Canterra Minerals Corporation (TSXV: CTM) (OTCQB: CTMCF) (FSE: DXZB) has announced the launch of a fully funded, up to 15,000-meter diamond drill program across its 100%-owned projects in central Newfoundland, marking a significant shift into a high-impact discovery phase for 2026. The drilling has already commenced at the Buchans Project, a historically prolific high-grade VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) district, where modern deep-seeking geophysics has identified multiple untested targets.
Strategic Exploration Campaign
The 2026 campaign represents a transition from target generation to systematic drill testing, focusing on three key areas. First, it aims to drill-test high-priority targets at the Buchans Project, utilizing advanced geophysical data and integrated geological modeling. Second, the program will prioritize selective follow-up drilling across Canterra's broader Victoria Lake Supergroup (VLSG) portfolio, which includes potential satellite deposits to the Buchans Project. Third, it will advance gold targets at the Wilding Gold Project, located along the same structural corridor that hosts Equinox Gold's producing Valentine Mine.
Program Highlights and Details
The drill program is structured to maximize exploration efficiency and discovery potential across multiple sites:
- Buchans Project: Approximately 5,000 meters of drilling is planned, with a 2,000-meter winter program already underway. This phase targets 3DIP anomalies and structural corridors prospective for Buchans-style massive sulphide mineralization, along with expansion drilling at the Lundberg deposit and Two Level zone. An additional 3,000 meters of follow-up testing is scheduled for later in 2026.
- VLSG Portfolio: Up to 5,000 meters of drilling will be conducted, involving belt-wide target ranking across multiple VMS deposits and prospects, such as Bobbys Pond, Daniels Pond, Boomerang, Lemarchant, Long Lake, and Tulks deposits. This effort aims to prioritize 2026 prospecting, geophysics, and targeted diamond drilling.
- Wilding Gold Project: Approximately 5,000 meters of drilling is planned, starting with an initial field program of about 250 percussion drill holes for basal till and top-of-bedrock sampling along the 55-kilometer Valentine structural trend. Follow-up diamond drilling is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
Leadership Insights and Future Outlook
Chris Pennimpede, President and CEO of Canterra, emphasized the strategic importance of this program, stating, "2026 marks the beginning of a true discovery-driven phase for Canterra. At Buchans, winter drilling is already underway as we apply modern deep-seeking geophysics to one of the world's most prolific high-grade VMS districts and systematically test targets that previous operators could not effectively evaluate at depth." He added that the company is advancing the Wilding Gold Project along the gold-bearing trend and anticipates successive drill results throughout the year, positioning Canterra to demonstrate the district-scale potential of its Newfoundland land package.
With this fully funded initiative, Canterra aims to leverage advanced exploration techniques to uncover new mineral resources, contributing to the broader mining sector in Newfoundland and potentially driving future economic growth in the region.
