Key Highlights

  • Diamond hole 26HHDD035 returned 34.9 metres at 2.3 g/t gold from 398.7 metres downhole.
  • A higher-grade zone of 5.1 metres at 10.3 g/t gold sits within that interval.
  • The hole sits about 150 metres below an earlier intercept, and the zone remains open at depth.
  • Hopes Hill already hosts a resource of 216,000 ounces of gold.

Golden Horse Minerals (ASX:GHM) has reported its deepest gold intercept so far at the Hopes Hill deposit, part of its Southern Cross gold project in Western Australia. Diamond hole 26HHDD035 returned 34.9 metres at 2.3 grams per tonne gold from 398.7 metres downhole, a position more than 300 metres vertically below surface. Within that interval was a higher-grade zone of 5.1 metres at 10.3 g/t from 428.5 metres.

The hole sits about 150 metres below an earlier intercept in 26HHRC139, which returned 27 metres at 1.4 g/t from 179 metres. The company said the zone remains open at depth. A second hole, 26HHRCD168, located around 80 metres from 26HHDD035, returned 18.0 metres at 2.7 g/t from 307 metres, including 7.0 metres at 5.2 g/t from 316 metres.

Shallower and other results

Reverse circulation drilling at Hopes Hill North added shallower results. Hole 26HHRC207 intersected 10 metres at 3.6 g/t from 19 metres and 26HHRC206 returned 17 metres at 1.6 g/t from 62 metres. Reported alongside those results, diamond hole 26HHDD040 returned 3.0 metres at 5.0 g/t from 536 metres. That downhole depth is greater than the point at which the 26HHDD035 interval begins, but drilled and vertical depths differ for angled holes, and the company's description of its deepest result refers to the Hopes Hill South intercept more than 300 metres below surface.

Why the depth matters

Hopes Hill already hosts a resource of 216,000 ounces of gold and lies about 7 kilometres north of the town of Southern Cross. According to the company, mineralisation at surface extends over more than 4 kilometres of strike, and there is a gap of more than 2.8 kilometres that has not been tested at depth. That gap is a sizeable target in its own right, although untested ground carries no assurance that mineralisation is present.

Intercepts that extend a known zone well below previous drilling are significant because they suggest the deposit may continue beyond the depth on which the current resource is based. If continuity can be demonstrated through further drilling, that could support additions to the resource in future, though that is not yet established. Managing director Nicholas Anderson said "this thoroughbred has plenty of run left in the tank", a characterisation that reflects the company's outlook rather than a measured result.

Limitations and uncertainties

The results are from a small number of holes spaced well apart, and grades vary considerably between intercepts. Without true widths, the thickness of mineralisation cannot be assessed accurately, and interpretations of the geometry may change as more holes are drilled. Mineralisation at these depths would probably require underground Mining methods, which typically Demand higher grades and greater Capital than open-pit operations.

Assays from 21 reverse circulation holes are also still pending because of a laboratory backlog, so the full picture from the current round of drilling is not yet available.

Next steps

Golden Horse said the reverse circulation rig will move to regional targets, including the Golden Valley Group and Withers, while aircore drilling is planned at Flemington and Randwick. Extensional and infill drilling at Hopes Hill is planned for calendar 2027, with resource estimation work to follow once further drilling is complete. Results from the 21 pending holes are expected once laboratory processing catches up.