Minerals Exploration has expanded its New Zealand exploration pipeline after broad gold intersections at Jubilee South and high-grade tungsten results at Invincible. The next phase is more ambitious, but A$1.96 million in cash covers only 1.91 quarters at the latest spending rate.
- 633.5 metres of Jubilee South drilling returned broad, generally low-grade gold zones
- Lower Invincible mullock samples reached 6.04% WO₃
- Sovereign historical data generated new high-priority drill targets
- Davidsons maiden tungsten drilling depends on permits and approvals
- A$1.96 million cash balance equates to 1.91 quarters of funding
Jubilee South extends the Waitekauri mineralised system
Minerals Exploration Limited (ASX:MEX, NZX:MEX) has strengthened the geological case for a broader gold system at Waitekauri, while revealing a more immediate funding constraint: its A$1.96 million cash balance at 30 September equated to just 1.91 quarters of funding at the reported rate of outgoings.
The company completed four diamond holes totalling 633.5 metres at Jubilee South. Results included 80.3 metres at 0.30g/t gold in TGW011, 52.5 metres at 0.25g/t in TGW014 and 22.7 metres at 0.35g/t in TGW012. Narrower higher-grade sections included 0.9 metres at 2.60g/t and 1.0 metre at 2.79g/t. The results build on the Jubilee South drilling reported in September, which also described broad gold zones extending towards Sovereign.
The latest drilling did not replicate the exceptional grades recorded in historical underground sampling at Jubilee. Instead, MEX said the holes showed gold mineralisation within a broad hydrothermal alteration envelope, rather than a single narrow vein. That distinction matters: the drilling supports a larger geological system, but the reported intercepts do not establish a mineral resource or economic continuity.
Sovereign targets draw on historic high-grade intersections
At the neighbouring Sovereign prospect, a review and digitisation of historical drilling, soil sampling and underground channel data produced several priority targets. Historical results cited by MEX include 4 metres at 12.6g/t gold in hole ML6, including 2 metres at 22.8g/t, while underground channel samples included 115 metres at 3.64g/t.
MEX is designing an initial diamond drilling campaign to test the interpreted continuation between Jubilee and Sovereign, as well as several high-grade zones. Those results are historical rather than new assays from the quarter, and the company has begun the permitting process for the next drill program.
Invincible adds a high-grade tungsten thread
The company’s other major exploration thread is tungsten at Invincible in Otago. Six samples from historical workings at the Lower Invincible area produced three results above 1% WO₃, including a peak of 6.04% WO₃. The sample cluster sits about 700 metres southwest of the historic Invincible Gold Mine, within the Lower Invincible and Watherston’s Reef target area.
These were selective mullock and reconnaissance samples, not systematic channel samples. MEX expressly says the sampling cannot establish representative grade, width or continuity, and the original bedrock source of the tungsten-bearing material remains unidentified. Still, the results have prompted further structural mapping, sampling and drill planning across the historic Glenorchy scheelite field.
At State Mine and Davidsons Mine, 31 selective samples returned up to 37.4g/t gold and 1.82% tungsten at State Mine, and up to 2.63% tungsten at Davidsons. The company plans maiden drilling at Davidsons, but that work depends on the Exploration Permit being granted, currently expected towards the end of 2026, along with regulatory approvals. The earlier Glenorchy high-grade sampling also highlighted the same assay highs while noting that Davidsons remained untested by drilling.
Cash funds exploration for less than two quarters
MEX spent A$681,000 on exploration and evaluation during the quarter, alongside A$349,000 in operating cash outflows. It reported no financing inflow and no material steps towards raising additional cash, although the company said it expects to raise funds when required and continue its operations. That position sits against the annual funding warning, which had identified uncertainty around funding after the company reported a loss and operating cash outflow.
The quarter also brought the appointment of Tony McDonald as a non-executive director and the relinquishment of two South Australian uranium projects. For investors, the more consequential near-term variables are whether follow-up drilling converts broad or selective indications into continuous mineralisation, whether permits arrive on schedule, and how MEX funds the next campaign.
Bottom Line?
MEX has several credible drill targets, but the next valuation test will be continuity in the ground and a funding plan that extends beyond 1.91 quarters.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling at Jubilee and Sovereign demonstrate continuous, economically meaningful gold mineralisation?
- Can MEX identify the bedrock source and geological continuity behind the high-grade Lower Invincible tungsten samples?
- When will the Exploration Permit and regulatory approvals arrive, and will the company raise capital before commencing its planned 2027 drilling?