# American Eagle Gold Launches Largest-Ever Drill Program at NAK with More Than 50,000 Metres Planned *2026-05-08T06:00:00-04:00* American Eagle Gold Launches Largest-Ever Drill Program at NAK with More Than 50,000 Metres Planned **Highlights:** - **Drilling commences May 14 with three drill rigs** - **Phase 1 comprises 32 holes totalling 23,000 m, focusing on expansion drilling to increase the delineated footprint of mineralization** - **Phase 1 is 100% skid-accessed drilling utilizing existing trail network** - **Additional drill rigs on standby to accelerate the program as the season progresses** - **Phase 2 infill and expansion drilling anticipated to add ~30,000 m from September 2026 through March 2027** Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 8, 2026) - American Eagle Gold Corp. (TSXV: AE) (OTCQB: AMEGF) (the "Company" or "American Eagle") is pleased to announce its Phase 1 drill program at the NAK property, scheduled to commence May 14, 2026. Ground crews are already on-site preparing access trails and drill pads in advance of the 2026 exploration season. **Phase 1 Drilling** The Phase 1 program comprises approximately 23,000 m across 32 initial drill holes, representing less than half of the total meterage planned for the 2026-2027 drill season. The program has been designed to prioritize expansion of known mineralization, with systematic step-out drilling planned around the entirety of the Babine porphyry stock, the structural core of the NAK property. Select holes will also test higher-grade sub-zones, notably in the South Zone and centrally within the Babine Porphyry stock. All Phase 1 drilling is 100% skid-accessed via the existing historical trail network, enabling efficient mobilization and logistics. [**Click Here to View Phase 1 Drill Plan**](https://api.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/ejXDGUMgEZ) [**Click Here to Watch VP of Exploration Neil Prowse Discuss the Phase 1 Drill Program**](https://api.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/878ExhOzvB) **Looking Ahead: Phase 2** The Phase 2 program, anticipated to run from September 2026 through March 2027, will build on Phase 1 results with infill and further expansion drilling targeting an additional 30,000 m. Winter drilling conditions will allow for aggressive follow-up in areas that may be difficult to access during summer and fall months, when unconsolidated and water-saturated surface cover is at its most challenging. Skid-accessed drilling provides considerable flexibility in program design, allowing hole orientations and sequencing to be continuously optimized as new geological and structural data are acquired, particularly in areas distal to zones of higher data density. The Phase 2 program will be designed to support the Company's initial Mineral Resource Estimate with the highest possible degree of confidence, while ensuring the full extent of the NAK mineralizing system is captured. **Addition to Technical and Advisory Team** American Eagle Gold is further strengthening its technical team by hiring Pierre Luc Richard, P.Geo, as a consultant to assist in moving the NAK Project forward through exploration to development. Pierre-Luc is President of PLR Resources Inc and has over 20 years of experience in the mining industry. Mr. Richard has a strong experience base on all aspects of exploration and mining operations, including project evaluation, mineral resource estimates, and project development. Specializing in mineral resource estimates and project evaluation for both potential acquisitions and corporate guidance, Mr. Richard has been contributing to more than 300 mandates for close to 100 different companies during his ongoing consulting career and authored/coordinated more than 100 Technical Reports under NI 43-101 Regulations and JORC. Mr. Richard will provide guidance to the Companies exploration team as drilling progresses toward an initial resource estimate. **About American Eagle's NAK Project** The NAK Project lies within the Babine copper-gold porphyry district of central British Columbia, in Lake Babine Nation traditional territory. It has excellent infrastructure through all-season roads and is close to the towns of Smithers, Houston, and Burns Lake, B.C., which lie along a major rail line and Provincial Highway 16. Historical drilling and geophysical, geological, and geochemical work at NAK, which began in the 1960's revealed a very large near-surface copper-gold system that measured over 1.5 km x 1.5 km. Historical work however, only sparsely tested the system to shallow depths, leaving a compelling exploration target. Drilling initiated by American Eagle in 2022 returned significant intervals of high-grade copper-gold mineralization that reached much deeper than the historical drilling, indicating that zones of near-surface and deeper mineralization, locally with considerably higher grades, exist within the broader NAK property mineralizing system. Subsequent exploration seasons have continued to advance the scale, grade, and tenor of mi