Mt Malcolm Mines has reported high-grade shallow gold intercepts and mineralisation extending roughly 350 metres west of the previously drilled Golden Crown area. The results broaden the exploration target, but pending split assays and unknown true widths leave the resource-growth case unfinished.
- 6m at 9.28 g/t gold from 31m, including 1m at 23.5 g/t
- 17 of 24 RC holes returned intercepts at or above 0.5 g/t gold
- Western drilling identified mineralisation about 350m beyond the earlier footprint
- 22 of 24 holes returned assays above 0.2 g/t gold
- Follow-up drilling and a potential resource update are planned
Golden Crown drilling widens the target
Mt Malcolm Mines NL (ASX:M2M) has extended the apparent footprint of its Golden Crown gold system near Leonora, with western step-out drilling finding mineralisation roughly 350 metres beyond the core area tested in 2024 and 2025. The July-August campaign covered 24 reverse circulation holes for 2,520 metres and returned several strong shallow intersections.
The headline result was 6 metres at 9.28 g/t gold from 31 metres in hole 26GCRC014, including 1 metre at 23.5 g/t. Other notable intercepts included 9 metres at 3.64 g/t from 12 metres in 26GCRC024, 3 metres at 5.78 g/t from 13 metres in 26GCRC022, and 5 metres at 2.88 g/t from 21 metres in 26GCRC027.
Western traverse finds mineralisation beyond the drilled core
The strongest exploration signal came from holes 26GCRC028 to 032, which formed a west-trending traverse of about 320 metres. Three of the five holes returned assays above 0.3 g/t gold, led by 1 metre at 3.55 g/t from 22 metres in 26GCRC030, approximately 245 metres west of 26GCRC027. The westernmost hole, 26GCRC032, returned 1 metre at 0.37 g/t from 3 metres.
That result is encouraging but uneven. Two holes on the traverse were barren or weakly anomalous, and the company says the spacing is not sufficient to establish the geological and grade continuity required for a Mineral Resource estimate. The extension therefore adds targets rather than ounces to the current inventory.
High hit rate across shallow and stacked lodes
Across the full campaign, 22 of 24 holes returned assays above 0.2 g/t gold, 17 produced intercepts at or above the company’s 0.5 g/t lower cut-off, and 10 contained at least one one-metre assay above 1 g/t. Several holes returned multiple intervals, including four separate intervals in 26GCRC027 and three in 26GCRC026, consistent with the company’s interpretation of stacked lodes or splays rather than a single mineralised surface.
The drilling delivers on the Golden Crown drilling program, which earlier targeted resource expansion, infill drilling and an untested corridor. Golden Crown currently carries 95,700 tonnes at 1.50 g/t gold for 4,600 ounces, from the company’s March 2026 Mineral Resource estimate. The new drilling post-dates that estimate and has not been included in it.
Assay and geometry limits the immediate read-through
There are important qualifications to the results. Intercepts are reported as downhole widths, with true widths still unknown. Some headline grades include four- or five-metre composite assays, while one-metre split results remain pending and may alter the reported grades. The company has also cautioned that the western holes are spaced about 100 to 150 metres apart, too widely to support a resource estimate at this stage.
Mt Malcolm plans to update its three-dimensional structural model, then prioritise infill and step-out drilling along the western and northwestern trends. The next meaningful test is whether the new intercepts can be connected into coherent lodes with sufficient width, continuity and grade to support an updated resource, rather than remaining isolated exploration hits.
Bottom Line?
Golden Crown has gained scale and several high-grade shallow hits, but the investment case now depends on pending split assays and tighter drilling converting the western anomaly into continuous mineralisation.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the pending one-metre split assays confirm or change the composite-based headline grades?
- Can follow-up drilling establish true widths and continuous lodes across the western extension?
- How much of the expanded footprint, if any, can be incorporated into the next Golden Crown resource update?