Great Southern Mining expands gold targets with A$4.76 million in cash

Cash strengthened through asset sale and equity raising

Great Southern Mining Limited (ASX:GSN) ended FY2026 with a materially stronger balance sheet, but remains firmly in the exploration phase. Cash and cash equivalents rose to A$4.76 million from A$1.14 million a year earlier, helped by the A$4 million sale of the Southern Star mining licence to Regis Resources and a A$4.63 million share placement completed in March and June.

The Southern Star transaction also carries potential future payments of up to A$5 million, tied to gold prices at the start of mining and the declaration of a JORC ore reserve above 150,000 ounces. Those amounts are contingent rather than current funding. Great Southern spent A$3.62 million on exploration during the year, while operating cash outflows were A$1.18 million, leaving the company dependent on exploration progress, asset transactions or future equity funding to sustain activity over time.

Duketon drilling lengthens two gold targets

The centrepiece of the operational report is the Duketon Gold Project in Western Australia. At Golden Boulder, 56 reverse-circulation holes covering 5,234 metres extended mineralisation by about 2km, taking the interpreted strike length to approximately 3.5km. Results included 6 metres at 6.7 g/t gold, including 1 metre at 34.5 g/t, and 5 metres at 5.1 g/t, including 1 metre at 23.9 g/t.

Two diamond holes added geological detail rather than an immediate resource statement. One 652-metre hole did not intersect significant gold accumulations, while a second hole on the Main Line intersected stacked lodes and extended one western lode about 40 metres down dip. At Amy Clarke, a 196-hole aircore program defined gold mineralisation over 4.7km, including 17 metres at 1.4 g/t gold and a separate 2-metre interval at 23.9 g/t. The company says RC drilling is now focused on testing those trends, but the results remain exploration intercepts rather than a JORC resource or reserve.

Mon Ami offers the clearest resource growth pathway

Mon Ami delivered the strongest reported follow-up drilling case. The 3,089-metre RC program returned 16 metres at 3.37 g/t gold, including 4 metres at 8.54 g/t, along with several other broad, moderate-grade intersections at depth. The existing 2021 mineral resource stands at 55,500 ounces, comprising 52,500 ounces indicated and 3,000 ounces inferred at a 0.5 g/t cut-off.

Great Southern says the new results extend mineralisation down dip and down plunge and could support additions to that estimate, although no updated resource has yet been reported. The company is also considering options to monetise Mon Ami, including a small-scale mining venture, but the annual report does not establish that development will proceed.

Gold Fields funds the next Queensland test

In Queensland, Gold Fields is funding and managing up to 1,300 metres of diamond drilling at the Mt Dillon target under an earn-in agreement that could see it spend up to A$15 million to earn a 75% interest in Edinburgh Park. Mt Dillon is defined by chargeability and resistivity anomalies interpreted as possible sulphide-bearing and hydrothermally altered parts of an intrusive system. Assays are still pending.

The Queensland portfolio has not been uniformly successful. Five holes at Leichhardt Creek recorded no economic metal accumulations, although the drilling encountered quartz-pyrite veining, phyllic alteration and weak porphyry-style features. A narrow interval in one hole returned 278 g/t silver, 0.91% copper and 8.7% combined zinc and lead. At East Laverton, the 811.5-metre Diorite Hill hole also returned no economic metal concentrations, prompting the company to shift its focus towards gold targets in that tenement package.

Reported profit requires reconciliation

The financial statements show a return to profitability, largely because of a A$2.42 million gain on the Southern Star sale. However, the report does not present that result consistently: the consolidated statement of profit or loss records net profit of A$277,058, while the directors’ report and statement of changes in equity cite A$213,249. The apparent mismatch should be reconciled before the annual result is treated as a clean measure of operating performance.

Either way, the profit is transaction-driven rather than evidence of mining revenue. Exploration and evaluation assets increased to A$15.49 million, and the auditor identified their carrying value as a key audit matter. The next test for the story is therefore geological and financial at once: whether upcoming drilling can convert long, scattered intercepts into a resource large enough to justify continued spending without repeatedly returning to the equity market.