Highlights

  • All five RC holes at Providence intersected gold; best result is 5 metres at 6.4 g/t from 113 metres in hole 26MNRC0041, including 1 metre at 28.2 g/t.
  • Results interpreted as a new shallow northwest-striking structure, parallel to and approximately 50–75 metres northwest of the known Providence resource.
  • New structure remains open to the northwest; follow-up drilling is planned to test the along-strike and depth potential.
  • Providence resource currently totals 204,700 tonnes at 2.5 g/t for 16,400 ounces — a small but open resource with multiple target extensions.

Five holes drilled, five holes with gold. That is an unusually clean sweep for any exploration programme, and Desert Minerals (ASX:DSM) reported exactly that result from its recent RC campaign at the Providence prospect within the Mt Monger project in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, where a new structural trend has emerged northwest of the existing resource.

The Drilling Results

The five-hole RC programme totalled 1,020 metres across the Providence prospect. All five holes returned gold mineralisation. The standout was hole 26MNRC0041, which intersected 5 metres at 6.4 g/t gold from 113 metres, including 1 metre at 28.2 g/t. The remaining four holes — 26MNRC0038, 0039, 0040 and 0042 — also intersected gold, with widths and grades in a range consistent with the shallow, structurally hosted style of mineralisation expected at Providence. Full results for all five holes are in the company's announcement of 29 October 2026.

A New Structure Northwest of Providence

The geological interpretation identifies the 26MNRC0041 result as part of a new shallow structure trending to the northwest, separate from the corridor hosting the existing Providence resource. The new structure lies approximately 50–75 metres northwest of the known resource, is parallel to it in orientation, and is open to the northwest — meaning that mineralisation has not yet been closed off in that direction by drilling. That combination — parallel, nearby, open — is the textbook setup for follow-up RC holes along strike.

The Providence Resource

Providence currently hosts a mineral resource of 204,700 tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold for 16,400 ounces under the JORC 2012 Code. All ounces are classified as Inferred. The resource is small and shallow, confined to the upper portion of the gold-bearing structure. The existing resource and the new northwest structure are likely to be treated separately in any updated resource estimate, depending on the continuity demonstrated by follow-up drilling.

Mt Monger Project Context

Mt Monger covers ground in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, approximately 65 kilometres southeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The project area is prospective for mesothermal gold mineralisation hosted in shear zones in the Archaean greenstone sequence — the same geological setting that hosts the Super Pit and multiple other major gold mines. Desert Minerals is at the early exploration stage, with Providence being one of several prospects identified within the project. No mining studies have been undertaken at any prospect within Mt Monger.