MB Gold has secured up to $220,000 in Western Australian government co-funding for a 2,000-metre diamond drilling campaign at its Murphy Well Prospect. The program will test three previously untested geophysical anomalies, with assays expected in the first quarter of 2027.
- Up to $220,000 EIS co-funding awarded for Murphy Well drilling
- 2,000m diamond campaign scheduled to begin in November 2026
- Three untested chargeability anomalies identified by DDIP survey
- DDH1 appointed as drilling contractor
- Assay results targeted for Q1 2027
Government grant funds Murphy Well diamond drilling
MB Gold Limited (ASX:MBG) has won up to $220,000 in Western Australian Exploration Incentive Scheme co-funding for a 2,000-metre diamond drilling campaign at the Murphy Well Prospect, giving the junior explorer government support for its next major test in the Marble Bar Gold Project.
The drilling is scheduled to begin in November 2026, with DDH1 appointed as contractor. Core processing is expected to continue through December and January, while assay results are anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. The timing makes the campaign one of MB Gold’s clearest near-term exploration catalysts, although the targets remain untested.
Three chargeability anomalies move to the drill queue
The program will target three high-priority chargeability anomalies identified after a Dipole-Dipole Induced Polarisation survey over Murphy Well. The survey, completed in July with the support of an earlier $100,000 EIS grant, produced targets within and near the edge of the Murphy Well Granodiorite.
The latest geophysical work, which was reported as identifying multiple untested zones beneath the project, has now been converted into a funded drilling plan. The anomalies may reflect sulphide accumulation associated with an intrusion-related or structural gold and base-metal system, but chargeability alone does not establish the presence of economic mineralisation.
Historical drilling provides an imperfect lead
Earlier drilling encountered sericite alteration, trace disseminated sulphides and quartz veining across broad intervals. The company cites a 5-metre interval grading 1.1g/t gold, 15g/t silver, 0.3% lead and 0.23% zinc from 219 metres in MBRC0608, alongside a 1-metre interval grading 9.92g/t gold, 39g/t silver, 0.45% lead and 2% zinc from 341 metres in MWDD002.
Those results come from previous disclosures rather than new assays in this announcement. The significance of the November campaign will therefore lie in whether drilling can intersect mineralisation directly beneath the newly defined anomalies and generate the structural and metallurgical information MB Gold says it is seeking.
Q1 2027 assays will test the geological thesis
The grant is MB Gold’s second successful EIS application this year at Marble Bar. It reduces the company’s effective exploration burden for the campaign, while allowing the technical team to test targets that historical drilling did not reach. The company’s broader project sits in the Pilbara region, with reported access to infrastructure near Marble Bar and Port Hedland.
For shareholders, the key question is not whether the anomalies look compelling on a geophysical map, but whether the core confirms sulphides linked to gold and base-metal mineralisation. The first evidence should come from drilling observations before the more consequential assay results arrive in Q1 2027.
Bottom Line?
The grant lowers the cost of a meaningful geological test, but Murphy Well still needs drill core and assays to turn geophysical promise into evidence.
Questions in the middle?
- Will DDH1 commence and complete the planned 2,000 metres on schedule in November 2026?
- Do the three chargeability anomalies contain sulphides associated with gold and base-metal mineralisation?
- Will Q1 2027 assays support follow-up drilling or alter the interpretation of the Murphy Well system?