Industrial Minerals positions North Pool for its first Laverton gold drilling

North Pool clears the licensing hurdle

Industrial Minerals Ltd (ASX:IND) has moved its Laverton gold strategy from acquisition and desktop work towards field execution, with the North Pool exploration licence granted on 30 September. The licence hosts the Chatterbox Shear Zone, a banded iron formation target with at least 1,700 metres of interpreted strike, and is now cleared for the company’s proposed maiden reverse-circulation drilling campaign.

“North Pool prospect (E38/4061) – Chatterbox Shear Zone with historic > 1 g/t Au drill intercepts.”

“Laverton Gold Project location plan, IND tenements and neighbouring gold resources.”

Caption and image © Industrial Minerals Ltd. From “Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report”, 26 Oct 2026.

The target sits about 1.5 kilometres along strike from Genesis Minerals’ Beasley Creek deposit, which the filing describes as containing 430,000 ounces at 2.0 grams per tonne gold. IND cautions that nearby resources have not been independently verified and that geological proximity does not imply comparable mineralisation on its ground. At North Pool itself, historic drilling included 1 metre at 82.2 g/t gold, 1 metre at 36.0 g/t and 4 metres at 19.17 g/t, but those results remain historical and have not yet been systematically followed up by IND.

The company’s reinterpretation of open-file aeromagnetic and gravity data identified a coherent target coincident with the Chatterbox Shear Zone and the historic high-grade results. That work was detailed in the North Pool geophysical target, which reported the anomaly ahead of the acquisition’s completion. IND has lodged its Programme of Work with the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration, while contractor selection is well advanced.

Acquisition reshapes the exploration portfolio

IND completed its acquisition of the Laverton Gold Portfolio from Galleon Metals on 27 August after shareholder approval. The deal added 15 exploration licences covering about 205 square kilometres across a 45-kilometre structural corridor in the Laverton Tectonic Zone, alongside four drill-ready BIF-hosted gold targets. Consideration included 46,666,667 IND shares and a 2.0% net smelter return royalty to the vendor.

The quarter also completed the second tranche of IND’s placement, with 10 million shares issued at 10 cents each to raise $1.0 million before costs. Together with the first tranche, the placement raised the planned $3.0 million. The company says proceeds are being directed to Laverton exploration, minimum expenditure on existing projects, transaction costs and working capital.

The funding came alongside a substantial increase in securities on issue. At 30 September, IND had 162,690,491 shares on issue and a further 20,818,748 options and performance rights. The quarter included 5,700,950 shares issued in lieu of accrued director fees and 8.8 million director performance rights, as well as the vendor consideration shares.

Cash supports the next work programme

IND reported $2.50 million in cash at quarter end. The Appendix 5B showed net operating cash use of $422,000 and net investing cash use of $76,000, partly offset by $919,000 of net financing inflows. On the company’s reported quarterly spending measure, available funding represented an estimated 5.23 quarters, although that calculation predates the cost of any drilling campaign.

No drilling occurred during the September quarter, with $262,800 recorded as exploration expenditure, mainly for Laverton desktop work, heritage, approvals and drill planning. The immediate execution risk is therefore practical rather than geological: IND still needs to complete a heritage survey and agreement with registered native title holders, receive DMPE approval and formally engage the drilling contractor before RC drilling can begin.

Pippingarra remains an option, not an owned asset

The Laverton push has not displaced IND’s industrial minerals portfolio. After quarter end, the company extended its exclusive option over the Pippingarra Quarry Project by 24 months to October 2028, retaining the right to acquire an 80% interest in the non-construction mineral rights. IND says it has invested about $874,000 in the project to date, including drilling, resource estimation, surveys, beneficiation testwork and bulk sample supply to potential offtake partners.

That extension commits IND to at least $200,000 of further work across testwork, feasibility studies and commercial negotiations. For the December quarter, the decisive evidence will be whether North Pool can progress from a well-supported historical target to actual drilling, while Pippingarra must continue to justify the capital and management attention allocated to an asset the company does not yet own.