Golden Horse Saddles Up for Growth with Hope’s Hill at Full Gallop
For a company that only listed in December, Golden Horse Minerals (ASX: GHM) is hardly pacing itself. At its maiden investor webinar this week, Managing Director Nicholas Anderson delivered a confident trot through the company’s early but impressive innings, with its flagship Hope’s Hill gold project in Western Australia already proving to be more than just a fresh coat of paint on an old dig.
Based in the historically fertile Southern Cross Greenstone Belt, Golden Horse has assembled a dominant 130km² landholding that wraps around over 100km of prospective strike. But it’s the historic Hope’s Hill pit that’s quickly shaping up as the thoroughbred in the stable.
Originally mined in the 1990s to a shallow average depth of just 60 metres, the 1.3km-long pit is now delivering robust drill intercepts at depth and along strike. Since commencing drilling in January, Golden Horse has completed over 6,600 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at Hope’s Hill. The results are more than respectable – they’re downright compelling.
Among the standouts:
43m @ 4.5g/t gold from 103m (GHHHRC0019),
61m @ 2.5g/t from 91m (GHHHRC0001),
24m @ 2.5g/t from 144m (GHHHRC0007),
and 16m @ 3.1g/t from 101m (GHHHRC0017).
Crucially, Anderson emphasised that the pit remains open in all directions. The mineralisation is proving consistent not only through the centre but also extending north and south into areas previously constrained by tenure boundaries – a problem now rectified through strategic consolidation.
“This deposit didn’t stop producing because the gold ran out – it stopped because the boundaries said so,” Anderson noted during the session. “Now that we control the entire strike, we can finally follow the geology.”
And follow it they will. The company is now gearing up to deploy a diamond rig, backed by an Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grant from the WA Government. The aim? Greater structural understanding and deeper testing below the current drill levels. If the thick, high-grade intercepts continue at depth, Golden Horse could be sitting on a significantly larger system than initially anticipated.
Adding serious polish to the story are the fresh metallurgical results, announced just ahead of the webinar. Bottle roll tests across 11 samples returned an average gold recovery of 96.7%, with a range from 93.8% to 99.3%. All samples were taken from fresh rock along the full length of the pit.
“It’s free-milling, high-recovery gold in fresh rock – exactly what you want to see,” Anderson said. “This gives us confidence that we’re not just finding gold, we’re finding gold that’s easy to process.”
GHM's share price reflects the market’s growing interest. After listing at 25 cents in December 2024, the stock has risen to 42 cents at the time of writing – a 68% gain in just five months, underpinned by a steady stream of newsflow and solid exploration delivery.
Beyond Hope’s Hill, the broader district presents plenty of upside. GHM has identified over 25 prospects across its tenements, with recent hits at Hakes Find and high-grade rock chips and intercepts at Irene Betty and Hope’s Hill North suggesting the potential for a multi-deposit strategy. Some of the regional numbers include:
12m @ 6.6g/t at Hope’s Hill North,
8m @ 18.7g/t at Irene Betty,
and 11m @ 3.4g/t at Hakes Find.
With $10.8 million in the bank and a second rig coming online, Golden Horse is well-positioned to keep its foot on the pedal. The coming months will see continued step-out and infill drilling at Hope’s Hill, metallurgical testwork, and drilling across other brownfield and greenfield targets.
For investors looking for early-stage leverage to WA gold exploration – but with the advantage of a granted mining lease, strong grades, and recoveries that tick all the right metallurgical boxes – Golden Horse may be worth a closer look.
As Anderson quipped to wrap up the session: “We’ve left the gates – now we’re running hard.”
Disclosure: This article does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.