QMines (ASX:QML) has reported ‘high-grade’ copper, gold, zinc, lead, and silver from the opening hole of its ongoing 10,000m multi-rig drill campaign at the wholly owned Mt Chalmers Project in Queensland.
The campaign includes two parallel work streams, one of which is focused on resource growth and exploration while the other is supporting the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
Regarding resource growth and exploration, drilling is focused on the Woods Shaft deposit with a goal of growing the copper-gold resource. QMines notes that Woods Shaft is evidence that a gold-rich event extends beyond the known massive sulphides. Current drilling is the first test of the district-scale corridor linking Botos, Mt Chalmers, and Woods Shaft.
Drilling to generate metallurgical, geotechnical, environmental, and resource-confidence datasets will enable the completion of the DFS for Mt Chalmers. The company is also drilling beneath the flooded historic open pit for the first time ever.
Assays are pending for multiple completed holes, while three rigs are still in progress at the site.
Executive Chairman Andrew Sparke notes that this campaign is the largest drilling program QMines has undertaken since its inception.
“An intercept of 18m @ 2.7 grams per tonne gold and 1.7% copper, with metre-scale hits above 20g/t gold, confirms the quality and scale of the Mt Chalmers system,” Sparke says.
“Woods Shaft is a copper-gold deposit, and the gold is what excites us most.
“We believe it reflects a gold-rich event reaching well beyond the known massive sulphides, and our largest ever program there is aimed at growing Woods Shaft and folding it into an expanded Mt Chalmers Resource.
“Alongside it, we are completing the drilling that feeds the DFS. Running both together lets us build the resource and advance the study in parallel and sets QMines up for strong news flow through the rest of 2026.”
The Woods Shaft deposit sits 800m southwest of the Mt Chalmers historic mine and is a shallow copper-gold deposit with an inferred resource of 0.54 million tonnes @ 0.95g/t gold and 0.50% copper, and remains open in all directions.
QMines is expecting strong news flow through H2 2026 as rigs remain active at Mt Chalmers and multiple assays are pending.
QMines is a Queensland-focused copper and gold development company advancing the Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek deposits.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: QMines
