MEX Finds Broad Gold Envelope at Jubilee South Ahead of Sovereign Drilling

Jubilee South Expands Beyond a Single Vein

Minerals Exploration Limited (ASX:MEX, NZX:MEX) has found a wider gold-bearing envelope around the historic Jubilee vein than a narrow high-grade lode model alone would suggest, with all four holes in its second-stage Jubilee South program returning gold mineralisation. The 633.5 metres of diamond drilling tested the southern continuation of the Jubilee system toward the Sovereign prospect, near historic mine workings in New Zealand’s Hauraki Goldfield.

The strongest broad result came from TGW011, which returned 80.3 metres at 0.30g/t Au from 122 metres, including 16 metres at 0.52g/t and a one-metre interval at 1.21g/t. TGW014 delivered 52.5 metres at 0.25g/t from 47.5 metres to the end of the hole, including 8.5 metres at 0.52g/t.

Higher-Grade Pockets Sit Inside Lower-Grade Zones

The remaining holes added narrower but locally stronger intervals. TGW012 returned 22.7 metres at 0.35g/t Au, including 0.9 metres at 2.60g/t, while TGW013 produced 3.8 metres at 1.10g/t, including one metre at 2.79g/t, alongside several other mineralised zones.

MEX said the results point to a broad hydrothermal alteration and veining envelope, with gold concentrated locally along structures, lithological contacts and more permeable units. Executive Director Brett Mitchell said the intervals provide vectors for the next targeting phase, including proposed drilling at Sovereign (ASX:MEX, NZX:MEX). That interpretation remains exploratory: the company does not know the true widths of the intercepts, and the reported grades are downhole composites rather than resource estimates.

Sovereign Drilling Plan Takes Shape

The next campaign is intended to close the gap between Jubilee South and Sovereign, where historical drilling recorded materially higher grades across several structures. MEX is finalising a proposed program of approximately 1,200 metres across six holes, subject to permitting, land access and exploration approvals. The company plans to combine the new results with mapped contacts, faults, historic workings and geophysical data in an updated three-dimensional model before refining targets.

The company also reported reconnaissance sampling at Joe’s Track, about 450 metres south of Sovereign. Selective samples from veined mullock returned up to 32.5g/t Au, while a quartz-veined andesite outcrop sample returned 20.1g/t. Those numbers are attention-grabbing but narrow in evidentiary value: MEX explicitly classifies the samples as selective grab samples, insufficient to establish continuous width or grade.

Recovery Issues Limit Interpretation

Parts of the drilling carry meaningful technical caveats. TGW012’s principal composite averaged approximately 62% recovery, with local recovery near 25%, while TGW013 encountered a 1.2-metre zero-recovery interval that was excluded from reported composites. MEX said no definitive grade-recovery relationship has been established, although local sampling bias cannot be ruled out where recovery was poor. An independent review of the Jubilee and Jubilee South drilling completed to date has now commenced.

The results strengthen the geological case for testing the corridor toward Sovereign, but they do not establish a Mineral Resource or economic viability. The immediate test is whether the proposed follow-up holes can turn a broad, mostly low-grade envelope with isolated higher-grade structures into repeatable geometry and continuity, rather than simply adding more promising-looking intersections.