Is Wishbone Gold’s Q4 drill acceleration enough to sustain retail momentum after the pullback?

Wishbone Gold Plc (LON: WSBN) stock tumbled 14.64% on October 17 to GBX 1.20 despite launching a 5,000m Reverse Circulation drill program at its Red Setter Gold Dome Project. Can the exploration rally sustain without assay confirmation?

Wishbone Gold Plc, the London-listed gold exploration company focused on Western Australia, has officially entered a high-activity drilling phase at its flagship Red Setter Gold Dome Project. The company’s announcement of an intensified exploration campaign, funded by a recent £4 million raise, has triggered mixed reactions in the market. While investor enthusiasm had driven WSBN shares from under GBX 0.50 in July to a peak of nearly GBX 1.80 by mid-September, the stock experienced a sharp correction on October 17, closing down 14.64% at GBX 1.20.

This pullback comes at a critical moment for Wishbone Gold Plc, which is seeking to validate its speculative valuation through geological results. The current program includes both deep diamond drilling and a newly launched Reverse Circulation phase, which is set to add 5,000 meters of high-capacity, multi-target probing into shallower zones.

According to the latest operational update, the diamond drill on hole #25RSDD002 has reached a depth of 950 meters. The next planned hole, #25RSDD003, is being drilled approximately 1.6 kilometers to the north and follows up on a previously promising intercept from hole WRSDD0008, which reported 7 meters at 2 grams per tonne of gold and 0.38% copper from a depth of 273 meters.

Why is the Red Setter Gold Dome Project generating a surge in speculative interest in late 2025?

Wishbone Gold’s Red Setter Gold Dome Project is located approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Telfer gold-copper mine operated by Greatland Gold Plc, one of the Paterson Range’s most established assets. This proximity to proven mineral endowments adds an implicit layer of geological de-risking to Wishbone’s exploration efforts, particularly as the region remains underexplored compared to Australia’s more mature mining corridors.

The 2023 drilling campaign had already yielded indications of copper-gold mineralisation at relatively shallow depths. The new focus, however, is broader in ambition: targeting deeper high-grade structures while also investigating shallow mineralised halos surrounding a diorite dyke. The arrival of the Schramm T685i (DR21) Reverse Circulation rig is a crucial move in this regard. Capable of drilling to 700 meters with 35-tonne pullback and hands-free rod handling, the rig is expected to speed up progress, reduce overburden delays, and provide cleaner sampling intervals.

This dual-pronged strategy—combining RC and diamond drilling—is widely used in tier-one exploration programs and is seen as a sign that Wishbone is attempting to scale up both its technical rigor and its pace of execution.

What are the technical and institutional signals from the recent WSBN price trend?

Between October 2024 and June 2025, shares of Wishbone Gold Plc traded with minimal activity, hovering below GBX 0.50 for much of the period. The narrative began shifting in mid-July when the company announced intensified exploration activities and raised fresh capital. That triggered a classic junior-miner rally driven primarily by retail flows, pushing the share price up by more than 200% within six weeks.

Technical chart patterns from the 1-year graph indicate a sharp breakout that topped around GBX 1.80 in mid-September before stabilising in the GBX 1.25 to GBX 1.50 range. However, the sudden 14.64% drop on October 17 marks the largest single-day decline in over three months and raises questions about sentiment fragility.

Analysts tracking the AIM space generally agree that share price momentum in junior explorers without a compliant resource estimate is highly sensitive to news cycles. With no fresh assay results disclosed yet from the new drilling campaign, the October correction likely reflects a classic case of speculative exhaustion—amplified by the delay between drilling updates and lab assays being processed at ALS Laboratories in Perth.

How are retail and institutional investors interpreting the ramp-up in drill activity?

The sentiment among retail investors remains cautiously optimistic. The company’s director for Western Australia, Ed Mead, has provided detailed commentary positioning the dual-rig strategy as a step-change in operational efficiency. By tasking the Reverse Circulation rig with drilling water bores and pre-collars, the diamond drill is freed up to focus exclusively on target zones—thereby reducing time and cost per hole.

This message appears to be resonating with retail forums and junior miner watchlists, where Wishbone Gold has re-emerged as a high-conviction momentum play. However, institutional investors are likely to remain on the sidelines until the company reports confirmed mineralisation across multiple drill holes.

The upcoming results from hole #25RSDD002 are seen as particularly critical. Core samples from this hole have reportedly intersected multiple zones of fracturing with visible pyrite—often a precursor to gold-bearing structures in the region. If laboratory results confirm the presence of high-grade intercepts, it could trigger renewed buying pressure and possibly institutional entry.

What does the £4 million raise imply for Wishbone’s cash runway and operational cadence?

The capital raise completed earlier in 2025 provides Wishbone Gold with a critical liquidity buffer heading into the high-activity phase of its exploration calendar. Based on comparable drill programs in Western Australia, a dual-rig operation over 5,000 meters can consume upwards of GBP 1.5–2 million in direct drilling and logistics costs alone.

The deployment of a high-capacity RC rig with the ability to drill pre-collars also means the company is creating optionality in its program architecture. Should assay results from the early holes justify follow-up campaigns, the current setup allows for near-immediate scaling without the need to remobilize assets.

However, this runway is not indefinite. By Q1 2026, the company may need to revisit capital markets for additional funds—especially if it chooses to expand beyond the current 5,000-meter contract. That places a degree of urgency on early assay results translating into investor confidence and newsflow momentum.

What are the upcoming catalysts that could move WSBN’s valuation meaningfully?

Three key catalysts will shape the near-term trajectory of Wishbone Gold’s market performance. The first is assay data from hole #25RSDD002, which is now en route to Perth. Any grade above 2 grams per tonne over multi-meter intervals will likely be seen as material at this stage of development. The second is operational updates from the RC rig, particularly if shallower mineralisation from past campaigns is confirmed and extended. And the third is any indication of structural continuity between previously drilled intercepts and new target zones under evaluation.

Another potential driver lies in comparative valuation. Companies with similar geological setups in the Paterson Range have attracted joint venture or buy-in interest once early drilling has confirmed continuity and grade. If Wishbone’s results align with regional analogues, investor interest may broaden to include institutional participation or strategic suitors.

Until then, however, WSBN remains a largely retail-driven story where sentiment swings can be swift and steep, particularly in the absence of tangible assay confirmation.

What should retail traders and junior mining investors track through Q4 and into early 2026?

From a risk management perspective, investors will be monitoring whether the GBX 1.20 level holds as a psychological support after the October 17 decline. Resistance near GBX 1.50 will likely serve as a technical cap unless fresh geological data justifies a breakout.

From a fundamental lens, progress updates on drill depths, water bore installation, rig uptime, and lab turnaround times will serve as indirect indicators of execution quality. Investors should also track cash outflows tied to the drill program and assess whether the pace of capital deployment matches the quality of disclosed results.

If Wishbone can maintain a steady stream of operational updates while turning around early assay data within reasonable timelines, the stock could remain a volatile but tradable exploration play through year-end. On the flip side, prolonged data gaps or underwhelming intercepts may deflate recent enthusiasm.

Key takeaways from the Wishbone Gold Red Setter drill update and market reaction

• WSBN share price dropped 14.64% on October 17, closing at GBX 1.20 after peaking near GBX 1.80 in mid-September, reflecting sentiment volatility ahead of assay results.

• The company launched a 5,000-meter Reverse Circulation drill program at its Red Setter Gold Dome Project in Western Australia, complementing deep diamond drilling already in progress.

• Diamond drill hole #25RSDD002 reached 950 meters, with core showing zones of fracturing and pyrite; samples are now being sent to ALS Laboratories in Perth for assay.

• Hole #25RSDD003 targets a 2023 mineralized zone, previously intersected at 7 meters @ 2g/t Au and 0.38% Cu from 273 meters depth.

• The Schramm T685i (DR21) RC rig is expected to improve efficiency, enabling faster pre-collars, shallow intercept targeting, and water bore drilling.

• Retail investors have driven recent momentum, with institutional buyers likely to wait for assay confirmation before entering.

• The £4 million raised earlier this year is funding the expanded program, but further capital may be required in early 2026 depending on results and scope.

• Catalysts to watch include assay results from hole #25RSDD002, RC rig progress, and any signs of structural continuity in mineralization across the Red Setter target.