Ballard’s Mt Ida resource passes 1.8 million ounces after major drilling campaign
Ballard Mining has lifted the Mt Ida Gold Project’s global Mineral Resource Estimate by 56% to 1.84 million ounces, led by a larger Baldock deposit and new regional resources. The increase gives the planned feasibility study a much larger technical base, although most of the resource remains Inferred and is not yet an Ore Reserve.
- Global MRE rises 56% to 1.84 Moz
- Baldock grows 35% to 1.36 Moz
- 658 koz added from 124.6km of drilling
- Open pit resource increases 81% to 970 koz
- Feasibility study and reserve estimate targeted for mid-2027
Mt Ida resource reaches 1.84 million ounces
Ballard Mining (ASX:BM1) has added 658,000 ounces to its Mt Ida gold resource in six months, lifting the project’s global Mineral Resource Estimate by 56% to 20.4 million tonnes at 2.8 grams per tonne for 1.84 million ounces of contained gold. The update is a substantial step up from the 1.18 million ounces reported in February and takes the project 740,000 ounces above its resource at the time of Ballard’s July 2025 listing.
The growth was supported by 124,626 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling completed since the February update. Ballard reports a discovery cost of A$36 per ounce, based on A$24.1 million of exploration expenditure between 1 January and 30 June 2026. That figure describes the cost of adding resource ounces; it is not a measure of future mine operating costs or project economics.
Baldock remains the development anchor
Baldock contributed the largest increase, rising 35% to 12.2 million tonnes at 3.5 grams per tonne for 1.36 million ounces. Its open pit resource now contains 516,000 ounces, including 437,000 ounces in the higher-confidence Indicated category at 3.9 grams per tonne. The underground component adds a further 847,000 ounces, leaving Baldock as the clear centre of gravity for any future development plan.
Across Mt Ida, the open pit resource increased 81% to 12.4 million tonnes at 2.4 grams per tonne for 970,000 ounces. The underground resource rose 33% to 7.9 million tonnes at 3.4 grams per tonne for 866,000 ounces, with 98% of those underground ounces hosted at Baldock. Ballard says its strategy is to supplement Baldock feed with satellite deposits over the life of a mine.
Regional deposits broaden the project inventory
The update also expands the regional resource base. West Knell rose from 40,000 to 147,000 ounces, Golden Vale from 27,000 to 124,000 ounces and Jupiter from 11,000 to 29,000 ounces. Maiden resources were reported for Neptune at 27,000 ounces, Pluto at 27,000 ounces and Astro-Quasar at 21,000 ounces.
Those ounces are not evenly matched in confidence. The total resource contains 647,000 Indicated ounces and 1.19 million Inferred ounces, while the regional deposits reported in the update are classified as Inferred. Ballard plans further infill drilling at Baldock, Golden Vale and West Knell to convert Inferred material into Indicated Resources for mine studies and potential Ore Reserve conversion.
Feasibility study remains the next test
Ballard says its Mt Ida feasibility study and reserve estimation remain targeted for mid-calendar 2027. The resource has been reported using a A$4,500 per ounce gold price, a 0.5 grams per tonne open pit cut-off and underground cut-offs of 1.5 grams per tonne at Baldock and 1.3 grams per tonne for regional deposits. Metallurgical testing cited in the announcement indicates recoveries of about 91.5% for oxide and transitional ores and 91.4% for fresh ores, while a 92.5% recovery assumption was used for the resource’s eventual-extraction assessment.
The immediate uncertainty is conversion rather than headline size. Drilling completed after the 30 June 2026 resource cut-off continues to identify mineralisation extensions, but assays are still pending. Until the next study establishes mining schedules, costs, recoveries and reserves, the 1.84 million ounces remains a resource base rather than a production forecast.
Bottom Line?
The resource milestone materially strengthens Mt Ida’s development case, but the next value test is how much of the Inferred inventory can become Indicated and then Ore Reserves by mid-2027.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the 1.19 million Inferred ounces can be converted through the planned infill drilling?
- What mine schedule and capital intensity will the feasibility study assign to Baldock and its satellite deposits?
- Will pending assays extend the resource beyond the 30 June 2026 cut-off or mainly improve confidence in existing ounces?
