Southern Cross Gold finds higher grades and new veins at Golden Dyke

Golden Dyke infill drilling strengthens high-grade cores

Infill drilling at Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (ASX:SX2) is producing the result exploration companies want from closer spacing: more definition without an obvious loss of grade. Five diamond holes at the Golden Dyke prospect within the Sunday Creek Gold-Antimony Project returned standout composites of 2.7 metres at 178.4 g/t gold, 6.8 metres at 49.8 g/t gold and 1.0 metre at 198.9 g/t gold.

The best result came from SDDSC225, where 2.7 metres at 178.4 g/t gold from 662.3 metres ranked as Southern Cross’ 13th-best composite intersection at Sunday Creek. It is also the deepest result reported on the GD40 vein set, with no drilling yet beneath the intercept. The same hole returned a further 3.9 metres at 32.9 g/t gold from 793.8 metres.

SDDSC218 delivered the broadest high-grade interval in the release: 6.8 metres at 49.8 g/t gold from 537.9 metres, including a 0.22-metre assay grading 1,290 g/t gold. SDDSC221 added a 1-metre interval at 198.9 g/t gold, built from adjacent assays of 334 g/t and 447 g/t gold. The company said eight composite intersections in the release exceeded 100 g/t gold, although these are down-hole lengths rather than declared true widths.

Four additional vein sets push mineralisation towards Christina

The drilling was not confined to confirming known mineralisation. SDDSC218 and SDDSC221 intersected four vein sets outside the current Exploration Target, extending Golden Dyke 30 metres to 50 metres west towards Christina. That direction matters because the company’s Christina-Golden Dyke connection had previously outlined a 481-metre continuous mineralised zone.

SDDSC218 cut 22 vein sets, while SDDSC221 intersected eight and SDDSC229 tied the Golden Dyke structures together at spacing of roughly 10 metres to 30 metres. Southern Cross said the infill program has reduced spacing in the tested block to approximately 30 metres along strike and 15 metres to 20 metres laterally. The five holes tested a block about 300 metres by 500 metres, between 280 metres and 750 metres below surface.

Antimony remains concentrated above the deeper gold zones

The gold results came with a second metal story. SDDSC218 returned a 0.35-metre assay grading 53.5% antimony and 20.8 g/t gold, within a 2.2-metre composite grading 27.7 g/t gold and 8.9% antimony. SDDSC229 also returned a 0.2-metre interval at 25.4 g/t gold and 13.0% antimony.

The company describes the tested block as zoned, with antimony richest in the upper portions and gold dominant at depth. Southern Cross calculates gold equivalent using a formula of gold plus 2.39 times antimony percentage, based on stated price and recovery assumptions linked to Costerfield. That makes the AuEq figures useful for exploration targeting, but they should not be read as an economic assessment or a mineral resource.

Exploration remains ahead of resource definition

The release lifts Sunday Creek’s reported drilling tally to 288 holes and 140.8 kilometres, with 106 composite intersections above 100 g/t gold and 115 above 10% antimony under the company’s stated cut-off methodology. Southern Cross also reported that SDDSC236, a bounding hole on the southern side of the Golden Dyke prospective terrain, returned no significant intersections.

The company has 72 holes awaiting results and says twelve rigs are operating across the project, while its 200,000-metre program is scheduled to continue through the first quarter of 2027. The immediate technical questions are whether the high-grade cores persist beneath SDDSC225, how far the westward vein sets continue towards Christina, and whether tighter drilling can eventually support a mineral resource estimate. Southern Cross states that current spacing is not yet sufficient for resource reporting, leaving the impressive grades as exploration results rather than a defined mineable inventory.