Great Divide Mining and Dart Mining have completed a 4,100m drilling campaign at the Banshee Prospect, confirming gold mineralisation over a 730m strike that remains open. The results advance the project toward a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.
- 4,100m drilling confirms gold over 730m strike
- Mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth
- Dart Mining earns 45% interest, targeting 51% after resource estimate
- Significant gold, silver, and antimony intercepts reported
- Next steps include metallurgical testing and 3D modelling
Drilling Campaign Confirms Broad Gold Mineralisation
Great Divide Mining Ltd (ASX:GDM) and joint venture partner Dart Mining NL (ASX:DTM) have wrapped up a substantial 4,100-metre diamond drilling program at the Banshee Prospect within the Coonambula Antimony-Gold Joint Venture in Central Queensland. The drilling has confirmed gold mineralisation extending over a 730-metre strike length, with assays revealing consistent gold presence from one end of the strike to the other. Crucially, this mineralised system remains open both along strike and at depth, indicating further potential beyond the current drilling footprint.
Key Intercepts Highlight Gold and Silver Zones
The latest batch of assays includes standout intercepts such as 12.0 metres at 1.03 g/t gold and 1.01 g/t silver from 128 metres depth, featuring higher-grade zones within that interval, including 3.4 metres at 1.78 g/t gold and 2.20 g/t silver. Other notable results include 3.0 metres at 1.96 g/t gold from 33 metres and narrower but high-grade hits like 0.7 metres at 6.64 g/t gold. Silver and antimony mineralisation appears concentrated in discrete shoots near historical workings, while gold is more broadly distributed along the strike.
Dart Mining Advances Toward Majority Ownership
Completion of this drilling phase satisfies Dart Mining's obligations to earn a 45% stake in the Coonambula Project, with the company set to increase its interest to 51% upon delivery of a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate. The JV agreement tasks Dart with further metallurgical test work and three-dimensional geological modelling to underpin this resource estimate. Dart’s Managing Director, James Chirnside, emphasised the significance of testing the full 730-metre strike and the encouraging continuity of gold mineralisation, which bodes well for defining a robust resource.
Geological Insights and Mineralisation Style
The mineralisation at Banshee is hosted within granodiorite intrusives, characterised by disseminated arsenopyrite with local stibnite veins and quartz-stibnite veining, associated with pervasive sericite alteration. While antimony assays in the recent drilling are generally low, high-grade Sb-Ag zones occur in shoot-like structures near historical mining areas. The presence of silver-only anomalism near the western limits of drilling may reflect supergene remobilisation, marking this corridor as a priority for follow-up exploration.
Project Context and Next Steps
The Coonambula Project, located about 390km north-northwest of Brisbane, holds significant promise as an intrusion-related gold system with historical antimony mining dating back to the late 19th century. Nearby prospects like Lady Mary and the Perseverance mine add to the regional potential, with a combined strike length of about 5km for the antimony-gold zone. Great Divide Mining’s CEO Justin Haines noted that these drilling results represent a key milestone in unlocking the project’s value.
Looking ahead, the joint venture partners plan to complete metallurgical testing on composite drill core samples and develop a 3D geological model to support the maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate. This resource declaration is expected to be a pivotal step in advancing the project toward potential development and production.
Bottom Line?
The confirmation of a continuous, open gold system over 730 metres at Banshee sets the stage for a maiden JORC resource, but metallurgical results and deeper drilling will be critical to defining economic viability.
Questions in the middle?
- How will metallurgical test results influence the economic potential of the Banshee mineralisation?
- What are the implications of the open mineralisation at depth and along strike for future drilling campaigns?
- How might the discrete high-grade antimony-silver shoots impact the overall resource and mining strategy?