GoldArc Starts Largest Exploration Drill Program at Leonora North
GoldArc Resources (ASX: GA8) launches a 6,600m drilling program at Leonora North, targeting eight prospects with never-drilled historic high-grade gold. The program follows regulatory clearance. Shares rose 3.28%.
GoldArc Resources (ASX: GA8) has started a 6,600-metre reverse-circulation drilling program at its Leonora North gold project in Western Australia. The 84-hole campaign across eight prospects is the largest exploration effort at the site since the maiden mineral resource estimate at Mt Stirling.
The program follows approval of the Mining Development and Closure Proposal for the Mt Stirling and Mt Stirling Well deposits this month. That clearance removed the final regulatory barrier before development can begin.
Six of the eight prospects sit within 1.5 kilometres of the planned pits. Managing Director Paul Stephen said any mineralisation found within that radius can be fed into the mine plan through the company's partnership with BML Ventures. Exploration success, he said, can convert to production without a separate funding decision.
“2026 has been a transformational year for GoldArc, with more than 75,000m of drilling completed,” Stephen said. “Almost all of that work went into de-risking ounces we already had, and this program is the opposite, it is aimed squarely at new discoveries.”
Six of the eight prospects have never been drilled. Stephen pointed to historic rock-chip samples that returned grades above 49 grams per tonne gold and have never been tested by a drill rig. “This is the cheapest ounce growth available to us and we intend to chase it hard,” he said.
The 6,600-metre exploration program is separate from the 34,000-metre grade control campaign already completed at Mt Stirling and Mt Stirling Well. Stephen described the new work as the most meaningful exploration drilling at the project in more than five years.
The partnership with BML Ventures means the exploration program is funded without diluting equity. Any discovery within 1.5 km of the planned pits can be incorporated into the existing mine plan, shortening the path to cash flow.
GA8 shares closed up 3.28% at 6.3 cents, giving the company a market capitalisation of A$41.78 million. The modest gain reflects the early stage of the program; the market will await results from the 84 holes to gauge whether the historic high-grade showings translate into a resource.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.