which was designed as test 300 metres downdip of GYDD21-001 (784.3m at 0.4 g/t AuEq including 380.5m at 0.5 g/t AuEq) on the main discovery zone. This hole intersected 307.9m at 0.6 g/t AuEq from surface, including 102.9 metres at 1.2 g/t AuEq some 300 metres above the prognosed target. It confirms that, in this location, the main discovery zone has a true width of 1000 metres (Figure 1). Drillhole GYDD-21-010 (809.9m at 0.3 g/t AuEq including 217.1m at 0.5 g/t AuEq) extends the main discovery zone by 400 metres to 1 kilometre of strike.
Highlights from the Company's initial drilling, targeting the first two of the fifteen separate Au soil anomalies, away from the initial discovery trend included:
- 692.7m at 0.3 g/t AuEq, including 220.5m at 0.6 g/t AuEq (GYDD-21-009) testing the 800 metre x 200 metre GY-B Au soil anomaly; and
- 328.3m at 0.4 g/t AuEq to the end of the hole, including 91.0m at 0.6 g/t AuEq plus 130.9m at 0.4 g/t AuEq including 62.2m at 0.5 g/t AuEq (GYDD-21-013) testing the 800 metre x 400 metre GY-C Au soil anomaly.
The results from the next six holes at CEL's 100% owned El Guayabo Project confirm the discovery of a significant intrusion hosted gold-copper-silver-molybdenum system with multiple centers of mineralisation, all of which have returned ore grade intercepts. The mineralisation has a similar scale and tenor to the Tier 1 Cangrejos Gold project located 5 kilometres along strike to north-east.
Mineralisation remains open in all directions with results for a further three holes at El Guayabo pending. An initial 18 hole drill program is underway, on CEL's adjoining Colorado V concession with results for the initial two holes pending. Given the exciting results returned to date, the Company intends to undertake a follow up drill program at El Guayabo immediately upon the completion of the current Colorado V drill program.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Challenger Exploration, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Navigating Uncertainty: How Trump's Tariffs Are Affecting the Gold Market
Read on to learn how tariffs have affected the gold market and price so far.
How have tariffs affected the gold price?
The gold price has been on the rise since the beginning of the year. After briefly touching the US$3,500 per ounce level in May, it has pulled back and was trading just under US$3,400 as of Tuesday (August 26).
Gold price, January 1 to August 26, 2025.
Chart via TradingEconomics.
Although some of its increase is attributable to the points mentioned above, a significant portion is owed to a lack of information surrounding US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Initially there was no clarity on what or who was being tariffed, or when the levies would ultimately be implemented, and investors started to move into gold for greater stability and portfolio diversification.
Uncertainty about whether gold would be tariffed also had an effect, prompting traders in the US to import physical gold; this created a price differential between New York futures and the London spot price.
Concerns dissipated as the Trump administration began to nail down tariffs, but were reignited once again when US Customs and Border Patrol posted a ruling on July 31 indicating that the 39 percent tariffs against imports from Switzerland would include 1 kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars.
The news caused spot gold to spike more than 3 percent, from US$3,290 to US$3,398, and sent December futures to an all-time high of US$3,549. Meanwhile, traders halted imports of Swiss bars.
After several days of turmoil, Trump said the ruling was incorrect, and the bars would not be included in the tariff measures being applied to other Swiss imports; the gold price then retreated.
How would gold tariffs have impacted the market?
Gold functions as both a commodity and an essential part of the world’s financial system.
One kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars are used to back futures trading, and regular shipments of the metal are needed to settle contracts once they come due. A 39 percent tariff on gold from Switzerland would have been particularly disruptive, as Swiss refineries account for approximately 70 percent of the world’s gold.
According to the UN Comtrade database, in 2024, Switzerland exported more than 1,400 metric tons of unwrought gold worth more than US$106 billion, representing nearly 30 percent of the country’s total exports. Tariffs would have forced US buyers to pay a significant premium for the precious metal versus buyers in London or Shanghai.
Because gold is often used as a store of value in times of uncertainty, any kind of disruption could have had broader implications for investors looking to add stability to their portfolios.
In an email to the Investing News Network (INN), Lauren Saidel-Baker, CFA, an economist with ITR Economics, explained that gold stands out as a unique investment mechanism:
“There are psychological nuances to gold, which is commonly viewed as a safe store of value during uncertain times and an inflation hedge. Overall, the tariff would have added another facet to the already elevated policy uncertainty."
If the tariffs had remained in place, the US gold price would have had to rise to around US$4,700 per ounce to cover levies, while international prices would have remained closer to the US$3,500 mark.
“Tariffs have already complicated supply chains across industries, and this gold tariff would have been another example of added cost and complexity — but in this case, one with the potential to more directly impact investment activities,” Saidel-Baker went on to explain, emphasizing that US investors would have felt the pinch.
Could gold tariffs happen in the future?
Given Trump's unpredictability, especially when it comes to tariffs, it's possible that gold levies could enter the conversation again. However, by and large experts agree that the matter is closed.
“I think it’s pretty clear at this point that there’s no intention to put tariffs on physical gold imports, and I think that would be very damaging and destructive if they did,” Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals, told INN.
Keith Weiner, founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, offered another perspective, saying that although the gold tariff threat is over, the tumult could have long-term effects on the market.
"Once you've put the scare into everybody, you can't just say, 'Oh, sorry, just kidding.' You can't really do that. And so now we've done damage, and we'll see what happens to that spread over time. We'll see how users of the futures market adapt. There are other markets in the world that would be competing for," he explained.
"This hedging business, you know, maybe it moves to Singapore, maybe it moves to Dubai, maybe it moves to London, and the US loses not only a little more trust, but also a little bit of volume on what had been the biggest — or what is currently the biggest — futures market," Weiner added to INN.
Market participants will be watching closely for future impacts on the yellow metal.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.