Yugo Metals Strikes Gold in All Five Holes at Erak Prospect

Yugo Metals Confirms Gold Discovery at Erak — First-Ever Drill Results Deliver Hits in All Five Holes

Yugo Metals Limited (ASX: YUG) has announced maiden drilling results from its Erak Prospect at the 100%-owned Sinjakovo Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the headline finding is straightforward: every single drillhole completed so far has intersected gold-bearing mineralisation. The Yugo Metals gold discovery at Erak Prospect in Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a meaningful early signal for a company conducting its first-ever drilling campaign at this prospect.

Five diamond drillholes have been completed to date, totalling 632 metres of drilling, with assay results received for three holes and two more results still pending from the laboratory. The alteration zone hosting the gold mineralisation is open in all directions, and — critically — the thickest intervals of alteration are the ones still awaiting lab results.

The Drill Results at a Glance

The three holes with returned assay results have all delivered encouraging gold intercepts from a gold-bearing phyllic alteration zone, as summarised below.

Two things stand out immediately from this table. First, ERDD003 intersected both the breccia zone and the deeper alteration zone — delivering two separate mineralised intervals within a single hole. Second, the two pending holes (ERDD005 and ERDD006) have intersected alteration zones that are considerably thicker than the holes with confirmed gold grades.

ERDD006, for instance, intersected 34 metres of alteration — more than ten times the 3-metre alteration width recorded in ERDD003 on the western side of the drilling area.

The breccia zone in ERDD003 is also worth highlighting separately. That interval — 8m @ 1.2 g/t AuEq from 26.1m — includes a notably polymetallic core of 4m @ 0.5 g/t Au + 40 g/t Ag + 0.6% Cu + 0.25% Sb, pointing to a multi-metal system that adds potential value beyond gold alone.

CEO Commentary

"The first‑ever drilling results from Erak have confirmed a genuine gold discovery by the Company. All drillholes to date have intersected the gold-bearing alteration that is still open in all directions, and with thickness being the greatest in the intervals that are yet to return from the lab. The gold system at Erak is set to grow. The best intercepts of alteration are still open. Also, we are yet to start drilling at the nearby location with the best trench result of 61m length at 1.5 gram of gold per ton on surface."

— Petar Tomašević, Executive Director & CEO, Yugo Metals

Understanding Phyllic Alteration — And Why Does It Matter Here?

One of the key geological terms in this announcement is phyllic alteration, and it is worth unpacking for investors less familiar with exploration geology.

Phyllic alteration refers to a specific type of hydrothermal alteration in which original rock minerals are replaced by a characteristic assemblage of silica, sericite (a fine-grained white mica), and pyrite. It forms when hot, acidic, metal-bearing fluids move through rock and chemically transform it.

Furthermore, why does it matter to investors? Phyllic alteration is widely recognised as a strong indicator of proximity to economic gold and copper mineralisation. It is one of the classic alteration signatures associated with porphyry and epithermal gold systems — some of the world's most productive deposit types. When drill core shows strong, consistent phyllic alteration, geologists view it as a positive sign that the system has the right chemical conditions to concentrate gold.

At Erak, the alteration zone is layer-parallel, dipping moderately to the north, and — based on drilling completed so far — is growing thicker in the down-dip and along-strike directions. That geometric expansion is exactly the kind of pattern that encourages further drilling.

Quick Glossary

• Phyllic alteration: Hydrothermal alteration characterised by silica + sericite + pyrite, commonly associated with gold systems
• Breccia zone: A zone of angular rock fragments cemented by mineral-rich fluids, often a conduit for ore-forming fluids
• AuEq (Gold Equivalent): A single figure that combines the value of multiple metals (Au, Ag, Cu, Sb) normalised to a gold price for easier comparison
• Down-dip: The direction in which a geological layer slopes downward — drilling down-dip tests whether mineralisation continues at depth
• DGPS: Differential GPS, a high-precision surveying method used to accurately locate drillhole collars

A System That Is Growing — Not Shrinking

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of these results is the spatial pattern emerging across the drill program. The data tells a clear directional story:

• Alteration thickness increases from west to east: ERDD003 (western edge) intersected only 3 metres of alteration, while ERDD006 (eastern part) intersected 34 metres — more than ten times wider
• Alteration thickness increases from north to south (down-dip): ERDD001 recorded approximately 5 metres of alteration in the north, while ERDD005 intersected 23 metres from 111 metres depth to the south
• The zone remains open in all directions — no boundary to the system has been defined yet

This expanding geometry is a significant positive. It means the drilling completed so far has not bracketed or closed off the system. Consequently, every fence line points to more mineralisation remaining to be tested.

What Comes Next — Near-Term Catalysts

The drilling program at Erak is actively ongoing, and the near-term pipeline of catalysts is well-defined.

The eastern Erak relocation is a particularly notable upcoming step. The 61m @ 1.5 g/t Au trench result referenced (from a January 2023 ASX announcement) has not yet been tested by drilling. That trench is the strongest surface geochemical result the company has on record at this prospect, and converting it to a drill intercept would be a meaningful escalation of the discovery.

The Investment Case — Why These Results Matter

Yugo Metals is a Perth-based explorer with projects entirely located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the Tethyan metallogenic belt — a geological domain that stretches from southeastern Europe through to Central Asia and is host to a significant number of major base and precious metal deposits, including the Bor copper-gold complex in Serbia and the Vares silver-zinc-lead project in Bosnia.

The Sinjakovo Project, which hosts the Erak Prospect, covers 50 km² and the Jezero tenement covers an additional 31 km². Yugo's projects are described as highly prospective for strategic, battery, and precious metals.

Several factors make the current Erak results meaningful from an investment perspective:

1. 100% strike rate in maiden drilling. All five holes completed intersected the gold-bearing alteration zone. For a first-ever drill campaign, this validates the surface work and geological targeting.

2. The system is expanding, not tapering. The thickest alteration intervals are in the holes still awaiting assay results — ERDD005 (23 metres) and ERDD006 (34 metres). If those widths convert to proportionate gold grades, the discovery footprint will be substantially larger than the confirmed results alone suggest.

3. Polymetallic upside in the breccia zone. The 8m @ 1.2 g/t AuEq intercept in ERDD003 includes silver at 40 g/t, copper at 0.6%, and antimony at 0.25%. Multi-metal mineralisation can meaningfully improve project economics through gold equivalent value.

4. The best surface result is still undrilled. The 61m @ 1.5 g/t Au trench result at the eastern part of the Erak Prospect has not yet been tested by drilling. That program is next on the schedule.

5. European location with infrastructure access. Yugo describes its projects as being located near existing core infrastructure and transport routes to Europe's battery manufacturing supply chain — relevant context given the broader demand environment for critical and precious metals in the region.

Why Investors Should Keep Watching Yugo Metals

The Yugo Metals gold discovery at Erak Prospect in Bosnia and Herzegovina has moved from a surface-defined geochemical target to a drill-confirmed discovery in a single campaign. The structural geometry — an open, expanding alteration system that grows thicker in the un-assayed directions — provides a credible basis for continued newsflow over the coming months.

With pending assay results from the two thickest holes expected within 6–8 weeks, and rig relocation to the untested eastern trench area to follow, there are multiple near-term milestones that could progressively build on this initial discovery. For investors following early-stage gold exploration in Europe, this confirmation at Erak warrants close attention as additional results come in.

Key Takeaway:
Yugo Metals (ASX: YUG) has confirmed a genuine gold discovery at its Erak Prospect through maiden drilling, with gold intersections in all five holes completed to date. The mineralised system is open in all directions, the thickest alteration zones are still awaiting lab results, and the company's best surface trench result — 61m @ 1.5 g/t Au — has yet to be drilled. With pending assays due in 6–8 weeks and ongoing drilling progressing toward the eastern high-grade trench zone, the Yugo Metals gold discovery at Erak Prospect in Bosnia and Herzegovina is shaping up as a discovery with meaningful room to grow.

Want to Know More About Yugo Metals' Erak Gold Discovery?

For investors looking to stay ahead of the drilling results, pending assays, and upcoming milestones at the Sinjakovo Project, visit the Yugo Metals website to explore the full details of the Erak Prospect, the broader project portfolio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and what this maiden discovery could mean for the company's growth trajectory.