Lightning Minerals Advances Two New Gold Targets at Mt Turner

Two Distinct Gold Targets Emerge in Western Zone

Lightning Minerals Limited (ASX:L1M) has transformed the Western Zone of its Mt Turner Gold Project in northern Queensland from a conceptual structural target into two well-defined gold corridors, significantly expanding the project's exploration footprint. The northern target boasts a continuous 1,000-metre gold anomaly adjacent to a broader 1,400-metre multi-element hydrothermal footprint, interpreted as an intrusion-related gold system (IRGS). Meanwhile, the southern target comprises four sub-parallel gold-in-soil trends, each extending 200 to 300 metres, linked to mineralised rhyolite dykes indicative of epithermal-style mineralisation.

Managing Director Troy Brice described the scale and coherence of the northern target as "particularly encouraging," noting that the gold anomaly and hydrothermal footprint remain open for expansion to the south and east. The southern gold trends, with peak soil values reaching 330 ppb Au, are supported by rock-chip samples showing significant silver and arsenic alongside gold.

Geochemical and Structural Insights Define Exploration Priorities

The recent soil geochemistry program, comprising 551 samples collected on 200-metre spaced lines, revealed a high-temperature thermal vector anomaly (Cu×Bi/As ratio) extending 1,400 metres along strike in the north. Gold concentrations align along the western edge of this anomaly, overlapping arsenic and zinc pathfinder elements, consistent with a zoned hydrothermal system. This geochemical zonation supports the IRGS model and guides target prioritisation for trenching and drilling.

In contrast, the southern target's gold trends are associated with a distinct Au-Ag-As-Sb signature and lower copper and bismuth levels, suggesting a cooler, epithermal environment. The four north-trending gold anomalies are oblique to the main structural corridor and are interpreted as tensional zones facilitating mineralising fluids through rhyolite dykes.

Rock-Chip Sampling Reinforces Multi-Element Mineralisation

Selective rock-chip sampling during the 2026 program returned anomalous gold values up to 1.19 g/t Au with accompanying silver (38.8 g/t Ag) and elevated arsenic, lead, and antimony. Historical reconnaissance samples collected between 2019 and 2022 included assays as high as 15.35 g/t Au, 198 g/t Ag, and 22% Cu, confirming the multi-element nature of mineralisation within the Western Zone.

These rock-chip results align spatially with the soil anomalies and support the interpretation of a district-scale mineral system with variable mineralisation styles across structural and thermal gradients.

Planned Low-Cost Follow-Up Program to Refine Targets

Lightning Minerals is advancing a staged exploration program to validate and refine these targets ahead of drilling. Plans include approximately 100 additional soil samples to extend the northern anomalies, five trenches spaced at 200 metres to bedrock across the northern gold trend, and systematic rock-chip sampling along the southern gold trends. Trenching will provide critical structural data and bedrock gold assays to inform initial drill hole designs.

These activities remain subject to access, permitting, and capital allocation but represent a cost-effective approach to advancing multiple high-priority targets within the Mt Turner district.

Western Zone Adds to Mt Turner’s District-Scale Potential

The Western Zone targets complement Lightning Minerals’ existing 14-kilometre Drummer Fault gold system, reinforcing the company’s thesis of a large, intrusive-centred porphyry system with multiple mineralising events and structural controls. The distinct geochemical signatures and mineralisation styles observed between the northern and southern targets suggest mineralisation formed at different structural and thermal levels, offering a rich exploration framework.

While the results are preliminary and require further validation, they materially advance the Mt Turner Project’s exploration pipeline and highlight the potential for significant gold discoveries beyond the initial drilling successes reported along the Drummer Fault corridor.