Lunnon Metals has returned broad, high-grade gold intersections from the extensions of its recently mined Lady Herial pit, including 16 metres at 9.14 g/t gold. The results will feed an updated resource model and a December scoping study assessing whether a deeper cut-back can work.
- 16m at 9.14 g/t gold among standout Lady Herial intersections
- 25 RC holes support continuity across the Northwest Prospect and Upper Structure
- Northwest mineralisation could improve cut-back strip ratio and economics
- Lady Herial resource update targeted for late November
- Scoping Study now expected in early to mid-December
Lady Herial drilling returns high-grade extensions
The first stage of Lunnon Metals’ Lady Herial open pit is finished, but the gold system underneath and beside it is still producing sizeable numbers. The company reported 25 reverse circulation holes from the potential LDH2 cut-back, including 16 metres at 9.14 g/t gold, 10 metres at 4.45 g/t and 14 metres at 2.87 g/t, with widths described as approximate true widths.
The results came from infill drilling across the Northwest Prospect and the Upper Structure, both of which begin roughly 25 to 45 metres below surface. Lunnon said the program was designed to tighten drilling to better than approximately 20 metres by 10 metres within the existing Mineral Resource, with the aim of improving confidence and potentially lifting portions of the resource from Inferred to Indicated or from Indicated to Measured.
Northwest Prospect could change the pit shape
The most consequential feature is not simply the headline grade. The Northwest Prospect sits above the Upper Structure and may allow an optimisation to move down through the overburden before reaching the deeper mineralisation. Lunnon said this could materially reduce the strip ratio and improve the economics of a Lady Herial cut-back, although that remains a study outcome rather than an established mining plan.
The latest drilling adds geological support to the company’s approach at Lady Herial, where the mine generated approximately $39 million in pre-tax free cash flow and produced 14,910 ounces of gold from 303,437 tonnes of ore. That earlier mining performance was reported in the Lady Herial mining outcome and provides operating experience, but it does not by itself establish that a second stage will meet the same economic test.
Resource model and study remain the next gates
Ten diamond holes are now being completed. Five will provide core for metallurgical testing against the St Ives Gold Mining Co. Lefroy plant flowsheet and also supply structural and geological information, while three are aimed at geotechnical parameters for open-pit design. Those results matter because the company’s cut-back assessment depends on more than grade: Lunnon Managing Director Edmund Ainscough identified the future gold price, overburden removal costs, resource confidence and pit-wall assumptions as key variables.
The timetable has consequently moved beyond the initial study schedule. Follow-up Hustler drilling and its resource update are due in late October or early November, LDH2 diamond-drilling assays are expected around mid-November, and the Lady Herial resource update is targeted for late November. The final Scoping Study is planned for early to mid-December, with permitting work continuing in parallel. The earlier Hustler and Koombana drilling had already pushed the study towards updated resource models across the broader Foster-Baker project.
Agnes and Thelma lose exploration priority
Not every nearby target delivered the same encouragement. Eleven RC holes testing Agnes and Thelma along the Foster Gold Belt produced no significant intercepts at Agnes and only occasional, narrow mineralisation at Thelma. Both prospects have been downgraded and will not receive further testing in the FY2027 campaign, concentrating the company’s exploration effort on more advanced or better-supported targets.
Bottom Line?
The drilling strengthens the geological case for LDH2, but the investment case now rests on whether the updated resource, pit optimisation and outstanding metallurgical and geotechnical work convert those intercepts into a viable December study.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the Lady Herial resource can move into higher-confidence classifications after the RC and diamond drilling?
- Will the Northwest Prospect materially reduce the strip ratio once updated pit-wall and overburden assumptions are applied?
- Can the December Scoping Study support a cut-back without relying on unusually favourable gold prices or cost assumptions?