Peak Hill Option Exercise and Equity Raise
Summary by AI BETAClose X
28 August 2026
Forgent plc
("Forgent" or the "Company")
Peak Hill interest increased to 99% with major Phase 2 Drilling Programme commencing this week
Equity placing raises £0.8m (gross) to fund acquisition, drilling and working capital
Curley's prospect and the larger previously undrilled high-priority exploration corridor, Cathedral prospect, to be principal focus of next exploration phase
Forgent plc (AIM: FORG), the Australian-focused critical and precious minerals explorer, is pleased to announce that, ahead of the commencement this week of its substantially expanded Phase 2 drilling programme, it has exercised the option to increase its interest in the Peak Hill Gold-Copper Project ("Peak Hill") to 99%. The Company also announces an equity placing to raise £0.8 million (before expenses) ("Placing").
Highlights
· Phase 2 drilling commencing on 1 September 2026, with rig secured and approvals in place
· Major ~8,700m programme comprising approximately 130 shallow holes over an expected 60-day campaign
· Forgent has exercised the option to increase ownership of Peak Hill from 51% to 99%
· Programme to test two priority areas: Curley's, following encouraging Phase 1 gold and copper results, and Cathedral, a large, undrilled high-priority exploration target
o Approximately 18 follow-up drill holes planned at Curley's on a 100m x 40m grid.
o Approximately 112 drill holes planned at Cathedral prospect across six broad north-south traverses at approximately 80m spacing in the first systematic drill testing of this area.
· Cathedral drilling is targeting a large magnetic feature, overlain by elevated surface gold geochemical samples up to 26g/t and areas where gold nuggets have recently been recovered.
· Curly's drilling will be targeting the significant gold and copper intersected in Phase 1 on a smaller drill spacing frequency.
· Rig mobilising this weekend with drilling scheduled to commence on 1 September 2026, and permitting already in place.
· The Placing funds the Peak Hill increase to 99% ownership, Phase 2 drilling and near-term general working capital
James Parsons, CEO of Forgent plc, commented:
"This is an important moment for Forgent. We are increasing our ownership of Peak Hill to 99% and, at the same time, commencing a large drilling programme.
Phase 1 gave us encouraging gold and copper mineralisation at Curley's and helped identify what we believe could be the much larger prize: a significant, previously undrilled exploration area where the geophysics coincide with surface gold indications of up to 26g/t and the recent recovery of gold nuggets.
With approximately 130 holes and 8,700 metres of drilling planned, Phase 2 is designed to identify whether Curley's has meaningful continuity and scale and whether the much larger undrilled area represents a significant new gold discovery opportunity.
The rig is secured, approvals are in place and drilling starts early next week. With Forgent now moving to 99% ownership, we will have substantially all of the exposure to exploration success."
Peak Hill Option Exercise
Forgent has exercised the remainder of its binding exclusive option over Peak Hill, initially announced on 29 January 2026. The Company has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a further 48% interest in the Project which will position the Company with a total 99% interest.
Pursuant to the previously announced option terms, the consideration payable for the additional 48% will be shortly satisfied through US$193,940 (£142,119) in cash and the issue of 7,440,168,111 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "Consideration Shares"). The Consideration Shares are being issued by reference to the Placing price.
Phase 2 Drilling Programme
The Company's successful Phase 1 drilling programme, completed in July 2026, confirmed gold mineralisation across multiple target areas at Peak Hill and significantly enhanced its understanding of the project. At the Curley's prospect, the Company previously reported encouraging gold mineralisation, including 2m @ 3.68g/t Au from 50m, confirming the prospectivity of the target.
Subsequent multi-element analysis has also identified encouraging copper intersections, including 18 metres grading 0.24% Cu from 48m and 3 metres grading 0.24% Cu from 42m. Together with the previously announced hi-grade gold mineralisation and the broader multi-element geochemical signature, these results have materially enhanced the Company's geological understanding of the Curley's prospect and strengthened the case for immediate follow-up drilling.
In parallel, interpretation of the Phase 1 drilling programme together with broader geophysical and surface geochemical datasets has identified a significant previously undrilled area at the Cathedral Prospect (Figure 2), as a high-priority exploration target. The area contains magnetic features of interest together with anomalous surficial gold locations, including a 26 g/t Au geochemical sample and an area where gold nuggets were found in June 2026. Phase 2 will provide the first systematic drill test of this target through broad north-south traverses designed to assess the prospective geology and identify zones for more focused follow-up drilling.
Accordingly, the Phase 2 programme has been designed to:
· Follow up the encouraging results at the Curley's prospect through approximately 18 drill holes on a 100m x 40m grid, targeting the best Phase 1 gold and copper intercepts.
· Undertake the first systematic drilling of the previously undrilled high-priority exploration area through approximately 112 drill holes at approximately 80 metre spacing along six broad north-south traverses, targeting magnetic features of interest and anomalous surficial gold locations.
· Refine the Company's geological model and identify priority targets for future drilling.
The programme is planned primarily as a shallow air-core drilling campaign comprising approximately 130 holes for approximately 8,700 metres of drilling in total. Air-core drilling will be utilised wherever practicable, reflecting its lower cost and suitability, with the rig moving to reverse circulation drilling where local ground conditions require.
The rig is mobilising to site this weekend with drilling is scheduled to commence on 1 September 2026. The Company will utilise its existing Programme of Work approvals, enabling immediate mobilisation.
The programme is expected to take approximately 60 days at an estimated total cost of approximately A$550,000. The Company intends to assay the Curley's drilling for gold and multi-element geochemistry, with drilling across the previously undrilled exploration area initially assayed for gold.
The results of Phase 2 will be used to refine the Company's geological model and determine priority targets and drilling methodologies for subsequent exploration at Peak Hill, subject to securing funding.
The Placing and issue of shares
The Company has raised £0.8 million through a placing of new ordinary shares at a price of 0.009 pence per share (the "Placing Price"). The Placing Price represents a modest discount to the prevailing mid price and the Placing will result in the issue of 8,888,888,889 new ordinary shares ("Placing Shares"), representing approximately 20% of the issued share capital as enlarged by the Placing, Consideration Shares and Fee Shares (as defined below) (the "Enlarged Share Capital").
Subscribers shall, for every two new ordinary shares subscribed in the Placing, receive one warrant ("Warrant"), exercisable at 0.012p per ordinary share up to 27 August 2028. As a result of the Placing, 4,444,444,444 Warrants are therefore being issued.
The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to fund the cash consideration for the exercise of the balance of the Peak Hill option, the Phase 2 drilling at Peak Hill and to provide an additional approximately 3 months' working capital, conservatively assuming continuation of the legacy gasification cost base.
In addition, fees payable in connection with the Placing will be settled through the issue of 1,777,777,778 new ordinary shares ("Fee Shares") and historic adviser fees are intended to be settled through the issue of 555,555,555 new ordinary shares ("Creditor Shares"), in each case by reference to the Placing Price.
The Placing Shares, Consideration Shares, Fee Shares and Creditor Shares are being issued under the Company's existing share authorities.
Admission and Total Voting Rights
Applications are being made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares, Consideration Shares, Fee Shares and Creditor Shares to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will become effective and that dealings on AIM will commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 4 September 2026 ("Admission").
The new ordinary shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing Ordinary Shares.
Following Admission, there will be 44,416,018,333 Ordinary Shares in issue. The Company holds no Ordinary Shares in Treasury. This number may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
For further information on Forgent plc, visit the Company's website www.forgentplc.com or contact:
ENQUIRIES
FORGENT plc
James Parsons
c/o Camarco
Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser
James Harris / Richard Johnson
Tel: +44 20 7409 3494
Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd - Broker
Christopher Kipling / Samantha Esqulant
Tel: +44 20 7048 9045
Camarco - Financial PR
Billy Clegg / Georgia Edmonds / Fergus Young
Tel: 0203 757 4980
Email: forgent@camarco.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Forgent plc is an Australian-focused critical and precious metals exploration company focused on acquiring and advancing gold, copper and nickel assets with existing mineralisation, extensive historical datasets and clear pathways to value creation, supported by an experienced management and technical team.
The Company is strategically positioned to benefit from structural demand for copper, gold and nickel, driven by electrification, data centre investment, electric vehicle adoption and gold's continued role as a safe-haven asset and central bank reserve holding.
Forgent's portfolio includes Peak Hill, an advanced gold-copper exploration project; Mount Sholl, a nickel-copper-PGE project with a JORC-compliant resource and significant exploration target; and Green Rocks, a copper-gold project with high-grade surface mineralisation.
Follow Forgent on:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/forgentplc/
This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended, and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that Regulation.
Competent Person's Statement
The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results, mineral resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by Mr Edward Mead, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Mead is a consultant to the Company. Mr Mead has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the `Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (the JORC Code). Mr Mead consents to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears in this announcement.
Figure 1. Peak Hill Project location map showing proximity to processing plants
Figure 2. Peak Hill Project design drill holes at Curley's and Cathedral prospects
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