Golden Horse Minerals (ASX:GHM) is planning its inaugural mineral resource estimate in H2 2026 after drilling extended the Hopes Hill mineralised system beyond 3km of strike length at the Southern Cross Gold Project in Western Australia.
The June quarter delivered broad, ‘high-grade’ gold zones across the project, with standout intercepts including 16m @ 6.8 grams per tonne gold (Au) from 115m and 12.0m @ 7.3g/t Au from 116m at Hopes Hill.
The company completed more than 50,000m of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling during the first half of 2026.
At Hopes Hill North, hole 26HHRC024 intersected 12m @ 7g/t Au from 278m, including 5m @ 14.5g/t Au from 282m. This hole represents a significant step-out approximately 1,000m north of previously reported drilling.
Deep drilling beneath the historic Hopes Hill pit returned the deepest mineralised intersection to date in hole 26HHRCD077, delivering 24.2m @ 2.2g/t Au from 378.8m within a broader interval of 40.2m at 1.5g/t Au.
At Hopes Hill South, discovery hole 26HHRC066 identified a new ‘high-grade’ shear-hosted zone approximately 200m south of the historic pit, intersecting 7m @ 13.00g/t gold from 13m.
Follow-up drilling successfully extended this mineralisation both along strike and at depth.
“Our drilling continues to validate and expand the geological model at Hopes Hill, with the mineralised system now extending beyond 3km while remaining open both along strike and at depth,” Managing Director Nicholas Anderson says.
“Importantly, we are continuing to discover new mineralisation outside the historic pit boundaries, demonstrating the broader scale of the system and providing multiple opportunities for future resource growth.”
Regional exploration and strategic growth
Regional exploration delivered encouraging results at Hakes Find. Exploration confirmed shallow gold mineralisation extending over more than 500m of strike length.
Significant intercepts included 11m @ 3.40g/t Au from 33m and 3m @ 3.90g/t Au from 57m. Several holes also returned ‘high silver values’, highlighted by 4m @ 211g/t silver from 55m.
Post quarter-end, maiden drilling at Greenmount returned ‘exceptional’ results, with all nine holes returning gold mineralisation. Standout intercepts included 8m @ 16.30g/t Au from 209m, including 3m @ 37.6g/t Au from 214m.
An independent prospectivity review of the Sorrel Copper Project reaffirmed the existing mineral resource of 8.4 million tonnes at 1.1% copper. The resource contains approximately 88,000 tonnes of contained copper metal.
Meanwhile, the review also identified multiple high-priority exploration opportunities across copper, cobalt, uranium, and rare earth elements.
GHM finished the quarter with $30.6 million cash on hand. The company continues multi-rig drilling at Hopes Hill with two diamond rigs and one RC rig.
Golden Horse Minerals is a Western Australian gold explorer advancing the Southern Cross Gold Project, with additional copper exposure through the Sorrel Copper Project in the Northern Territory.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Golden Horse Minerals
