VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  USANewsGroup.com Commentary — Gold exploration budgets hit $6.2 billion in 2025, up 11% and now accounting for half of all global exploration spending^[1]. The reason is simple: the world's biggest gold miners are forecasting production declines for 2026 because they're depleting reserves faster than they can find new ones^[2]. That puts a premium on the juniors doing early stage discovery work in districts the majors haven't touched yet, and five companies are running exactly those programs right now: Golden Goose Resources (CSE: GGR) (OTCQB: GGRFF), Founders Metals (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF), First Mining Gold (TSX: FF) (OTCQX: FFMGF), GoldMining (NYSE-A: GLDG) (TSX: GOLD), and San Lorenzo Gold (TSXV: SLG) (OTCPK: SNLGF) are each advancing systematic field programs.

The price backdrop makes the timing pivotal. A Reuters poll of 30 analysts puts the median 2026 gold forecast at a record $4,746 per ounce, with several major banks targeting $5,000 to $6,000^[3]. Meanwhile, grassroots exploration has collapsed to an all-time low of 21% of global budgets^[4]; the industry is pouring money into extensions of known deposits instead of looking for new ones. That bottleneck is exactly why early-stage discoverers working underexplored ground sit at the front of the supply pipeline.

Golden Goose Resources (CSE: GGR) (OTCQB: GGRFF) recently kicked off the first phase of field work at its Gran Esperanza gold-silver project in Argentina's Río Negro Province. Geological crews are now on the ground, running systematic mapping and channel sampling across the 44,400-hectare property.

The target is an epithermal vein system, the type of geological structure behind many of the world's highest-grade gold deposits. Teams are sampling exposed quartz veins at roughly 50-metre intervals and mapping the structural geology within key mineralized corridors. The goal is to pin down where gold and silver grades are strongest and most consistent.

What makes this phase important is what it sets up. The data being collected is designed to build the technical case for diamond drilling, which is the step that moves an exploration property from "promising" to something that can carry a formal resource estimate. For a company at this stage, that is the milestone the market watches for.

The historical results explain why the ground work is worth doing. Channel samples from Gran Esperanza have returned 2.0 metres at 24.0 g/t gold, 5.0 metres at 13.1 g/t gold, and 1.3 metres at 11.5 g/t gold, with rock chips grading up to 24.4 g/t gold. A site visit back in December pulled a rock chip at 14.34 g/t gold. Previous work on the property totalled 30 trenches across 2,937 metres of exposed veins, 690 channel samples, and over 10 kilometres of mapped epithermal vein trend.

Location adds context. Gran Esperanza sits adjacent to a gold project currently being drilled by Southern Copper and near the Calcatreu Project, which is already in active development. That kind of neighbourhood confirms the broader district has attracted serious capital and serious operators.

"We are pleased to initiate this important phase of exploration at Gran Esperanza," said Dustin Nanos, CEO of Golden Goose. "This systematic program is designed to generate critical geological and geochemical data that will enhance our understanding of the scale and continuity of mineralization on the Property. Our objective is to methodically advance the Project and establish a strong technical foundation for additional programs including diamond drilling."

The property is accessible year-round and sits two kilometres from a highway, which keeps logistics simple and field costs predictable as the program scales. Beyond Gran Esperanza, GGR holds the Goldfire Property in Quebec near Gold Fields' Windfall Project, and a controlling interest in the El Quemado Project in Salta Province, Argentina.

CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Golden Goose Resources at:

https://usanewsgroup.com/2026/01/28/two-gold-projects-two-major-neighbors-what-does-this-junior-know-that-the-market-doesnt/

In other industry developments:

Founders Metals (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) has reached a significant recognition milestone after being added to the GDXJ index as part of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index Q1 2026 quarterly review, triggering passive buying from index-tracking ETFs. Simultaneously, the company commenced maiden diamond drilling at Antino North on its Antino Gold Project in southeastern Suriname, where field work has delineated ten parallel gold-bearing structures across a 4 km area, with previous channel sampling returning 20.0 m of 2.07 g/t Au including 7.0 m of 5.05 g/t Au.

"Our inclusion in the GDXJ index is a meaningful milestone for Founders and reflects the market's growing recognition of what we are building in the Guiana Shield and brings new passive and institutional capital into the stock," said Colin Padget, CEO of Founders Metals. "We see Antino North as having the potential to become a second centre of gravity within our expanding gold camp."

A second diamond drill rig is being mobilized to test a multi-kilometer historical auger gold anomaly in the eastern portion of Antino North, expanding the program's footprint considerably. Founders controls a 102,360-hectare contiguous land package in the Guiana Shield and is backed by strategic partnerships with Gold Fields and B2Gold.

First Mining Gold (TSX: FF) (OTCQX: FFMGF) reported strong drill results from its Duparquet Gold Project in Quebec's Abitibi region, highlighted by 7.18 g/t Au over 8.0 m and 30.58 g/t Au over 1.65 m in hole DUP25-085, while hole DUP25-090 extended mineralization at the Miroir target to a vertical depth of 250 m. The 2025 program totaled 16,577 m of drilling across multiple targets, with Miroir now spanning approximately 150 m of strike length and remaining open at depth and along strike.

"The results from our 2025 drilling program at Duparquet and around the Miroir target continue to demonstrate potential for the Project," said Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining Gold. "The Project's near-surface mineralization footprint continues to be strengthened with our ongoing drilling success while further extending the target at depth, demonstrating Miroir's potential as a resource-growth area at the Duparquet Project."

First Mining has also launched a comprehensive environmental baseline data collection program at Duparquet to advance regulatory approvals, supported by Stantec. A 2026 drilling campaign targeting Miroir and other high-priority zones is expected to commence in Q2, alongside engineering studies advancing toward a potential feasibility study.

GoldMining (NYSE-A: GLDG) (TSX: GOLD) has launched a 2026 drill program at its 100%-owned São Jorge Project in Brazil's Tapajós gold district, deploying two rigs across an 8,000-metre campaign targeting high-priority geochemical and geophysical anomalies. Early results from the William South zone, located within 2 km of the existing deposit, include a standout intercept of 12 m at 2.38 g/t gold, including 1 m at 22 g/t gold.

"This drill program marks a pivotal step in our 2026 exploration strategy at São Jorge," said Alastair Still, CEO of GoldMining. "We are exploring in the prolific Tapajós gold district with an estimated 30 million ounces of historical surficial gold production, and our recent targeting work has outlined some of the most robust and continuous gold anomalies we've seen on our 46,485-hectare property. We already have excellent infrastructure in place, including grid power, highway access, and a fully operational 50-person camp, so more of our dollars can go directly towards potentially expanding our mineral resource estimate."

The broader São Jorge system is defined by a 12 km by 7 km footprint of elevated surface geochemical anomalies, underscoring significant resource expansion potential. The program is fully funded and actively drilling.

San Lorenzo Gold (TSXV: SLG) (OTCPK: SNLGF) has expanded its land position at the Cerro Blanco target of its Salvadora property in Chile by 2,900 hectares, combining an option agreement with Mirasol Resources on the 2,000-hectare Rubi Project and the acquisition of three additional claim blocks totaling 900 hectares. The expansion extends the Cerro Blanco system's north-south strike length from 2 km to 6 km, significantly broadening the exploration footprint on the eastern side of the Salvadora property.

"We are excited to continue our Cerro Blanco exploration efforts 1.7 km north-eastward to the river valley floor where significant alteration is visible," said Terence Walker, VP of Exploration of San Lorenzo Gold. "The combined Cerro Blanco/Rubi target has become even more compelling. It warrants further exploration efforts that include drilling."

San Lorenzo Gold is currently conducting follow-up surface sampling at Cerro Blanco and planning an expanded IP program to generate additional drill targets across the enlarged land package. The Rubi option requires total scheduled payments of US$1,550,000 and minimum expenditure commitments of US$650,000 to earn a 70% project interest.

Further Reading: https://usanewsgroup.com/2026/01/28/two-gold-projects-two-major-neighbors-what-does-this-junior-know-that-the-market-doesnt/

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SOURCES:

1. https://www.gold.org/goldhub/gold-focus/2026/03/you-asked-we-answered-are-we-running-out-gold
2. https://www.devere-group.com/gold-price-predictions-yellow-metal-to-hit-6000-in-2026/
3. https://www.miningvisuals.com/post/2025-global-exploration-budget-by-commodity