Manhattan Gold Finds New Depth in Jaws Expansion

Jaws Step-Out Extends Gold Search Area

Manhattan Gold Corporation Limited (ASX:MHC) has pushed its Jaws gold target well beyond the historic drilling footprint, with a 275-metre step-out producing a shallow, sizeable intercept. Drillhole JWS26012 returned 21.34 metres at 1.72g/t gold from 32 metres, including 4.57 metres at 4.89g/t and a narrower 1.52-metre interval at 9.35g/t.

The hole sits southwest of JWS26006b, which previously returned 41.15 metres at 4.66g/t gold from 83.82 metres. Manhattan says drilling has now tested 1,252 metres of strike at Jaws, including 490 metres of higher-grade gold mineralisation within a broader zone of anomalous results.

Anomalous Gold Reaches Beyond Historic Drilling

The expansion is not confined to the stronger central zone. JWS26011, drilled more than 650 metres outside the historic drilling footprint, returned two anomalous intervals: 1.52 metres at 0.203g/t gold from 129.54 metres and 1.52 metres at 0.111g/t from 147.83 metres. The company plans further drilling northwest of the hole to test possible extensions, with airborne magnetic data expected to assist target planning.

That makes the result more useful as a map of the system than as a standalone grade headline. Jaws now presents a 1.25-kilometre exploration corridor, but the outer portions are not equivalent to the 490-metre zone described by Manhattan as higher-grade mineralisation. Several reported intervals also remain open to interpretation because the release gives drilled lengths rather than true thicknesses.

Historic Estimate Carries Important Qualification

Jaws has a historical estimate of 3.4 million tonnes at 2.38g/t gold, or about 285,000 ounces, based on late-1980s diamond drilling. Manhattan explicitly classifies that figure as a foreign estimate rather than a JORC 2012 mineral resource, noting that the information needed to validate its methodology and assumptions is not currently available. The new drilling therefore adds exploration evidence, not a compliant resource update.

The company also reports that some 2026 drilling encountered poor ground conditions. JWS26007 and JWS26007b did not reach their planned depths, returning lower-grade intervals of 1.53 metres at 0.38g/t and 3.05 metres at 0.13g/t respectively. Manhattan says mineralisation remains untested below high-grade 2025 rock samples and open towards the northeast.

Ten Assays Pending Across Hook Lake Targets

The next batch of results will broaden the story beyond Jaws. Ten holes remain pending assay, including three from Spectre, a volcanogenic massive sulphide target with historic high-grade copper, zinc, silver and gold results. Maiden drilling has also been completed at Quantum and Lotus, described as orogenic gold targets, and Omega, a banded-iron formation target.

Regional till sampling is complete across the northeastern Jaws extensions and the Omega and Moonraker areas, while samples from JWS26008 and SPC26001 have been sent for scoping metallurgical test work. Manhattan says the drilling, magnetic survey, LiDAR and geochemical datasets will be combined to shape its 2027 exploration program. The immediate test is whether pending assays and follow-up holes convert a large anomalous footprint into demonstrable continuity, reliable true widths and a future resource case.