Evergold Minerals (ASX:EG1) has executed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the tenements hosting the historical Rabbit Warren gold discovery near Leonora in Western Australia.
The acquisition secures a ‘high-grade’ zone that has not been tested by RC or diamond drilling for more than 40 years. The company now plans to test the target with reverse circulation (RC) drilling in 2027.
The company signed a heads of agreement with vendor Jamie Douglas Jones for two granted prospecting licences (P37/9163 and P37/9178). This package covers about 192 hectares and sits roughly 8km northeast of Leonora.
The tenements will be incorporated into Evergold’s Leonora Goldfields Project.
The package hosts the site of the 1980 discovery, where prospectors recovered free gold ranging from match-head size to more than 50mm across.
Historical records show about 80 tonnes of material treated at the Leonora Battery returned 84 ounces of gold (Au), though Evergold has not independently verified these figures.
Following the discovery, the Rabbit Warren Joint Venture completed diamond drilling beneath the shallow pit in 1982.
Hole DDH3 intersected 3m @ 23 grams per tonne Au from 33m, including 1m @ 47.8g/t Au, about 30m below the base of the workings. Evergold notes this position has not been tested by RC or diamond drilling in the more than 40 years since.
The company interprets the mineralisation to sit at the intersection of a north-northwest trending shear and an east-west structure, within a broad sericite-carbonate-pyrite alteration halo. The package covers about 4km of strike that has seen limited modern exploration.
Immediately northwest of the tenements, historical shallow drilling at Rabbit Warren North returned 2m @ 2.09g/t Au from 20m, with mineralisation remaining open to the north.
Director Glenn Grayson says the historical drilling shows the prospect is more than just a surface find.
“The original explorers intersected high-grade gold in diamond drilling beneath the pit, and the structure that hosts it has seen very little drilling since,” Grayson says.
“These tenements provide a low-cost opportunity to test whether Rabbit Warren sits on a larger mineralised structure.”
Low-cost entry and a 2027 drill plan
As part of the agreement, Evergold will pay $50,000 in cash and issue 4,838,709 shares. At a deemed price of $0.031 each, the share component is valued at $150,000.
The shares carry a six-month voluntary escrow. The vendor retains co-exclusive rights to prospect for alluvial gold to 3m below surface and a first right of refusal, with no royalties applying.
Completion remains subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals within six months.
Evergold plans a site mapping trip in November to complete technical due diligence, followed by a 3D geological model built from compiled historical data.
The company expects to lodge program of work applications before the end of the year. Once approved, it plans to begin geological mapping, geophysics, and surface geochemical sampling in 2027.
Evergold is planning RC drilling for H1 2027, subject to approvals.
Evergold Minerals is an Australian explorer advancing gold projects across Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields alongside gold and critical minerals tenure in the Northern Territory.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Main image: Evergold Minerals
