Waratah Minerals has delivered a second exceptional >200 gram-metre gold intercept at its Consols Zone, significantly expanding the Spur Project’s high-grade footprint in New South Wales. Concurrent drilling at the Spur Zone continues to confirm robust near-surface mineralisation, underpinning the company’s aggressive growth ambitions.
- Second >200 gram-metre intercept at Consols Zone
- Consols mineralisation extends over 600m vertically
- Strong near-surface gold grades at Spur Zone
- Multiple drill holes confirm broad, high-grade zones
- Ongoing ten-rig drilling program advancing rapidly
Second Major Gold Intercept Deepens Consols Zone
Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM) has struck gold again at its Spur Gold Project, with drill hole SPD027 delivering a second intercept exceeding 200 gram-metres at the Consols Zone. This hole, drilled some 100 metres below previous drilling, includes a standout 7 metres grading 26.54 g/t Au from 698 metres and a spectacular 1 metre at 120 g/t Au from 701 metres. These results extend the Consols mineralisation footprint to more than 300 metres east-west, 400 metres north-south, and 600 metres vertically, with the system remaining open in multiple directions.
The mineralisation is hosted primarily within andesite, featuring a high-grade core of quartz-magnetite-gold hydrothermal breccia linked to strong potassic alteration. This geological setting suggests a robust and vertically extensive gold system, which Waratah is keen to delineate further. The latest intercept builds on earlier strong results from SPD025, which also returned multiple high-grade zones in March and April 2026, confirming a rapidly growing discovery at Consols. These developments reflect a sustained momentum in Waratah’s exploration program, which is currently operating with ten rigs across the Spur district.
Near-Surface High-Grade Gold at Spur Zone Reinforces Growth Potential
Alongside the deep Consols drilling, Waratah’s ongoing work at the Spur Zone continues to impress with significant gold mineralisation starting from surface. Drill hole SPD038 intersected 80 metres at 1.75 g/t Au from surface, including 10 metres at 8.29 g/t Au from 69 metres, highlighting the potential for shallow, high-grade deposits. The presence of the Tywi Fault appears to be a key structural control, acting as a fluid conduit for mineralisation and hosting wide zones of sheeted pyrite-chalcopyrite veinlets over a pyrite-magnetite breccia.
Additional holes on the Spur section, such as SPD042, returned 23.7 metres at 1.42 g/t Au from surface, including a 2-metre intercept grading 13.46 g/t Au at 145 metres depth. These results confirm the continuity and expansion of mineralisation eastward and down dip, with multiple high-grade veins identified within basaltic and andesitic host rocks. The systematic drilling and assay program is steadily filling in the geological picture, supporting Waratah’s thesis of multiple economically attractive gold zones within the Spur district.
Aggressive Drilling Program and Strategic Exploration Focus
Waratah’s Managing Director, Peter Duerden, emphasised the significance of these results, noting the consistency and frequency of high-grade intercepts across both Consols and Spur Zones. The company’s aggressive exploration strategy is clearly paying off, with multiple active drill fronts and a growing understanding of the geological controls driving gold mineralisation. The recent assays are part of a broader campaign that has steadily expanded the project’s footprint, including the acquisition of the Ironclad Mining Lease earlier this year, which consolidated Waratah’s position in this prolific gold district.
Waratah is utilising advanced photon assay technology for gold quantification, which offers improved accuracy especially in the presence of coarse gold, a feature confirmed by recent metallurgical testing showing gold recoveries exceeding 90%. This technical edge complements the geological potential, positioning the Spur Project as a compelling exploration story within the eastern Lachlan Orogen. The company continues to progress multiple drill holes with assays pending, maintaining a high level of market engagement and investor interest.
Geological Context and Next Steps in Resource Definition
The Spur Gold Project’s mineralisation styles span alkalic porphyry and epithermal-porphyry systems, with Waratah’s drilling confirming subvertical mineralised zones that likely represent >80% true thickness. The combination of high-grade cores and broad zones of lower-grade mineralisation suggests potential for a resource with both scale and grade. However, the company cautions that current results are early stage, with further drilling required to better define geometries and support a formal Mineral Resource estimate.
Waratah’s recent results build on previous successes, including the strong intercepts from SPD025 and ongoing ten-rig drilling activities that have been documented in earlier announcements. The expanding high-grade zones at Consols and Spur underscore the district-scale potential of the project, while the use of photon assay technology and positive metallurgical results provide confidence in eventual processing pathways. The company’s focus remains on systematic exploration and resource definition, with multiple pending assays and drill holes underway.
Waratah’s Spur Project sits within a region of complex structural geology and diverse mineralisation styles, offering multiple targets for future exploration. The company’s recent acquisition of the Ironclad Mining Lease adds historic mining ground and advanced targets to its portfolio, further enhancing the project’s upside. As drilling continues, the market will be watching for how these high-grade zones translate into a defined resource and potential development pathway.
These latest results follow the company’s recent multiple standout intercepts from SPD025 and build on the momentum established in earlier phases of drilling nine rigs active with approvals that have steadily expanded the known mineralisation footprint.
Bottom Line?
Waratah’s second >200 gram-metre intercept at Consols deepens the project’s high-grade potential, but translating these promising drill results into a defined resource will require continued drilling and geological modelling.
Questions in the middle?
- How will ongoing drilling refine the geometry and continuity of the Consols high-grade core?
- What is the potential scale of near-surface mineralisation at Spur given current intercepts?
- How might recent metallurgical findings influence the project’s economic viability?