Breakthrough Minerals Finds More Copper-Gold Beyond Turpentine Resource
Breakthrough Minerals has extended copper-gold mineralisation beyond the existing Turpentine resource model, with the northernmost hole returning 5 metres at 3.75% CuEq. A dedicated RC rig is due to resume drilling next week as the company tests how far the system continues.
- 5m at 3.75% CuEq within 14m at 1.57% CuEq in northernmost hole
- Three new holes extend mineralisation beyond the existing resource model
- Turpentine inferred resource stands at 8.7Mt at 1.16% CuEq
- Dedicated RC drilling resumes next week, with assays expected from early October
- Further 2,500m planned across Hazel Creek targets
Northernmost Hole Delivers Turpentine’s Best New Grade
Breakthrough Minerals Limited (ASX:BTM) has produced its strongest result from the latest Turpentine drilling phase in the hole furthest north drilled to date. Hole 26TUR009 returned 14 metres at 1.57% copper equivalent from 251 metres, including 5 metres at 3.75% CuEq from 252 metres, with the higher-grade interval containing 3.07% copper and 0.84 grams per tonne gold.
Two neighbouring holes also produced significant results. 26TUR004 intersected 9 metres at 1.59% CuEq from 262 metres, including 5 metres at 2.62% CuEq, while 26TUR008 returned a broader but lower-grade 24 metres at 0.46% CuEq from 271 metres. All three holes sit within the resource expansion program at Turpentine, part of Breakthrough’s North Queensland Copper-Gold Project.
Drilling Pushes Beyond Existing Resource Envelope
The company says the results extend its interpreted mineralised system north and at depth, beyond the existing Mineral Resource model. That interpretation is supported by the position of 26TUR009 as the northernmost hole completed at Turpentine and by mineralisation being intersected in all nine holes drilled by Breakthrough at the deposit during 2026.
Turpentine currently carries an Inferred Mineral Resource of 8.7 million tonnes at 1.16% CuEq, representing 101,000 tonnes of contained CuEq. The wider North Queensland project has an 18.8Mt resource at 1.07% CuEq for 200,000 tonnes of contained CuEq. The new drilling does not yet constitute an updated resource estimate; it adds exploration evidence that will need to be tested, modelled and classified before any resource growth can be quantified.
RC Rig Set to Test Northern Continuation
Breakthrough plans to restart drilling next week with a dedicated reverse-circulation rig focused on the northern down-plunge continuation. Assay results are expected from early October, followed by about 2,500 metres of RC drilling across the broader Hazel Creek project, including Turpentine South, Eight Mile Creek North and Eight Mile Creek East.
The program forms part of an approximately 10,000m exploration campaign for 2026. The immediate question is less whether Turpentine contains high-grade pockets than whether the new intersections demonstrate enough continuity, thickness and geometry to materially enlarge an Inferred resource. Reported intervals are downhole lengths, with true widths estimated at roughly 75% to 95% of those lengths, and the company notes that no independent audit or verification of the new assays has yet been completed.
Bottom Line?
The next RC holes and early October assays will determine whether Turpentine’s northern extension is a coherent resource opportunity or a series of encouraging but still isolated intersections.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling demonstrate continuous mineralisation between the latest northern holes?
- How much of the interpreted extension can ultimately support an updated Mineral Resource Estimate?
- Will the broader Hazel Creek targets deliver comparable grades and widths to Turpentine?
