Drilling Hits Observable Scheelite as Gold-Tungsten Explorer Advances Yukon Program

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1. James Guttman wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Aben Gold Corp. (ABM:TSXV; ABNAF:OTCQB) reported that it had completed three diamond drill holes and started a fourth at its 100%-owned Justin gold-tungsten project in southeastern Yukon Territory as part of its fully financed 2026 drill program.

As of the August 30, 2026, daily field report, Aben had completed 766 meters of diamond drilling over 21 operating days, averaging 35.0 meters per day. The company had collected 785 core samples. The 2026 program is planned for approximately 1,300 meters.

The first three holes were completed at the POW zone. JN26-001 was drilled to a final depth of 265.3 meters after starting August 8 and finishing August 13, with 341 samples collected. JN26-002 was completed on August 21 at a final depth of 207.35 meters, with 227 samples collected. JN26-003 reached a final depth of 250.05 meters and was completed on August 29. Logging is complete, with 217 samples outlined to date.

Cutting of JN26-001 has been completed, and its 341 samples were dispatched on August 26 and submitted to Bureau Veritas for assay. Samples from JN26-002 and JN26-003 were being prepared for a subsequent dispatch. Aben said it was looking at laboratories that may accommodate rush analysis of the JN26-003 samples.

The fourth hole, JN26-004, was underway from pad 2 to follow up on observable scheelite mineralization drilled in JN26-003.

"The 2026 drill program at Justin is advancing well. We have three holes complete, a fourth hole underway at POW, and the first hole already cut and sent to the lab," President and Chief Executive Officer Riley Trimble said. "Getting JN26-001 into the assay queue quickly is a priority so we can begin receiving results during what is surely a busy fall season for labs."

Aben also announced that, subject to regulatory approval, it had engaged Independent Trading Group to provide market-making services in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange policies. ITG will receive CA$6,500 per month, payable monthly in advance. The agreement has an initial one-month term and will renew for additional one-month terms unless terminated. Either party may terminate it with 30 days' notice. ITG will not receive shares or options as compensation, and the agreement contains no performance factors.

Tungsten Supply Tightens as Prices Rise

According to an August 17 report from Fortune Business Insights, the global tungsten market was valued at US$5.43 billion in 2025 and US$5.78 billion in 2026. Asia Pacific accounted for 71.64% of the market in 2025, while North America was valued at US$0.50 billion and the U.S. market at US$0.44 billion.

Fortune Business Insights described rising demand for high-performance, wear-resistant tools as a prominent market trend. Tungsten-based materials were used across mining, construction, automotive, aerospace, and industrial equipment because of their hardness and thermal stability. Citing the International Tungsten Industry Association, the report said "approximately 60–65% of tungsten consumed globally is used in cemented carbides," including cutting tools, drilling equipment, and wear-resistant industrial components.

The report also identified concentrated production as a constraint on the tungsten market. Citing the U.S. Geological Survey, Fortune Business Insights reported that China accounted for about 82% of global tungsten mine production in 2025. It said the concentration of supply created exposure to export controls, trade restrictions, and fluctuations in mining output, while new mines required substantial capital investment, environmental compliance, and lengthy development timelines.

That supply concentration was also central to research published September 1 by The Oregon Group. The group reported that tungsten prices had increased approximately 310% between January and July, with the APT CIF benchmark rising from approximately US$83 per kilogram WO₃ to US$340 per kilogram WO₃. Its research found that China had produced 67,000 of the 85,000 tonnes of tungsten mined globally in 2025, or approximately 79%, and controlled roughly 85% of global APT refining capacity.

"Tungsten is sending an unusually strong price signal, but the supply response is still constrained," The Oregon Group founder Anthony Milewski said. "The issue is no longer whether tungsten prices are high enough to justify new mines. The issue is whether those mines can be financed, permitted, built, commissioned, and qualified quickly enough to meet Western demand."

The Oregon Group estimated that 11 announced mining projects could add nearly 20,000 tonnes of annual tungsten capacity outside China by 2030. Its research estimated that even if all of those projects arrived on schedule, an approximately 16,000-tonne primary supply gap outside China would remain. Accessible mines outside China were projected to satisfy approximately 68% of the projected primary demand outside China by 2030.

The research also pointed to changes in U.S. defense procurement rules scheduled for Jan. 1, 2027. The rules would generally prohibit the acquisition of specified tungsten materials mined, refined, or produced in China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran. The United States had not mined tungsten commercially since 2015 and remained more than 50% reliant on imports in 2025.

"The significance of tungsten is not determined by the size of the market," Milewski said. "It is determined by what stops working when secure tungsten supply is unavailable. Defense, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and energy infrastructure all depend on materials with properties that are extremely difficult to replace."

Milewski said the challenge extended beyond commodity pricing to the development of physical supply. "Tungsten does not lack a price signal," he said. "It lacks enough financed, permitted, and qualified production linked to secure refining and recycling capacity."

Third Party on Aben's Advancement

On September 3, Bob Moriarty of 321Gold.com sent Streetwise Reports the following quote on Aben.

Moriarty wrote, "Aben Gold has spent three years in the lonely wilderness howling at the full moon before coming to life again in January when gold finally woke up. They sold off one non-core project to Kingfisher for which they will get about $2.5 million in cash and shares. With the advance in the price of gold, the company was able to conduct some private placements to allow it to drill its Justin gold/tungsten property in the Yukon. Drilling a 1,500-meter program has begun, with three holes already completed. They are drilling a portion of the project that has already had some excellent drill results in the past, so they are going to have to work pretty hard to screw it up. With somewhere about 55 million shares, including warrants, the company reported about $4 million in cash at June 30, 2026, with only a $7 million market cap."

Drilling, Sampling, and Untested Targets Define the 2026 Work Program

The company's Q2 2026 materials outlined a two-phase exploration program at Justin involving soil and rock sampling, geological mapping, and drilling at the POW and Lost Ace zones. The property is 100% owned and covers 18,314 acres in southeastern Yukon. The materials reported approximately 4,000 meters of historical drilling across 19 holes, with 10 holes intersecting gold mineralization.

Phase 1 called for grid soil sampling in the southeastern portion of the POW target area and at Lost Ace, approximately two kilometers northwest of the POW zone. The planned grid uses 100-meter line spacing and 50-meter station spacing. A total of 600 soil samples and 80 rock samples were budgeted, although additional soil sampling could be completed if fewer rock samples were taken. Rock sampling was to be conducted where warranted. Geological mapping was designed to further delineate the extent of both the POW and Lost Ace zones.

Phase 2 outlined three to four drill holes averaging 300 meters in length, with the POW zone as the primary target. The drilling was designed to delineate the full extent of intrusion-related mineralization and identify the presence of cupolas. The program materials also called for three to four holes testing the Lost Ace zone.

The company's 2024 QMAGT survey identified NNE- and NW-SE-oriented fault structures, while both Lost Ace and POW are located in areas containing complex structural intersections alongside bodies with strong magnetic response. The area between the two zones contains coincident geophysical and gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies and was described in the Q2 materials as underexplored and undrilled.

Lost Ace itself had not yet been diamond drill tested at the time of the Q2 materials. Channel sampling conducted there in 2017 returned 20.8 grams per tonne gold over 4.4 meters, including 88.2 g/t gold over 1 meter. High-grade gold samples were also collected within 20 meters of the location of a previous 2017 gold-grain bulk sample.

At POW, historical drilling included JN11009, which intersected 60.00 meters of 1.25 g/t gold, including 21.0 meters of 2.47 g/t gold. JN11010 intersected 12 meters of 2.52 g/t gold and 29.53 g/t silver, while JN12011 intersected 46.6 meters of 1.49 g/t gold. JN12016 returned 8.50 meters of 0.39% WO₃, including 1.00 meter of 1.12% WO₃, along with 5.60 meters of 4.12 g/t gold, including 2.60 meters of 8.20 g/t gold.

The Q2 materials also detailed a 2014 re-assay program in which 230 drill core samples from seven of nine previously drilled POW holes were analyzed for tungsten-specific WO₃ content after visible scheelite mineralization was identified using short-wave ultraviolet lamps. Historical results included 28.90 meters of 0.10% WO₃ near surface in JN12013, plus 1.10 meters of 1.15% WO₃. That hole also contained 7.40 meters of 1.81 g/t gold, including 2.20 meters of 4.42 g/t gold. JN11010 returned 12.00 meters of 0.25% WO₃, while JN12019 returned 7.20 meters of 0.27% WO₃. The company stated that the tungsten results are historical and are not being treated as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

Ownership & Share Information¹

Aben Gold Corp. has a market cap of CA$6.30 million, with 35 million shares outstanding. The company's 52-week range is CA$0.06-CA$0.30.

Management & Insiders own 5.95% of shares, while the remaining 94.05% of shares are held by Retail.