Kuniko Confirms High-Grade Polymetallic Mineralisation at Commonwealth-Silica Hill

Phase 1 Drilling Validates High-Grade Polymetallic System

Kuniko Limited (ASX:KNI) has completed its Phase 1 diamond drilling program at the Commonwealth-Silica Hill polymetallic project in New South Wales, delivering compelling assay results that confirm high-grade gold, silver, zinc, lead, and copper mineralisation. The six diamond drill holes, totalling 1,239 metres, intersected multiple zones of mineralisation across two deposits situated within 200 metres of each other, reinforcing the potential of this broader mineralised system.

Notably, drill hole 4 returned standout intercepts including 0.5 metres grading an extraordinary 27 g/t gold and a bonanza 20,603 g/t silver, alongside significant base metals. Other holes demonstrated consistent polymetallic grades, with gold equivalent (AuEq) intercepts reaching up to 8 metres at 8.6 g/t AuEq in hole 1 and 7.1 metres at 9.7 g/t AuEq in hole 6. These results highlight the value contribution from silver and base metals, which Kuniko has quantified using conservative metal price and recovery assumptions to provide investors with a clearer picture of the system’s combined metal value.

Upcoming Phase 2 Drilling to Expand Resource Potential

Building on the success of Phase 1, Kuniko has secured a diamond drill rig to commence a more ambitious Phase 2 drilling program in early July. This next phase aims to test larger step-out extensions, explore potential higher-grade zones at depth, and expand on the newly identified offset discovery at Silica Hill. The program is designed to advance the Commonwealth-Silica Hill project towards a future Mineral Resource upgrade, with a focus on both depth extensions and lateral growth.

Alongside drilling, Kuniko is leveraging geophysical consultants Resource Potentials to integrate Mobile MT, historical geochemistry, and geophysical datasets to refine additional regional drill targets across the broader project corridor. This integrated approach is expected to identify new discovery opportunities beyond the current resource footprint.

Strategic Location Within the Lachlan Fold Belt

The Commonwealth-Silica Hill project lies approximately 100 kilometres north of Orange, NSW, within the prolific Lachlan Fold Belt; a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction hosting major operations such as Newmont’s Cadia-Ridgeway and Evolution Mining’s Northparkes and Cowal mines. The project is situated along trend from Alkane Resources’ Boda-Kaiser porphyry copper-gold deposit, which contains over 10 million ounces of gold equivalent.

Geologically, the project comprises a polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system at Commonwealth, characterized by high-grade gold, silver, and zinc mineralisation, alongside an epithermal stockwork vein system at Silica Hill rich in silver sulphosalts. Kuniko’s exploration approach is informed by analogies to globally recognised VMS-epithermal deposits such as Eskay Creek in Canada, though it continues to develop a model specific to the Lachlan Fold Belt setting.

Historical Data and Quality Assurance

The Phase 1 drilling results build on extensive historical exploration by Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT), which completed 87 RC and diamond holes between 2016 and 2023, alongside systematic soil and rock-chip sampling. Kuniko has reviewed and incorporated this legacy data, with its Competent Person confirming the accuracy and suitability of the historical assays and sampling methodologies.

Drilling was conducted with industry-standard HQ3 triple tube diamond core, achieving over 97% core recovery and high-quality sampling protocols. Assays were processed by SGS laboratories using fire assay and multi-element ICP techniques, with rigorous quality control measures including certified reference materials and blanks. Kuniko’s gold equivalent calculations apply conservative commodity price assumptions, discounted from current spot prices, and metallurgical recovery rates drawn from comparable polymetallic deposits in the region, such as Godolphin Resources’ Lewis Ponds project.

This approach provides a cautious yet informative framework for assessing the combined metal value of the polymetallic system, acknowledging that true widths of mineralisation are not yet determined and metallurgical recoveries await confirmation from future test work.

Next Steps and Regional Exploration Potential

As Kuniko prepares for Phase 2 drilling, the company is also advancing regional exploration efforts. The integration of Mobile MT geophysics with historical datasets aims to refine drill targets at prospects including Silica Hill East, Geenobby, and Gladstone, where significant geochemical and geophysical anomalies remain untested.

The ongoing work aligns with Kuniko’s broader strategy to unlock the full scale of the Commonwealth-Silica Hill mineralised system. Early indications from the Phase 1 program and recent high-grade extensions reported in the high-grade gold-silver extensions and bonanza silver gold intercepts announcements provide a strong foundation for this next stage.