Broken Hill Gold Ltd wins tenders for 751 square kilometres near White Dam

Broken Hill Gold Ltd ASXBH6 said on Wednesday it had won tenders for two South Australian exploration licence applications covering 751 square kilometres near its White Dam project. The awards would double its regional exploration footprint to more than 1,500 square kilometres once the licences are granted.

Shares rose 3.33 per cent to A$0.155 on the ASX at 3:05 p.m. AEST on Wednesday, according to the company's timestamped market quote.

The applications cover the Manna Hill and Waukaringa goldfields, 50 to 80 kilometres west of White Dam. Broken Hill Gold sees possible future ore feed for its existing gold plant, though the exploration licences have yet to be granted.

The company expects to start mapping, sampling and geophysics after licence grant in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to heritage agreements and environmental permits. It plans to drill the new ground in the first quarter of 2027.

Broken Hill Gold submitted competitive applications for the two areas in May. South Australia's Department for Energy and Mining has since advised it that both tenders were successful, the Sept. 30 announcement said. The announcement gave no date for final licence issue or completion of the required agreements and permits.

At Manna Hill, records cited in the company's announcement put late 1890s output at about 3,400 ounces of gold grading 18 grams per tonne. Historical workings extend about seven kilometres and the old underground mines reached depths of up to 100 metres.

Waukaringa's historical workings stretch about five kilometres. The announcement put recorded production there at about 45,000 ounces grading 23 grams per tonne from late 1890s underground mines, some reaching depths of up to 48 metres. These are historical production figures, not estimates of gold remaining in either field.

A review of past exploration found sampling, geophysical work and drilling between the 1950s and 2015, but apparently no modern drilling on the main goldfields since the 1990s. The company plans to review the old records before choosing survey and drill targets.

"This tenure is very prospective and materially adds to our current exploration portfolio with walk up drill targets on historic goldfields with no modern exploration," managing director Matthew Boyes said in the Sept. 30 announcement.

Drilling continues at Vertigo within the existing White Dam project, where the company is testing the deposit down dip. Both the reverse circulation and diamond rigs are due to move to Icebreaker in October after interpretation of recently completed geophysical surveys.

The company says White Dam's existing extraction plant could process future oxide and sulphide gold ore from the new blocks, and its announcement places a planned mining restart in 2027. It gave no exploration budget for the new ground or mineral resource estimate for either historical field.

Broken Hill Gold expects to begin compiling the historical exploration and geophysical data in October to set priorities for its first field programs.