Patronus Resources (ASX:PTN) has reported final assays from its four-hole diamond drilling program at the Tally Ho deposit, confirming ‘high-grade’ gold mineralisation below the historical open pit and outside the current mineral resource.
The company completed 1,432.53m of drilling at Tally Ho, part of its Pine Creek Project in the Northern Territory. All four holes intersected gold mineralisation, with the final three returning a further 21 significant intersections.
Results include 3.17m @ 3.32 grams per tonne gold (Au) from 324.83m in TH26DD003, approximately 150m below the historical pit.
Other intersections include 6m @ 1.42g/t Au from 225.4m and 0.53m @ 11.56g/t Au from 98m in TH26DD002, plus 3.20m @ 1.35g/t Au from 209.3m and 0.33m @ 12.97g/t Au from 313.67m in TH26DD003.
Previously reported results from TH26DD001 include 2.61m @ 6.38g/t Au from 454m.
“With all four drill holes now assayed, we have confirmed the presence of gold mineralisation well below the historical Tally Ho pit and outside the current mineral resource, further increasing our confidence that the system remains open at depth,” Managing Director John Ingram says.
Mineralisation is associated with quartz stockwork veining and sulphide alteration across greywacke and mudstone units. Patronus says this indicates lithology is not the primary control on mineralisation.
Drilling also confirmed linking mineralised structures dipping obliquely southwest between the Fountain Head and Tally Ho deposits. Patronus plans to test these structures through reverse circulation drilling later this year.
The company says it may also undertake deeper diamond drilling to evaluate the Tally Ho Extension, a potential mineralised zone in the footwall of the existing Tally Ho lodes.
Tally Ho forms part of the Fountain Head area, where the Fountain Head, Tally Ho, and Glencoe deposits host a combined mineral resource of 234,000 ounces Au at 1.4g/t Au.
Subject to remaining approvals, Patronus says it plans approximately 30,000m of drilling and 3,000 surface geochemical samples across Pine Creek during 2026. The company held $75 million in cash and liquid investments at 30 June 2026.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Patronus Resources
