Kairos Minerals has kicked off its biggest-ever drilling program at the Mt York Gold Project, aiming to significantly expand its 1.4 million ounce gold resource while advancing key agreements with traditional owners and neighbouring Pilbara Minerals.
- 30,432m staged drilling program underway targeting major resource growth
- Negotiations ongoing with Pilbara Minerals for access to Main Hill Extension
- Mining agreement talks progressing with Nyamal traditional owners
- Soil sampling at Gilt Dragon reveals promising gold and base metal anomalies
- Pre-Feasibility Study funded and progressing following robust scoping study
Drilling Campaign Sets New Pace at Mt York
Kairos Minerals Ltd (ASX – KAI) has commenced its largest drilling program to date at the Mt York Gold Project in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The 30,432-metre campaign, split into two phases, aims to grow and upgrade the project’s current 1.4 million ounce gold resource. This ambitious program marks a significant step forward since Kairos took ownership in 2016.
Phase 1, currently underway, focuses on resource expansion along the Main Trend, which remains open at depth and along strike. It includes 79 diamond and reverse circulation drill holes totalling nearly 19,000 metres. Phase 2 will primarily target resource conversion, adding another 11,560 metres of drilling planned for later this year or early 2026.
Strategic Partnerships and Access Negotiations
Central to Kairos’s growth strategy is its ongoing negotiation with Pilbara Minerals Ltd (PLS) to secure access to the Main Hill Extension Prospect, a highly prospective 1,500-metre northwest strike extension of the Mt York deposit. This area is not yet included in the current Mineral Resource Estimate but holds promising historical drill results, including high-grade intercepts.
Securing a mineral rights agreement with PLS would grant Kairos access to 367 square kilometres of exploration licences, significantly expanding its footprint in the region. The company expects to finalise this agreement imminently, which would enable further aggressive drilling on these high-priority targets.
Engagement with Traditional Owners Advances
On the social and regulatory front, Kairos is progressing negotiations with the Nyamal People, the traditional owners of the Mt York area, to finalise a mining agreement. This agreement is a critical precondition for the grant of the mining lease application, which is advancing well. The company has engaged respectfully with the Nyamal Aboriginal Corporation, including site visits and presentations, underscoring its commitment to collaborative development.
Exploration Beyond Mt York
Complementing the drilling program, soil sampling at the nearby Gilt Dragon prospect has revealed extensive gold and base metal anomalies over a broad area, suggesting potential satellite deposits to Mt York. Planned drilling of approximately 1,400 metres will test these targets, which could add further value to the project portfolio.
Meanwhile, exploration at the Roe Hills Project in the Eastern Goldfields remains on hold pending a consultant’s review of its gold potential. This strategic pause allows Kairos to focus resources on its flagship Pilbara assets.
Financial Position and Outlook
Kairos ended the quarter with a healthy cash balance of $11.77 million and anticipates receiving a further $10 million payment from Pilbara Minerals later in 2025. This strong financial position supports the ongoing drilling campaign and the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), which builds on a robust scoping study released late last year.
With drilling results expected to feed into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate by the third or fourth quarter of 2025, Kairos is positioning Mt York as a potentially significant, standalone gold mine with clean metallurgy and compelling economics.
Bottom Line?
As Kairos drills deeper and wider at Mt York, the coming months will be pivotal in defining the project’s scale and unlocking its full potential.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Kairos secure the mineral rights agreement with Pilbara Minerals to access Main Hill Extension this quarter?
- How will drilling results impact the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate and Pre-Feasibility Study outcomes?
- What terms will be agreed upon in the mining agreement with the Nyamal traditional owners, and how might this affect project timelines?