Nex Metals Explorations (ASX:NME), through its joint venture (JV) with the Wangkatja Tjungula Aboriginal Corporation (WTAC), has submitted four exploration licence applications to expand its East Scotia Gold Project in Western Australia.
The applications cover 738km2 and are expected to bring the total project area to 873.1km2 if granted. The expanded project comprises three granted exploration licences, one granted prospecting licence, and four exploration licence applications across the Eastern Goldfields.
The project overlies the northern extent of the Scotia-Kanowna Granodiorite, which hosts the Golden Cities Mining Complex, and sits within the broader geological setting associated with the Golden Cities and Kanowna Belle mining areas.
Managing Director Ken Allen says the JV is ‘aggressively’ progressing expansion of its WA gold portfolio.
“The East Scotia Gold Project is a strong example of that strategy, with the additional applications significantly increasing our regional footprint across a highly prospective geological setting,” Allen says.
The area reportedly appears to have been subject to limited modern systematic exploration, particularly across the applied-for northern areas.
The four new exploration licence applications — ELA29/1349, ELA29/1350, ELA29/1351, and ELA29/1352 — remain subject to statutory grant processes and confer no right to undertake exploration until granted.
On 14 August 2026, the JV agreed to acquire exploration licences E24/222, E24/223, and E24/224 plus prospecting licence P24/5496, covering 135.1km2. Completion remains subject to conditions precedent and transfer arrangements.
The East Scotia Gold Project sits within the northeastern portion of the Kalgoorlie Greenstone Terrane. The Mount Monger Fault traverses the north-eastern portion of the tenement package, forming the northern and eastern boundary of the Kalgoorlie Terrane.
The project is located 60–130km north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder along the Goldfields Highway.
Initial exploration will focus on auger geochemistry and geological reconnaissance to ground-truth geological and geophysical information, aiming to assist in defining priority areas for follow-up exploration.
The JV between Nex Metals and WTAC comprises the expanded East Scotia Gold Project, the West Point Gold Project, and a general purpose lease application for the Kookynie Tailings Project.
“Our focus now is to progress the applications and statutory approvals in parallel with completing the acquisition of the granted exploration and prospecting licences while planning the geological work required to systematically assess and prioritise exploration opportunities across this expanded project area,” Allen says.
Nex Metals Explorations is a gold producer with projects in Western Australia, including the Kookynie Tailings Project and a joint venture with WTAC for gold project development.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Nex Metals Explorations
