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Challenger Exploration (ASX: CEL) (“CEL” the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from drill holes GYDD-22-014 to GYDD-22-016 in the El Guayabo concession and CVDD-22-001 and CVDD-22- 002, the first two drillholes on the Colorado V concession in El Oro Province, Ecuador.
Highlights
- First drill holes on the CV-A and CV-B Au-soil anomalies in Colorado V both intercepted 500 metres of mineralisation from surface to the end of the hole with results including (refer Table 1):
- Confirms two Au-Cu-Ag-Mo discoveries of significant scale. Both Au-soil anomalies are 1 kilometre long and 500 metres wide and lie within a structural corridor over a 3 kilometre strike distance.
- CEL has drilled five of fifteen regionally significant Au-soil anomalies with over 500 metres of mineralisation intersected at all anomalies, confirming the potential for a major bulk gold system.
- El Guayabo drilling continues to deliver with the next two drill holes on the main discovery zone confirming at least 1 kilometre of continuous mineralisation which remains open in all directions
Commenting on the results, CEL Managing Director, Mr Kris Knauer, said 
“We have been eagerly awaiting the results from our first holes testing the CV-A and CV-B soil anomalies at Colorado V. These anomalies are just a few kilometres on strike from the 22 million ounce Cangrejos Gold Project1 . The anomalies have the same geology and surface footprint as Cangrejos and have now produced the same grades.
While Hualilan in Argentina remains our primary focus we are beginning to get excited about Ecuador. We have drilled five of fifteen regional gold-soil anomalies and all five have returned significant mineralisation. Our project lies just across the tenement boundary from one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in the world and we have something I believe has the potential to become a Tier 1 gold asset over time."
The first two drill holes at Colorado V, where the Company is farming in to earn an initial 50% interest, have confirmed significant Au-Cu-Ag-Mo discoveries in the first two regional gold in soil anomalies to be drilled by the Company. The Colorado V concession adjoins CEL's 100% owned El Guayabo concession to the south and the Cangrejos concession which hosts the 17 million ounce Cangrejos Gold Project1 , to the north. The new discoveries have significant scale with both Au-soil anomalies 1 kilometre long and 500 metres wide and lying within a structural corridor with over 3 kilometre strike distance.
The next three drill holes in the 100% owned El Guayabo concession all recorded significant intercepts. Drill holes GYDD-22-015 (305.7m at 0.5 g/t AuEq) and GYDD-22-016 (265.4m at 0.5 g/t AuEq including 107.6 metres at 0.9 g/t AuEq) have confirmed that the mineralisation on the main discovery zone is continuous over 1 kilometre strike and remains open at depth and along strike.
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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OPINION — Goldenomics 103: Gold Protects and Performs
By Darren Brady Nelson
US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs certainly caused quite the stir in the markets on April 2.
Gold dropped about 6 percent, and silver 12 percent. A week later, a pause was announced, which ended on August 1. Gold and silver have since risen approximately 11 percent and 24 percent, respectively.
Six month gold and silver price performance.
Source: Trading Economics (gold) and (silver).
Unless you are a professional, or even amateur, trader, it is best to look at gold and silver investment with a perspective of years or decades, rather than just days, weeks or even months. Since the start of the COVID-19 panic in March 2020, gold and silver have exploded 123 percent and 192 percent.
10 year gold and silver price performance.
Source: Trading Economics (gold) and (silver).
In the shorter term, the gold price is driven by what economist John Maynard Keynes called “animal spirits.” In the longer term, it is driven by “monetary spirits.” And not just as protection, but also for performance. The Presidential Gold Guide highlights both in chapters four and five.
Source: Fisher Liberty Gold.
Gold unsurprisingly protects
Economist and investor Mark Skousen has wisely noted that: “Since we left the gold standard in 1971, both gold and silver have become superior inflation hedges.” Gold has more than countered the results of inflation, as measured by CPI, and the drivers of inflation, as measured by M3.
And the numbers back that up. The Gold Protects chart below compares the gold price, CPI and M3 in terms of cumulative growth of each from 1971 to 2025. That is throughout the whole era of gold as an investment, which officially started in 1974 once private ownership was restored.
During this era, gold grew by 541 percent, CPI by 214 percent and M3 by 384 percent. Annual average growth for gold was 10 percent, CPI at 4 percent and M3 at 7 percent. Maximums were 92 percent, 14 percent and 29 percent, respectively. CPI only failed to grow twice, ie. 0 percent in 2009 and 2015. M3 decreased twice, by -4 percent in 2023 and -6 percent in 2024.
Gold surprisingly performs
The highly respected In Gold We Trust (IGWT) report states: “When dealing with the specific level of gold allocation, it is advisable to differentiate between safe-haven gold and performance gold. The Big Long strategy emphasizes the potential of performance gold in the coming years.”
IGWT thus recommends an investment portfolio "rule of thumb" that includes 15 percent in “safe-haven gold” and 10 percent in “performance gold.” The Gold Performs chart below compares gold price, S&P 500 and nominal GDP in terms of cumulative growth of each from 1971 to 2025.
Gold grew by 541 percent, the S&P 500 by 484 percent and GDP by 339 percent. Annual average growth for gold was 10 percent, with the S&P 500 at 9 percent and GDP at 6 percent. Maximums were 92 percent, 45 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Gold did have a higher standard deviation of 27 percent, compared to 17 percent for the S&P 500 and 3 percent for GDP.
Animal and monetary spirits
Gold protects as a hedge or safe haven, not just from inflation, but from the flip side of that same coin of the boom-bust cycle. Both are driven, in the longer term, not by “animal spirits,” but by “monetary spirits.”
Inflation is when money inflation has a widespread impact as price inflation. A bubble is when money increases have a more concentrated impact such as in certain asset values. The bubble eventually bursts when “monetary spirits” are finally reined in by monetary realities.
I say “monetary spirits” because of the role of fiat money, as indicated by, say, M3. When money supply outstrips money demand in a localized way, then that is a bubble, and when in a general way, that is inflation.
The former shows up in certain asset, wholesale and/or producer prices, whilst the latter shows up in CPI. Asset prices include the S&P 500. But nominal GDP is also "ginned up" as it is ultimately a price times quantity measure as well. Price is expressed in money terms.
Conclusion
Gold can have ups and downs, as standard deviation indicates, due to the “animal spirits” of fear and uncertainty, that tend to be daily, weekly or monthly. Yet gold both protects and performs due to the “monetary spirits” of inflation and boom-bust, which tend to be decennially.
In particular, gold performs when the S&P 500 does not, like in the aftermaths of the 2001/2002 dot-com collapse, the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and 2020/2021 COVID-19 lockdowns.
Therefore, when it comes to gold, “follow the money” of central bank “money printing” and fractional reserve bank “fountain pen money,” for both superior inflation protection and boom-bust performance.
And besides, Skousen rightly "begged the question" as follows: “Gold and Silver have always had value, never gone to zero. Can you say the same for stocks and bonds?”
About Darren Brady Nelson
Darren Brady Nelson is chief economist with Fisher Liberty Gold and policy advisor to The Heartland Institute. He previously was economic advisor to Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts. He authored the Ten Principles of Regulation and Reform, and the CPI-X approach to budget cuts.
Click here to read Goldenomics 101: Follow the Money, and here to read Goldenomics 102: The Shadow Price of Gold.
