Exploration Upside Grows as Waratah Expands Spur Gold Corridor and Porphyry Targets

Significant Gold Discovery at Spur Project

Waratah Minerals Limited (ASX, WTM) has announced a major breakthrough in its ongoing exploration at the Spur Project in New South Wales. The company’s latest drilling results have extended the Spur Gold Corridor by an additional 500 metres, pushing the known mineralisation footprint to over 1.5 kilometres along strike. This expansion was highlighted by drillhole SPRCD062, which intersected multiple zones of visible high-grade gold at the Consols Zone, marking the best intercept recorded at the project to date.

The discovery is particularly notable for the presence of visible gold within a range of epithermal vein types, including quartz-carbonate-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins, accompanied by significant alteration halos. Assays from SPRCD062 returned 208.7 metres at 1.17 grams per tonne gold from 514 metres depth, including higher-grade intervals such as 89 metres at 1.96 grams per tonne and 38 metres at 3.61 grams per tonne. These results reinforce the potential for a large-scale, high-grade epithermal gold system within the Spur Gold Corridor.

Expanding the Gold Footprint

Beyond Consols, Waratah’s drilling has also extended mineralisation at the Essex and Thistle Zones, further confirming the continuity and scale of the gold system. Drillholes SPRC077 and SPRC078 reported significant intercepts of 28 metres at 0.88 grams per tonne and 27 metres at 1.03 grams per tonne respectively, indicating lateral extensions to these zones.

These findings come as part of a broader drilling campaign that has already completed 85 reverse circulation holes and 15 diamond drillholes, with an additional 60 holes planned. The company aims to delineate the mineralised system from surface down to approximately 450 metres depth, focusing on both strike and plunge extensions of the gold zones.

Advancing Porphyry Copper-Gold Exploration

In parallel with the epithermal gold exploration, Waratah is advancing its porphyry copper-gold targets at the Breccia West Prospect. Recent drilling has intersected significant copper-gold mineralisation associated with potassic altered magmatic-hydrothermal breccias and magnetite alteration zones. Notably, drillhole BZD001 returned 196 metres at 0.54% copper equivalent, including higher-grade intervals, underscoring the prospectivity of this target area.

The company’s integration of geochemical datasets and geophysical surveys is enhancing vectoring capabilities toward porphyry mineralisation, with ongoing diamond drilling designed to test the western margin of the main intrusive complex.

Next Steps and Strategic Outlook

Waratah Minerals is accelerating its exploration efforts at the Spur Project, supported by a high-calibre technical team and encouraging early results. The planned broad-spaced drilling program will focus on expanding the Consols mineralisation and linking key zones such as Spur, Dalcoath, and Essex. Concurrently, advanced geometallurgical test work, including diagnostic gold leaching and micro XRF scanning, is underway to better understand gold grain size distribution and improve grade representation through Screen Fire Assays.

These developments position Waratah to potentially define a significant gold resource in one of Australia’s premier gold-copper porphyry districts, with the Spur Project emerging as a compelling exploration story to watch.