Metal Hawk has highlighted a shallow, high-grade gold intercept at the Numbat lode in Western Australia, with the structure remaining open along strike and at depth. Follow-up drilling is due to resume shortly, but the discovery remains an exploration result rather than a defined resource.
- 9m at 12.3g/t gold from 70m at Numbat
- Including 5m at 20.7g/t from 72m
- Mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike
- Follow-up drilling expected to recommence shortly
- A$1.3m cash balance reported at 30 June 2026
Numbat intercept puts shallow high-grade gold in focus
Metal Hawk Ltd (ASX:MHK) has put a sharper edge on its Leinster South story with a new presentation centred on the Numbat lode, where July reverse-circulation drilling returned 9 metres at 12.3 grams per tonne gold from 70 metres. The interval included 5 metres at 20.7g/t from 72 metres, making it the most prominent result in the company’s latest account of the Thylacine prospect.
The result is notable for both its grade and shallow depth, although it is still an exploration intercept. Metal Hawk describes the Numbat structure as open at depth and along strike, while its geological interpretation points to a steep northeast plunge and thickening of the quartz lode at depth.
Deep follow-up supports an untested structure
A separate historical hole provides some support for mineralisation continuing deeper into the system. Hole LSD003 returned 1.7 metres at 7.7g/t from 338.65 metres, including 1 metre at 12.4g/t from 339 metres. The company says only one hole east of the main Numbat intersection has tested the structure, leaving substantial drilling gaps rather than establishing continuity.
Leinster South covers about 430 square kilometres in a region surrounded by multi-million-ounce gold deposits. Metal Hawk says the project shares host rocks with the Agnew-Lawlers district and that the Thylacine prospect contains multiple stacked quartz veins within differentiated mafic rocks more than 300 metres thick. Those geological features provide targets for drilling, but they do not yet amount to a mineral resource or reserve.
Drilling is the next test for scale
Follow-up drilling is expected to recommence shortly, with the stated objective of testing the Numbat lode’s scale and continuity. The immediate question is whether the high-grade interval can be repeated along the interpreted plunge and across strike, rather than simply adding another isolated intercept to a growing exploration database.
The company reported A$1.3 million in cash at 30 June 2026, alongside A$1.2 million in listed investments. At the presentation’s stated share price of 9.5 cents, Metal Hawk put its undiluted market capitalisation at about A$11.7 million and enterprise value at A$9.2 million. Those figures frame the opportunity in compact-company terms: the next round of assays may carry considerable weight, while the cash balance also makes the pace and funding of continued exploration material.
Bottom Line?
Numbat has delivered an eye-catching shallow intercept, but the next drilling campaign must demonstrate continuity before the discovery can move beyond a promising geological signal.
Questions in the middle?
- Can follow-up drilling confirm the Numbat lode’s interpreted northeast plunge and continuity?
- How much of the high-grade structure extends along strike and at depth?
- Will Metal Hawk’s reported cash and investments support the planned campaign without additional funding?