Mount Hope tastes rich high-grade gold on maiden drill run

• Mount Hope reels in high-grade gold hits at Mt Solitary during maiden drilling
• Drilling exceeded expectations, delivering 19m at 4.5g/t gold including 1m at 50g/t
• A stage 2 program is already in the works

Special report: Mount Hope Mining has struck gold in maiden drilling at the Mt Solitary prospect, pulling 19m at 4.5g/t from shallow depths including a standout 1m at 50g/t.

It’s confirmed a high-grade system that remains open with much more drilling to come.

The maiden program has also revealed a previously unrecognised structural trend backed up by strong historical hits, with a follow-up drill campaign now permitted and ready to go.

Ten holes for a total of 1236m were drilled across two parallel fences, and the program has paid off with significant high-grade gold in multiple holes, reinforcing Mt Solitary as a high-potential target within the wider Mt Hope project in NSW.

The aim of the program was twofold: prove the presence of gold, and build a structural model for how it sits in the ground.

Mount Hope Mining (ASX:MHM) says both objectives were achieved.

Standout hits include 19m at 4.5g/t gold from 39m in hole 25MSRC004, with internal zones running 8m at 9.5g/t, 3m at 23g/t and even 1m at 50g/t.

Another hole returned 5m at 4.3g/t from just 13m, including 1m at 16g/t, while 25MSRC009 delivered 4m at 4.7g/t from 32m with a 1m at 13g/t spike.

Importantly, the drilling has also lit up a structural trend that ties into historic numbers – such as 10m at 12g/t from surface, 21m at 4.7g/t from 63m and 8m at 9g/t from 140m –with every one of those holes still open down plunge.

The fences, drilled roughly 40m apart on an east–west orientation, were designed to test a structural interpretation built from historic drilling, geophysics, mapping and two E2 Metals diamond holes drilled in 2017.

That work pointed to an orogenic gold system controlled by a regional north–south shear zone, with linking structures between the Sugar Loaf and Scotts Craig faults.

Mapping suggests the shear dips steeply to the west and the new drilling lends fresh support to that concept.

Maiden drilling beats expectations

MHM boss Fergus Kelly said the maiden drilling at Mt Solitary outperformed what the team hoped for.

“This drilling has provided the foundation for the first modern geological model of Mt Solitary, allowing us to better understand the structural controls on mineralisation and to design a targeted follow-up program to test down-plunge extensions and parallel lodes,” he explained.

“The upside here is significant – Mt Solitary is an exciting project itself, however, it also sits within a 7.5km-long corridor of gold mineralisation extending south toward the Mt Solar project.

“Defining the structural framework at Mt Solitary will allow us to apply this model across other prospects on the same trend, including Little Mt Solitary, Powerline Hill and Mt Solar.”

Phase 2 drilling in the works

With the maiden program now in the bag, Mount Hope has turned back to the historical dataset to refine its structural model.

That review has highlighted several older holes sitting down-plunge of the new drilling, including 21m at 4.7g/t from 63m, 10m at 12g/t from surface and 8m at 9g/t from 145m. All remain open to the northwest.

The company believes these deeper positions could be the logical next step in advancing Mt Solitary and unlocking additional high-grade zones both along strike and at depth.

A Phase 2 drill campaign is already mapped out, with as many as 24 holes permitted for immediate follow-up.

The next fence lines will step north, chasing the system down-plunge and beyond the current mineralised envelope, with drilling targeted to start before year-end pending rig availability.

Meanwhile, assay results from two other prospects tested in the maiden campaign, Blue Heeler and Black Hill, are still in the lab and will be released once received.

This article was developed in collaboration with Mount Hope Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.