ASX Mining Companies Report Notable Drill Hits in Gold Exploration
In a significant week for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), several mining companies have reported impressive drill intercepts, with New Murchison Gold leading the pack, followed by Golden Horse Minerals and SQX Resources. These results range from development-focused drilling to early-stage discoveries, showcasing the ongoing potential in gold exploration across diverse regions.
New Murchison Gold Tops the Charts with High-Grade Intercept
New Murchison Gold (ASX: NMG) has secured the top spot in last week's Big Hits ranking after announcing a high-grade development intercept from its Crown Prince East pit design in Western Australia. This result, which could swiftly transition from drill core to mine plan, involves an 18-metre hit grading 10.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 54 metres, including a remarkable 6 metres at 29.3 g/t gold.
The Crown Prince East deposit is a satellite site located 300 metres east of the active Crown Prince West pit, part of the Crown Prince gold mine situated 17 kilometres north of Meekatharra. This intercept emerged from a recent 49-hole reverse circulation (RC) program covering 5,365 metres, aimed at testing lodes within the existing pit outline.
Adding to the significance, a strong follow-up result from the same campaign confirmed down-dip continuity, delivering 12 metres at 10.3 g/t gold from 34 metres, including 1 metre at 42.2 g/t from 36 metres in an adjacent hole. These findings are crucial because mineralisation already within a pit design can be quickly integrated into resource updates, pit optimisation, and mining schedules, accelerating development compared to typical greenfield discoveries.
Drilling has also begun to reveal the location of the best gold deposits. Essentially, Crown Prince East features two main sets of gold-bearing lodes, with stronger grades occurring where these trends intersect. Moving forward, New Murchison plans to incorporate these results into a JORC-compliant resource update and re-optimise the pit design ahead of mining, benefiting from the existing Crown Prince mining approval that covers the East pit.
Golden Horse Minerals Delivers Shallow High-Grade Discovery
Golden Horse Minerals (ASX: GHM) has claimed second place in the Big Hits lineup with a shallow, high-grade intercept that resembles a discovery rather than a mere step-out at its Hopes Hill South project near Southern Cross in Western Australia. The company drilled a proof-of-concept hole to test its geological theory that the Hopes Hill shear zone could be a large-scale mineralised gold system.
The standout result of 7 metres at 13.0 g/t gold from 13 metres, including a bonanza 2 metres at 44.3 g/t, was supported by initial drill sampling. This included an exceptional 4-metre composite sample grading 41.2 g/t from 12 metres, which prompted a re-sampling program that yielded the reported interval. The intercept is located in a new structural position within the hanging-wall ultramafic unit, suggesting the possibility of stacked lodes or splays in the Hopes Hill South area, rather than a single structure.
Practically, this discovery allows Golden Horse to focus its step-out drilling on strike and depth continuity of this newly defined zone, while broader RC and diamond drilling continues across the Hopes Hill system. This development marks a significant step in understanding the area's gold potential.
SQX Resources Reports Broad Near-Surface Gold Intercepts in Arizona
SQX Resources (ASX: SQX) rounded out the top three in last week's Big Hits, posting strong early-stage results from maiden drilling at its Red Bird gold project in Arizona, United States. The company's hero intercept of 24.4 metres at 3.1 g/t gold from 22.9 metres, including 9.1 metres at 6.6 g/t, is complemented by other broad near-surface hits extending to 60 metres depth.
This growing dataset indicates continuity across multiple sections and a shallow geometry well-suited for open-pit development potential. The Red Bird project is situated in southeastern Arizona, surrounded by significant copper, gold, and molybdenum deposits, such as Pinto Valley and Morenci, within a region characterised by Laramide-age porphyry copper systems.
The 25-hole, 2,509-metre RC program represents SQX's first systematic modern test of the historic Red Bird mine and its alteration footprint, designed to assess whether the old workings are part of a larger epithermal system. With assays from 14 holes reported and 11 still pending, attention now shifts to determining the full extent of this mineralised system and identifying potential parallel structures.
Looking ahead, SQX plans an induced polarisation (IP) geophysical survey to map chargeability responses and track sulphide-bearing feeder zones, aiding in prioritising step-out drilling. Additionally, the company will undertake detailed underground geological mapping and sampling, particularly of deeper levels not yet accessed, to further explore the project's potential.
For ASX-listed companies with notable activities, contact matt.birney@wanews.com.au. Stay updated with the latest news by signing up for emails from thewest.com.au.
