Southern Cross Gold Accelerates Sunday Creek Drilling with PYBAR Contract

Contract Award and Drilling Scale-Up

Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (ASX:SX2) has taken a major step towards accelerating exploration at its Sunday Creek Gold-Antimony Project by awarding PYBAR Mining Services Pty Ltd, part of the Thiess Group, the contract to construct an underground exploration decline. This contract follows the critical Resources Victoria Work Plan approval secured in November 2025 and public backing from Premier Jacinta Allan, underscoring the project's regional significance as a critical minerals jobs driver.

The decline construction, slated for completion by year-end, will transform Sunday Creek’s drilling capacity, scaling from the current 11 surface rigs to a combined 24 surface and underground rigs. This expansion positions Sunday Creek among the largest pre-development drill-outs worldwide, enabling more precise and productive underground drilling platforms 115 metres below surface.

Scope of Work and Operational Build-Out

PYBAR’s scope includes establishing a box cut approximately 15 metres deep, a primary decline tunnel 680 metres long with dimensions of 5.5 metres wide by 6 metres high, and 1,200 metres of lateral development to create initial diamond drilling platforms. The contract term is seven months, reflecting a focused push to accelerate underground access and drilling.

Complementing the contract award, Southern Cross Gold has bolstered its operational leadership with the appointments of Shane Leary as Projects Manager (Operations) and Ben Edwards as Underground Development Manager. Leary brings over 25 years of project and mine development experience, including recent leadership at BHP’s West Musgrave project, while Edwards offers 15 years of underground mining expertise from BHP’s Carrapateena mine. Both report directly to the Chief Operating Officer, reflecting the company’s commitment to a robust management structure as it transitions from exploration to underground development.

Strategic Importance of Sunday Creek’s Gold-Antimony Deposit

Sunday Creek is an epizonal gold-antimony deposit, similar in geological age and style to Victoria’s Fosterville and Costerfield mines. Its dual-metal profile is particularly significant given antimony’s status as a critical mineral, with China controlling over half of global supply. Antimony’s applications span defence, semiconductors, and flame retardants, making supply diversification a strategic priority for Western nations.

At Sunday Creek, antimony accounts for approximately 21% to 24% of the in situ recoverable value at a gold equivalent ratio of 2.39. The project’s high-grade gold and antimony intersections, including multiple zones exceeding 100 g/t gold, have been detailed in recent drilling campaigns. This drilling acceleration enabled by the new decline directly supports a large 200,000-metre drill program planned through early 2027, aiming to further define and expand the resource base.

These developments build on recent successes, including the expansion of high-grade zones at Golden Dyke and record intersections at Apollo, which have reinforced the geological continuity and scale of the Sunday Creek system. The underground decline will facilitate more accurate and efficient drilling, critical for advancing the project’s resource definition and development potential Golden Dyke intercepts and surface earthworks underway.