Accelerate Resources has revealed a new northwest-trending gold structure at its Balagundi Project, expanding the known mineralised footprint with encouraging aircore drilling results. Follow-up drilling is set to test the extent and continuity of this discovery.
- Discovery of the Delta Trend gold structure beneath transported cover
- Significant gold intercepts over 150m strike, open at depth and along strike
- Key intercepts include 8m @ 0.4 g/t Au from surface and 1m @ 1.47 g/t Au at depth
- Alignment with historic drill results confirming structural continuity
- Phase 2 aircore drilling scheduled to extend and confirm findings
Discovery of the Delta Trend
Accelerate Resources Limited (ASX, AX8) has announced a significant breakthrough at its Balagundi Gold Project in Western Australia with the identification of a new northwest-trending gold structure, dubbed the Delta Trend. This discovery emerged from a Phase 1 aircore drilling program that tested beneath transported cover, a geological setting that often conceals mineralisation from surface detection.
The 31-hole, 1,826-metre reconnaissance drilling campaign confirmed gold mineralisation extending over 150 metres of strike length, with the system remaining open both along strike and at depth. Notably, the Delta Trend aligns with historic drill intercepts from the late 1990s, including a 21-metre intercept grading 1.45 g/t gold, reinforcing the structural continuity and potential scale of this new corridor.
Encouraging Drill Intercepts and Geological Context
Among the standout results are intercepts such as 8 metres at 0.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface, and a higher-grade 1 metre at 1.47 g/t gold at the end of a hole, suggesting increasing grade and thickness at depth. These findings are particularly promising given the broad and shallow nature of some mineralisation, which could be amenable to cost-effective extraction methods.
In addition to the Delta Trend, aircore drilling at the Iron Bound prospect, located north of the Paris Gift Trend, revealed a strong arsenic anomaly, 14 metres at 767 parts per million arsenic from 48 metres depth. Elevated arsenic is often a pathfinder element associated with gold mineralisation, marking this zone as a priority target for upcoming drilling phases.
Strategic Location and Project Potential
The Balagundi Project is situated within the prolific Norseman–Wiluna belt of the Yilgarn Craton, approximately 15 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie. This region hosts some of Australia’s most significant gold operations, including Northern Star’s Kanowna Belle and the KCGM Super Pit. Despite its proximity to these major mines, Balagundi has remained underexplored, largely due to extensive alluvial cover and private ownership over the past 25 years.
Historical production at nearby workings such as Queen of Balagundi and Mt Bellew yielded around 4,000 ounces of gold from high-grade veins, underscoring the district’s potential. Accelerate’s recent drilling results suggest the emergence of a multi-corridor gold system with multiple mineralised centres, which could transform the project’s scale and value.
Next Steps, Phase 2 Drilling and Integration
Building on these encouraging results, Accelerate Resources plans to commence Phase 2 aircore drilling later this month. This program aims to extend and confirm the orientation of the newly identified northeast gold trend, test additional prospective structures within the mafic-dolerite corridor, and evaluate geochemical anomalies highlighted in Phase 1.
Results from this next phase will be integrated with recent reverse circulation drilling data to refine targeting and accelerate progress toward defining multiple mineralised centres at Balagundi. The company’s CEO, Luke Meter, emphasised the milestone nature of the Delta Trend discovery and expressed optimism about the project’s potential to host a significant gold system.
Bottom Line?
As Accelerate Resources advances its drilling programs, Balagundi’s emerging gold corridors could reshape the project’s prospects in a world-class gold province.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Phase 2 drilling confirm the continuity and scale of the Delta Trend mineralisation?
- How might the arsenic anomaly at Iron Bound translate into economic gold mineralisation?
- What are the implications of these discoveries for Accelerate’s resource estimation and development timeline?