Great Boulder puts Peak Hill on path to production after record gold hits
Join us as we speak with Andrew Paterson, managing director...
10 November 2026
About Great Boulder Resources
| Company name: | Great Boulder Resources |
| Ticker: | ASX:GBR |
| Sector: | Gold exploration and development |
| Key projects: | Side Well, Peak Hill, Wellington |
| Headquarters: | West Perth, Western Australia |
Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) is a Western Australian gold explorer and developer with two gold projects in the Murchison region: Side Well, near Meekatharra, and Peak Hill, about 100km further north. Together, the two projects host a combined mineral resource of 1.5 million ounces (Moz) of gold, and the company is now working to move from exploration into production.
This page is for readers searching for Great Boulder Resources ASX GBR news, Side Well drilling results, or updates on the Peak Hill Gold Project. It gives a plain-language overview of the company and collects Mining.com.au’s coverage of Great Boulder as new announcements are released.
History and corporate structure
Great Boulder was registered in 2016 and first explored gold ground near Kalgoorlie, including its Whiteheads project. The company’s direction changed in 2020, when it secured an option over the Side Well ground from Zebina Minerals and began drilling there in August that year. Regional aircore drilling discovered Flagpole in late 2021, and Golden Bracelet followed in late 2024.
As Side Well grew, Great Boulder narrowed its portfolio. It sold Whiteheads to Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS) in August 2025 and let its Polelle option with Castle Minerals (ASX:CDT) lapse later that year. A Side Well mineral resource estimate of 1.02Moz was announced on 18 December 2025.
The largest change came in 2026. On 4 May, Great Boulder agreed to buy 100% of the Peak Hill Gold Project from Aragon Resources, a subsidiary of Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX). The deal was completed on 30 June 2026. Westgold received $25 million in cash, a 1% net smelter return royalty, and shares that made it a 19.9% cornerstone shareholder in Great Boulder.
Several Side Well deposits are held in partnership. Zebina Minerals holds 25% of five deposits and can convert that interest to a 1.25% gross production royalty after a decision to mine. Wanbanna holds 20% of the Golden Bracelet ground and nearby prospecting licences under a joint venture.
Commodities
Great Boulder is a gold company first and foremost. Both of its development projects are gold assets, and almost all of its exploration spending goes to drilling in the Murchison. The company also holds the Wellington project in the Earaheedy Basin, a 302km² package prospective for zinc and lead, although no fieldwork was carried out there in FY26.
Side Well Gold Project
Side Well sits near Meekatharra and hosts 1.02Moz of gold across six deposits, at an average grade of 2 grams per tonne gold (Au). That total includes 626,000 ounces in the indicated category and 395,000 ounces inferred. The Mulga Bill and Eaglehawk deposits form the core of the project, with about 780,000 ounces between them, and the system remains open in several directions.
Recent drilling has pushed beyond the current resource. At Mulga Bill East, roughly 200–300m east of Mulga Bill, Great Boulder reported intercepts in September 2026, including 2m @ 30.76g/t Au from 133m, and the discovery now extends over 1.5km of strike. The company has also completed a Scoping Study on the Ironbark deposit, released in July 2025, and is negotiating a mining agreement for Ironbark with the Yugunga Nya Aboriginal Corporation.
Peak Hill Gold Project
Peak Hill is a historic goldfield about 100km north of Meekatharra, mostly on granted mining leases. Its resource stands at 9.4 million tonnes at 1.6g/t Au for 481,000 ounces, of which 376,000 ounces are indicated. The resource is spread across five deposits: Fiveways, Durack, Harmony, Enigma, and Jubilee.
Great Boulder started a drilling program of at least 40,000m at Peak Hill in July 2026, with reverse circulation rigs at Durack and Jubilee and a diamond rig at Enigma. The company has reported visible gold and high-grade intercepts and is targeting a resource update by the end of 2026. Drilling is also testing the unresourced Golden Treasure target, where Westgold intersected high-grade gold in 2025.
Under an ore purchase agreement with Westgold, Great Boulder is aiming to start producing from Peak Hill by the end of 2027, with ore trucked to a Westgold mill rather than processed through a plant of its own. The Fortnum mill sits about 50km away. A separate, non-binding collaboration agreement with Westgold covers a possible path for Side Well to follow in 2028.
Leadership
Andrew Paterson, a geologist with more than 30 years of experience across gold, nickel, iron ore, and lithium, has been managing director since 24 June 2019. Chris Tuckwell, a mining engineer and former managing director of MACA, joined the board in October 2025 and became non-executive chairman on 18 November 2025. He replaced Greg Hall, who chaired the company from 2016 and remains a non-executive director. Hall is a former chief geologist of Placer Dome.
The board also includes non-executive directors Melanie Leighton, a geologist and chief executive of Titan Minerals (ASX:TTM), and Karen O’Neill, a mining executive with a finance background. In September 2026, the company appointed Rod Bonner as chief mining engineer to lead development at Peak Hill. Bonner has more than 25 years of mining experience in Australia, Africa, and the UK.
Financial snapshot
Great Boulder does not yet produce gold, so it has no gold sales revenue. For the year ended 30 June 2026, the company reported a net loss of $9.93 million, which included $3.85 million in Peak Hill transaction costs, and closed the year with $18.3 million in cash. At 30 June, it had roughly 1.97 billion shares on issue and a closing share price of $0.075, implying a market capitalisation of about $148 million.
Exploration and pre-production companies carry more risk than established producers. Drilling results may not convert into resources, production targets can slip, and the gold price can move sharply in either direction. This is general information, not financial advice. Readers should consider their own circumstances or seek independent advice before making any investment decision.
Safety, sustainability, and governance
The company runs its field programs under an integrated quality, environment, safety, and occupational health policy. Land access and heritage are central to its plans. Great Boulder holds a mining and heritage agreement with the Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation covering Peak Hill, and a heritage and land access agreement with the Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation over Wellington. Its board added mining engineering experience in 2025 with Tuckwell’s appointment, reflecting the shift toward development.
Great Boulder Resources news and analysis on Mining.com.au
Mining.com.au covers Great Boulder’s ASX announcements, drilling results, and corporate moves as they happen, including Peak Hill assays, Mulga Bill East extensions, resource updates, and video interviews with Paterson. The articles tagged to this page update automatically as new stories are published, giving investors and industry readers one place to follow the company’s progress from explorer to producer.
Frequently asked questions
1. What does Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) do?
Great Boulder Resources explores for and develops gold deposits in Western Australia’s Murchison region. Its two main assets are the Side Well and Peak Hill gold projects.2. What commodities does Great Boulder Resources mine?
The company is focused on gold. It also holds the Wellington project in the Earaheedy Basin, which is prospective for zinc and lead.3. Where are Great Boulder’s main projects located?
Side Well is near Meekatharra in Western Australia, and Peak Hill is about 100km north of the town. Both sit within the Murchison goldfield.4. When does Great Boulder plan to start producing gold?
The company is targeting first production from Peak Hill by the end of 2027, with ore to be processed at a Westgold mill under an ore purchase agreement.Image Credit: greatboulder.com.au
