• New zones of high-grade mineralisation identified in open pit walls
• Further assays pending for Challenger West open pit and other targets
• Challenger DFS underway targeting a viable, simplified 'baseline' Stage 1 operation

Barton Gold has completed 8,065m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Challenger Gold Project in South Australia, targeting the Challenger 'Main', 'Challenger West' (CW), 'Challenger South-Southwest' (CSSW) and 'Challenger 3' open pit areas. The drilling has identified new zones of high-grade mineralisation in the walls of the historical Challenger 'Main' open pit, with assays including 11m at 5.67g/t Au, 10m at 17.7g/t Au, 1m at 50.9g/t Au and 1m at 170.7g/t Au. This mineralisation was not previously modelled and remains open for further extension. Barton is now awaiting further assay results from the CW open pit and the CSSW and Challenger 3 targets. The company is also undertaking a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) targeting an initial 3-4 year 'baseline' Stage 1 operation utilising historical higher-grade tailings and limited near-surface materials, in order to de-risk the restart of the Central Gawler Mill and maximise development optionality for Barton's other projects in the region.

Barton is targeting conversion of easily accessible mineralisation to JORC (2012) 'Indicated' categories and, subject to the DFS, JORC (2012) Ore Reserves. The company will also consider areas for potential future follow up drilling to pursue the newly identified high-grade open pit mineralisation, with the objective to extend the prospective future mining inventory.