Vault Minerals reports a series of high-grade drilling results across its key gold projects, signalling potential life-of-mine extensions and new mining fronts. The findings highlight resource growth opportunities at Leonora, Darlot, Deflector, and Sugar Zone.
- High-grade intersections extend mineralisation beyond current resource boundaries at King of the Hills
- New shallow bulk mining opportunities identified at Darlot’s Warne and Pipeline zones
- Deflector’s Contact lode drilling reveals potential new mine front outside existing reserves
- Initial TT8 prospect drilling near Sugar Zone returns promising high-grade gold assays
- Review underway for low-capital refurbishment of Darlot processing facility
Exploration Success at King of the Hills
Vault Minerals has delivered a compelling suite of exploration results at its Leonora operations, particularly at the King of the Hills (KoTH) project. Both surface and underground drilling have intersected high-grade gold mineralisation well beyond current Mineral Resource boundaries. Notably, assays include 7.60 metres at 31.7 grams per tonne and 10.25 metres at 4.13 grams per tonne within the primary granodiorite host unit, alongside exceptional grades in the previously underexplored hanging-wall sedimentary units.
Underground drillholes have confirmed visible gold at depths 300 to 500 metres beyond existing mining areas, indicating the potential to extend underground operations significantly. The granodiorite/ultramafic contact remains open, offering a promising target for future resource growth and mine life extension.
Darlot’s Emerging Mining Fronts and Processing Review
At Darlot, Vault’s drilling has advanced the understanding of the Pipeline and Warne zones, both outside current Ore Reserves. High-grade intersections such as 8.70 metres at 21.3 grams per tonne and 4.34 metres at 24.5 grams per tonne underscore the potential for near-term production fronts. The Warne zone, a recent discovery, shows strong continuity of mineralisation and could leverage existing underground infrastructure for shallow mining.
In parallel, Vault has initiated a review of the Darlot processing facility to assess the feasibility of restarting operations through a low capital intensity refurbishment. This move could enhance Vault’s processing capacity and operational flexibility in the region.
Deflector’s Contact Lode and Regional Drilling Plans
Drilling at Deflector’s Contact lode has intersected high-grade gold mineralisation, including assays of 1.3 metres at 22.8 grams per tonne and 0.8 metres at 27.6 grams per tonne. This lode, historically underexplored since initial development in 2016, now presents a new mining front outside current Ore Reserves. Vault plans further drilling to test extensions along strike and at depth.
Additionally, regional drilling targeting historical mines along the Gullewa trend, approximately seven kilometres from the Deflector mill, is scheduled to commence. These targets have the potential to extend Deflector’s mine life beyond current Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.
Sugar Zone’s TT8 Prospect Shows Early Promise
Vault’s maiden drill program at the TT8 prospect near Sugar Zone has returned encouraging initial results, including 1.05 metres at 21.2 grams per tonne and 6.29 metres at 3.16 grams per tonne. Visible gold was observed in multiple holes, suggesting continuity of high-grade mineralisation. Pending assays from the remaining holes will guide a planned second phase of drilling to test the broader strike extent.
Strategic Implications and Next Steps
The extensive drilling programs across Vault’s portfolio highlight the company’s strategy of leveraging incumbency in prolific gold districts to unlock new resources and extend mine lives. The combination of resource definition, step-out drilling, and processing infrastructure review positions Vault well to convert exploration success into production growth. Market watchers will be keenly awaiting assay results from ongoing drillholes and updates on the Darlot processing refurbishment.
Bottom Line?
Vault Minerals’ exploration momentum sets the stage for resource growth and operational expansion, but upcoming assay results and infrastructure decisions will be critical to watch.
Questions in the middle?
- How will pending assay results from ongoing underground drillholes impact resource estimates at King of the Hills?
- What is the timeline and capital requirement for the potential refurbishment and restart of the Darlot processing facility?
- Can regional drilling along the Gullewa trend deliver new Mineral Resources to extend Deflector’s mine life?