Golden Horse Minerals (ASX:GHM) has intercepted visible gold at its Hopes Hill Gold Project, returning 4m at 73.3 grams per tonne gold (Au) from 88m in hole 26HHRC179.
The reverse circulation (RC) drilling intercepted visible gold approximately 2km north of the Hopes Hill mine, which historically produced 216,000 ounces of gold. The intercept sits within a broader mineralised zone of 48m @ 6.3g/t Au from 44m.
To say that hole 26HHRC179 bolted out of the gates is an understatement, with an initial assay return of 4m @ 73.3 g/t Au further confirmed by visible gold being panned by our geologists at the Stables,” Managing Director Nicholas Anderson remarks.
Anderson adds these results have generated ‘significant excitement’ and several gold nuggets from RC drilling — which, he quips, is “rarer than rocking horse manure”.
The company conducted fire assay testing to extinction on the 4m composite sample, returning grades ranging from 46.5–108g/t Au across 30 samples, with an average grade of 68.42g/t Au. According to Golden Horse, this indicates ‘high-grade, nuggety’ gold.
Additional drilling results from the Hopes Hill North area include hole 26HHRC173, which returned multiple mineralised intersections including 16m @ 1.7g/t Au from 36m, 20m @ 1.1g/t Au from 92m, and 10m @ 1.2g/t Au from 158m.
At the main Hopes Hill deposit, diamond tail hole 26HHRC155 returned 1m @ 46.5g/t Au from 305m within a broader zone of 11m @ 4.3g/t Au from 297m. Golden Horse says this extends mineralisation at depth in the southern end of the historic pit.
Golden Horse intends to complete individual metre sampling and diamond core drilling around hole 26HHRC179.
Meanwhile, diamond drilling is scheduled to wrap up in October 2026. The company has also planned regional aircore drilling for the remainder of the year targeting early-stage prospects across 130km of strike extent on the Frasers Shear Zone.
Golden Horse Minerals is a gold explorer with over 1,800km2 of tenure within the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt in Western Australia.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Golden Horse Minerals
