• Hole PHD084 was drilled to 1,651 metres and intersected advanced argillic alteration with low-grade gold and copper mineralisation.
  • The hole did not reach the targeted copper-gold porphyry.
  • A diamond rig is planned to mobilise in November 2026 to drill six holes totalling 6,600 metres, with final assays expected in 2027.

Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX:ALK) has reported results from diamond hole PHD084 at its Peak Hill Gold Project in New South Wales. The company says the hole intersected the continuation of advanced argillic alteration about one kilometre vertically below the Proprietary open cut, together with low-grade gold and copper mineralisation. It also states that the hole did not reach the targeted copper-gold porphyry.

The hole and its results

PHD084 was drilled to a total depth of 1,651 metres at a dip of minus 70 degrees. It sits about 1 kilometre below the base of the Proprietary open cut and 800 metres below the existing underground Inferred Resource, and was designed to test up-flow zones around the Great Eastern and Parkers pits. Alkane reports intervals above a 0.1 grams per tonne gold and, or, 0.05 per cent copper cut-off, and says true width is about 70 per cent of the intercept width.

The two headline intervals are 6.4 metres at 0.42 grams per tonne gold and 0.01 per cent copper from 1,000.6 metres, including 2 metres at 1.02 grams per tonne gold, and a broad 153 metre zone at 0.11 grams per tonne gold and 0.02 per cent copper from 1,427 metres. Within the broad zone, 23 metres at 0.25 grams per tonne gold and 0.03 per cent copper from 1,476 metres includes 4.8 metres at 0.46 grams per tonne gold and 0.06 per cent copper. These are low grades, and the assays are uncut and include internal dilution.

Geological interpretation

Alkane reports phyllic alteration beneath the Great Eastern and Parkers up-flow zones, chlorite alteration, and a second advanced argillic domain about 300 metres downhole to the east. It also identifies anhydrite-quartz veins with chalcopyrite, sericite-pyrite veinlets and pebble dykes as indicators of a nearby magmatic source, and suggests the system may be a cluster of telescoped porphyry intrusions. The company says the lower grades may mark a transition towards a porphyry setting, or that the hole may have clipped the periphery. High-grade silica-pyrite structures may exist within the pipe but were not intercepted.

Existing resource and funding

Peak Hill is a former open-pit gold mine under care and maintenance and is 100 per cent owned, about 60 kilometres south-west of Dubbo and 10 kilometres south of the Tomingley Gold Operations. The existing underground Mineral Resource is an Inferred estimate of 1.02 million tonnes at 3.29 grams per tonne gold and 0.15 per cent copper for 108,000 ounces of gold, reported at a 2 grams per tonne cut-off. This is background from a prior estimate, and the company notes that gold and copper prices have risen significantly since it was prepared. A $165,000 NSW Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Exploration Program grant, awarded in 2025, supports the work.

Next steps

A surface diamond rig is planned to mobilise to Peak Hill in November 2026, after work at El Paso and a small program at Tomingley, to drill six holes totalling 6,600 metres between PHD084 and the Proprietary Inferred Resource. Alkane expects final assays in 2027. A study has been commissioned to assess how close possible porphyry intrusions are to PHD084, and geotechnical drilling is planned to support future Mining studies on the existing underground resource. Longer term, the company intends further drilling to test for a copper-gold porphyry at economic depth.