Highlights

  • RC drilling at Eastern Shoreline returned 18 metres at 5.05% total heavy mineral content, within a broader 72-metre-wide mineralised zone.
  • A second palaeoshoreline has been identified about 750 metres east of the first, expanding the target area to more than three kilometres of prospective strike.
  • Heavy mineral assemblage at Eastern Shoreline is dominated by ilmenite, with zircon and leucoxene also present.
  • McLaren Minerals holds over 500 square kilometres of mineral sands exploration tenure in Western Australia's south-west.

McLaren Minerals Limited (ASX:MML) has expanded the footprint of its Eastern Shoreline mineral sands project in Western Australia, identifying a second palaeoshoreline roughly 750 metres east of the first after reverse circulation drilling returned an 18-metre intercept at 5.05% total heavy mineral from 4 metres depth.

The Drilling Results

The program comprised 41 RC holes across two north-south traverses at Eastern Shoreline. The headline intercept of 18m at 5.05% HM from 4m was in hole ESRC033, with the broader mineralised zone in that hole measuring 72 metres wide at a lower average grade. Several other holes returned intercepts of 10–20 metres at 2–4% HM. The company said mineralisation is consistent with a strand-plain accumulation along a buried shoreline, with clean, free-flowing sand host rock. Ilmenite is the dominant heavy mineral, followed by zircon and leucoxene. Leucoxene is a weathered derivative of ilmenite and can carry a premium in certain markets depending on TiO2 content, though no assays for individual mineral proportions were released in the announcement.

Second Palaeoshoreline

The second palaeoshoreline was defined by several holes returning anomalous HM in a zone parallel to, and about 750 metres east of, the first shoreline trend. McLaren said the two-shoreline system extends the prospective strike at Eastern Shoreline to more than three kilometres. The eastern strand is less drilled, and step-out holes are needed to confirm its continuity. The company drew comparison to other established strand-plain mineral sand deposits in the south-west of Western Australia, though no resource estimate exists at Eastern Shoreline.

Project Context and Cash

McLaren holds six projects covering more than 500 square kilometres in Western Australia's Eucla Basin and south-west region. The company held A$2.3 million in cash at 30 September 2026 and said it was evaluating a resource drilling program for Eastern Shoreline. A small capital raising completed in October 2026 added working capital ahead of a planned follow-up drill campaign; details were not provided in the documents reviewed.