Golden Horse Hits Paydirt with Deep Strike at Hopes Hill

Golden Horse Minerals (ASX: GHM) has tapped into a rich seam of underground potential at its Hopes Hill Project in Western Australia, with the company's first diamond drill hole delivering a high-grade gold intercept at depth. And just in time, as gold prices continue to flirt with record highs.

The standout result came from hole GHHHRCD0054, which intersected 4.4 metres at 9.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 339 metres below surface, including a particularly juicy 1.9 metres at 20.7 g/t. For those playing at home, that is well into “bonanza” territory. The intercept sits about 300 metres vertically below surface and more than 160 metres beneath any previous drilling in the area.

Managing Director Nicholas Anderson is clearly chuffed. “What an exciting time to be drilling for high-grade gold,” he said, noting the fortunate alignment of strong gold prices, solid funding and an aggressive exploration push. “So saddle up and hang on to your hat,” he quipped.

Importantly, this is the deepest hole ever drilled at Hopes Hill, reaching 564 metres down and confirming the existence of a mineralised system that remains open in all directions. The results have opened up multiple new targets and reaffirm the project’s underground mining potential. It also marks a significant step in Golden Horse’s plan to test the plunge of mineralisation across the Hopes Hill trend, which now spans an impressive 1.7 kilometres.

Anderson says the discovery also backs up previous hits from the Central Zone and links to broader mineralisation from the Northern Zone. Notably, RC hole GHHHRC0059 intersected 30 metres at 2.2 g/t gold from 157 metres, including a richer 10 metres at 4.7 g/t. This mineralised trend is interpreted to plunge southward for over 850 metres, passing through several earlier high-grade hits and now connecting with the deeper intercept in GHHHRCD0054.

Backing up the drill bit, the company has also wrapped up the first phase of a down hole electromagnetic (DHEM) survey, which is expected to pinpoint fresh and extensional targets. Golden Horse engaged respected geophysical consultants Newexco, who have already had success in similar terrain 3 kilometres to the north.

With assays still pending for the lower sections of the diamond hole and further RC and DD (diamond drilling) programs planned, the next few months look to be a busy period of news flow. The company is also eyeing the use of a second RC rig to accelerate shallow drilling across the pit area and act as pre-collars for deeper diamond holes.

Geologically, the Hopes Hill system appears to sit within a typical orogenic setting, with gold hosted in quartz veining near volcanic and sedimentary contacts. The new drilling has penetrated into granite, suggesting the presence of a deeper “plumbing system” – a potentially fertile zone for gold deposition that remains largely untested.

Golden Horse holds more than 1900 square kilometres in the Southern Cross region, one of Western Australia’s classic gold districts. While the company is still early in its journey, the early signs from Hopes Hill are encouraging. If the deeper structures prove as fruitful as the first hole suggests, Golden Horse may be sitting on something much bigger than its modest market cap implies.