Enegex (ENX) Starts Gogo RC Drilling; Tougbe AC Hits 4m at 6.2 g/t

Enegex (ASX: ENX) has commenced a 3,000–3,500-metre reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Gogo Project in Côte d’Ivoire. Enegex simultaneously reported high-grade gold intercepts from aircore drilling at the Tougbe Permit, including 4 metres at 6.2 g/t gold at AW1 and 4 metres at 6.10 g/t gold at Kalama Bave. A permit extension to 2027 and a post-placement cash balance of approximately $14.3 million set the stage for a catalyst-heavy period. The immediate risk event is the Gogo RC assay results expected next month.

Gogo RC Program: Three Targets, One Catalyst

The market’s simple read is that RC drilling has started, which often triggers a pre-result speculative bid. The better read centres on the three distinct targets along the 5-kilometre Bonoubana trend that the drill bit will test.

NE Bonoubana: Testing the Artisanal Zone Down-Dip

The first target is the down-dip extension of high-grade artisanal workings at NE Bonoubana. If the artisanal miners are exploiting a near-surface oxide zone, the initial RC holes should confirm grade and continuity at shallow depths. Success here would immediately upgrade the project’s perceived deposit potential. A failure to intersect economic mineralisation would call the entire trend into question.

The 900-Metre Power Auger Anomaly

The second target is a broad gold-in-soil anomaly defined by a 900-metre power auger program. RC drilling beneath it tests whether the anomaly reflects a bedrock source or is a surficial dispersion. A bedrock hit would expand the trend’s footprint and add a second zone of interest. A barren result would suggest the anomaly is not linked to a coherent mineralised body.

S Bonoubana: The Conceptual Target

The third target is a wide zone of quartz-veined sheared felsic volcanics at S Bonoubana. This is the most conceptual target; any significant intercept would prove the system extends beyond the known artisanal area. The market is unlikely to price this target ahead of results, making any positive hit a potential upside surprise.

Enegex expects to receive results next month. That creates a clear, near-term binary: the stock will either re-rate on demonstration of economic grades, or deflate if the program fails to extend mineralisation below the oxide profile. Gogo carries no resource estimate, so the entire valuation is exploration optionality. A run of shallow, broad intercepts in the 1–3 g/t range with occasional high-grade pods would be sufficient to justify deeper follow-up and begin the long road to a maiden resource.

Tougbe AC Intercepts: Grades Are Real, Orientation Is Not

A 19-hole, 660-metre aircore (AC) program at the AW1 prospect and an additional 441 metres at Kalama Bave produced shallow numbers that demand deeper follow-up.

The headline grades are strong enough to warrant deeper RC drilling, and the company plans exactly that. The problem is that the mineralisation orientation at AW1 is not yet defined. Without knowing the dip and strike of the controlling structure, follow-up drill holes risk going behind or parallel to the zone. The initial market reaction may treat these numbers at face value. Experienced explorers understand that until oriented RC or diamond core defines the geometry, the intercepts are vectors, not a resource.

Deeper RC drilling, planned for later in the current campaign, will test continuity and orientation. If the RC holes intersect similar to better grades at depth and show consistent thickness, the Tougbe Permit could begin its transition from prospect to development asset. Until then, the AC results are important indicators, insufficient to anchor a fundamental valuation shift.

Permit to 2027 Removes a Regulatory Overhang

Regulatory risk in West African frontier jurisdictions is often binary. The Tougbe Exploration Permit (PR874) has been extended until 24 November 2027. This removes any immediate threat of tenure loss and grants Enegex three additional field seasons to drill AW1, Kalama Bave, and other emerging targets. The permit extension fits a pattern seen across West African commodities analysis juniors attempting to compress discovery timelines.

For a junior holding cash and a defined drill plan, this extension means the next 18 months are fully inside a permitted window. No regulatory approvals are required to maintain momentum. That stability supports higher exploration expenditure efficiency and reduces political headline risk.

The $14.3 Million Cash Balance: Speed, Not Just Size

A $10.2 million placement completed in February 2026 at $0.23 per share bolstered the pro-forma cash position to approximately $14.3 million. This is not a “strong balance sheet” story in absolute terms; it is a 12–18-month runway to execute concurrent drill programs across the Tougbe-Gogo permit group.

What the Market Is Actually Pricing: Throughput, Not Buffer

For an explorer with a sub-$50 million market capitalisation, the cash balance is less a safety net and more a measure of drill-metre capacity. Enegex can now fund:

• Completion of the 3,000–3,500m Gogo RC program and assay results;
• The planned deeper RC program at Tougbe;
• Additional AC or auger work to generate further targets;
• Working capital for field seasons through 2027.

The operational question is whether logistics, rig availability, and weather allow the company to translate cash into metres on schedule. Any delay – a rig breakdown, seasonal rains, or slower-than-expected assay turnaround – reduces the effective exploration throughput and can cause the stock to drift between catalysts. Enegex’s current momentum is high. Execution in the field remains the principal risk.

The Gold Price Backdrop

Gold remains in a favourable macro environment, trading near all-time highs as real rates and fiscal concerns support safe-haven demand. For junior explorers, a strong gold price expands the pool of investable discovery stories and lifts the price deck that investors mentally apply to early-stage intercepts. A sustained pullback in gold, however, would reduce risk appetite across the sector. Traders can monitor the broader macro picture through gold profile.

What Would Confirm the Setup, and What Would Break It

Confirming signals:

• Gogo RC results next month deliver multiple intervals of shallow oxide gold with grades above 1 g/t and widths exceeding 10 metres, extending the artisanal zone down-dip.
• Tougbe RC later this year hits consistent mineralisation with clear orientation and visible continuity; a few holes with 4 metres at >5 g/t would be sufficient.
• Drill metre throughput stays on schedule; no operational delays.
• Gold prices remain elevated, keeping the sector’s risk appetite intact.

Breaking signals:

• Gogo RC results disappoint: narrow intercepts, sub-economic grades, or a failure to extend mineralisation below the oxide profile.
• Tougbe orientation issues persist and no economic continuity emerges, rendering the AC hits a surface phenomenon.
• Operational delays – rig issues, assay lab backlogs, or seasonal rains – consume cash without producing a catalyst, forcing a capital raise before the discovery thesis matures.
• A sharp gold sell-off that compresses valuations of pre-resource explorers, irrespective of project merit.

Enegex now has three things that often precede a re-rating in the junior gold space: a funded drill program with clearly defined targets, a permit runway that removes regulatory risk, and near-term assay results that can shift the narrative overnight. The stock is essentially a call option on what the Gogo RC program delivers next month. The risk-reward in the next four to six weeks is asymmetric because a material discovery intercept is not priced in. The cash and permit provide a floor on the downside. The critical variable is not the existence of gold – the AC grades already confirm that. It is whether the upcoming RC drilling can convert those shallow hits into a coherent, continuous mineralised system with scale.