Golden Horse Drills Over 34km with High-Grade Gold and Strong Cash Position

Visible Gold Confirms Depth Potential at Hopes Hill

Golden Horse Minerals (ASX:GHM) has reinforced the scale and quality of its Southern Cross Gold Project with the March 2026 quarter delivering visible gold intercepts more than 200 metres below the historic Hopes Hill open pit. The standout intercept came from diamond drill hole 26HHDD001, which returned 4.0 metres at 4.6 g/t Au from 297 metres, including visible gold at 297.56 metres downhole. This validates the company's geological model that gold mineralisation extends well beyond previously mined depths, unlocking new potential below the 216,000-ounce historic pit.

The visible gold intercept is complemented by extensive fire assay to extinction testing, revealing a distribution of gold grains rather than isolated nuggets. This supports continuity and robustness in the mineralised system. Post quarter-end results from hole 26HHDD010 further extended high-grade mineralisation northwards with 16.0 metres at 6.8 g/t Au from 115 metres, including a 1 metre interval grading 98.4 g/t Au, intercepted outside the previously mined tenement boundaries. This intercept highlights the value of Golden Horse's tenement consolidation, which has unlocked access to previously inaccessible zones along the 2.5-kilometre strike of the Hopes Hill corridor. These developments are consistent with the recent visible gold intercepts north of historic pit that have expanded the known mineralised footprint.

Extensive Drilling Campaign Drives Discovery Momentum

The company executed an aggressive and fully funded exploration program exceeding 125 kilometres of drilling in 2026, with five rigs operating during the quarter. This delivered 28,245 metres of reverse circulation (RC) and 6,242 metres of diamond drilling, totalling over 34 kilometres. Drilling focused on Hopes Hill Main, North, and South zones, confirming both shallow, wide zones of mineralisation and deeper high-grade shoots. Notable shallow intercepts include 7 metres at 13.0 g/t Au from 13 metres and 16 metres at 1.6 g/t Au from 32 metres, demonstrating potential for open pit mining.

Regional exploration programs advanced with completed RC drilling at Hakes Find and Marionete/Star of Ennuin, targeting extensions of high-grade mineralisation identified in prior campaigns. Assays from these areas are pending, but the drilling builds on the 2025 success which included intercepts such as 10 metres at 6.8 g/t Au from 5 metres and 5 metres at 5.6 g/t Au from 11 metres. These efforts underpin a broader camp-scale opportunity beyond Hopes Hill itself. The ongoing regional work and assay processing delays echo the challenges noted in previous quarters, with over 9,000 samples still awaiting results due to laboratory backlogs.

Free-Milling Gold Supports Processing Prospects

Independent petrographic analysis confirmed that gold mineralisation at Hopes Hill is free-milling, occurring as fine grains within fractured quartz and associated sulphides, but not encapsulated by them. This suggests conventional processing methods like carbon-in-leach will be effective, potentially supplemented by gravity circuits to recover visible and electrum (gold-silver) grains. This metallurgical favourability adds a valuable dimension to the project's development potential, complementing the drilling success. The confirmation of free-milling gold was previously reported and continues to be a key technical milestone for Golden Horse's advancing project.

Strong Cash Position Enables Continued Aggressive Exploration

Golden Horse closed the quarter with approximately AUD 39.3 million in cash, providing ample runway to sustain its ambitious drilling and development programs. The company reported a net cash outflow of AUD 4.3 million for the quarter, primarily reflecting exploration and evaluation expenditure. Management indicated plans to rationalise lower priority tenements to focus resources and reduce costs, streamlining efforts on high-potential targets within the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt.

With a robust balance sheet and a steady flow of assay results expected as laboratory delays ease, Golden Horse is positioned to maintain momentum in unlocking value from its Southern Cross Gold Project. The combination of visible gold discovery, expanding strike and depth potential, and metallurgical confidence sets a strong foundation for upcoming resource definition and feasibility work.