675,000 Ounces: Zenith Reports Dulcie Growth and $4.23 Million Cash

Dulcie Resource More Than Doubles

Zenith Minerals Limited (ASX:ZNC) finished FY26 with a substantially larger gold story, but not yet a mine. A 12,621-metre, 77-hole drilling campaign lifted the Consolidated Dulcie Gold Project’s Inferred Mineral Resource to 21.3 million tonnes at 1.0 grams per tonne gold for 675,000 ounces, more than double the 302,000-ounce resource previously reported at Dulcie Far North.

The expansion came as Zenith consolidated an approximately six-kilometre gold corridor in Western Australia, including the acquisition of Mining Lease M77/599 for $1.5 million in cash plus a 2% net smelter royalty. The newly secured tenure covers an untested 600-metre section between Dulcie North and Dulcie, and drilling there began after year end. Zenith has also planned a scoping study covering staged open-pit, toll-treatment and ore-sale options.

Takeover Now Sets the Company’s Direction

The strategic question is no longer simply how quickly Dulcie can grow. Following a formal review, Zenith entered a takeover implementation deed with Forrestania Resources in June, with the offer structured as one Forrestania share for every 4.3 Zenith shares. The offer remained conditional at the report date and, after year end, Forrestania disclosed a relevant interest in 372.7 million Zenith shares, or 58.23%.

The bid has also acquired a regulatory complication. The Takeovers Panel declared unacceptable circumstances on 27 August, issued final orders on 17 September and affirmed those orders on 28 September after a review. Further disclosure is required from both Forrestania and Zenith, while the offer was scheduled to close on 21 October subject to extensions. The annual report says the directors have accepted the offer for their disclosed holdings, although there is no certainty the transaction will become unconditional or reach compulsory acquisition.

Cash Position Improved Through Fundraising

Zenith’s accounts show an explorer still dependent on capital markets rather than operating revenue. The company reported an after-tax loss of $871,395, narrower than the $2.90 million loss in FY25, while operating cash outflow increased to $1.70 million as exploration activity accelerated. It ended June with $4.23 million in cash, $2.07 million in listed financial assets and no borrowings.

Funding during the year included a $3.53 million rights issue, a $7.65 million placement to Ida Metal Investments at 12.75 cents a share and about $1.75 million from option exercises. Net assets rose to $26.04 million, helped by capital raisings and a $1.14 million fair-value gain on listed investments. That balance sheet provides room for near-term work, but the report explicitly says the timing and scope of Dulcie’s studies depend on the takeover outcome and available funding.

Resource Growth Still Needs Technical Proof

The 675,000-ounce figure is entirely Inferred and is not an Ore Reserve. Zenith says no mining or geotechnical studies have been completed, no modifying factors have been applied and approximately 16% of the resource may require mining-lease extensions for access. The company also flags potential pressure-oxidation requirements because of pyrrhotite, possible dilution from the shallow-dipping lodes and the need for more detailed metallurgical work.

Metallurgical testwork produced reported leach recoveries of 85% to 98% in oxide samples, while earlier work on Dulcie Far North samples returned recoveries of 94% to 97%. Those results are encouraging technical inputs, not evidence of project economics. The next meaningful test will be whether drilling on M77/599 and extensions at Dulcie North, Scott’s Grey and Dulcie can support a higher-confidence resource and a credible development case before the takeover process determines who controls that work.