QMines presses ahead with large scale drilling at Develin Creek

• Large scale drilling is progressing at Develin Creek across the Sulphide City, Scorpion and Window deposits
• The Sulphide City geological model and revised resource are expected to be delivered in Q4 2025
• Develin Creek is well positioned to complement Mt Chalmers and feed into a multi-deposit copper and gold development strategy

Special report: QMines is ramping up a 44-hole for 8290m drilling program across multiple deposits within the Develin Creek project near Rockhampton, Queensland.

The goal of the program is to expand known copper and zinc mineralisation and build on the recent 4.13Mt resource upgrade at Develin Creek, both increasing confidence levels and growing the scale of the resource in the Mt Chalmers mine plan.

Two drill rigs are currently onsite, with 11 RC and diamond drill holes now complete for a total 1948m drilled.

QMines (ASX:QML) is entering one of its most active and news-rich periods to date with the next few quarters expected to deliver a wave of high-impact updates across multiple fronts – drill results, resource upgrades, economic studies and a potential new gold acquisition.

Upcoming catalysts

QML executive chairman Andrew Sparke said this current drilling program will deliver regular results and set the stage for several key pricing catalysts as it works on incorporating the three deposits at Develin Creek into the Mt Chalmers mine plan.

“With two rigs now operational, eleven drill holes in the labs, and open pit optimisation and metallurgical test work studies underway, our team are moving with haste,” he said.

“Develin Creek is fast emerging as a key part of our long-term strategy to grow the scale of our mining operation, and we look forward to keeping shareholders updated as results are delivered.”

Sulphide City drilling

At Sulphide City, drilling is designed to upgrade a significant portion of the existing resource from the inferred to the indicated and/or measured categories.

The program includes 34 planned drill holes for approximately 5700m targeting key areas of the Sulphide City deposit, where geological continuity is established but drill density is insufficient for the higher confidence indicated and or measured classifications.

Infill drilling is also expected to lift the overall copper grades for the Mount Chalmers project by increasing the volume of higher-grade material included in resource modelling.

Multiple holes have been designed to target both lateral and depth extensions of known sulphide lenses, particularly where previous vertical drilling left mineralisation open or inadequately tested.

Ultimately, the Sulphide City program is expected to play a critical role in supporting a revised resource estimate due in Q4 2025, positioning the project for potential economic assessment.

Scorpion/Window optimisation

At the Window deposit, drilling is targeting deeper, previously untested mineralised lenses that may represent a fault-offset or down-dip continuation of the Scorpion system.

The Scorpion/Window open pit optimisation is currently being finalised for inclusion in the Mount Chalmers mine plan with outcomes to be released in Q3-2025.

Watch: Mt Mackenzie acquisition set to augment production plans

This Chalm-ing mine

Since listing in May 2021, QML has acquired two projects as well as five rural properties, drilled at least 40,000m and delivered seven resource upgrades at Mt Chalmers.

QML is working to double its planned production rate, focusing on the acquisition of regional deposits capable of supporting a centralised processing hub at Mt Chalmers.

At the same time, it is also advancing exploration to expand and upgrade current resources and convert historical resources into reserves.

The Mt Chalmers deposit has long been interpreted as a Kuroko-style VHMS deposit, which extends over a 1200m strike length.

While the deposit is relatively undeformed, there is some evidence that gold and copper mineralisation may have structural controls which could extend beyond the known resource.

This article was developed in collaboration with QMines, 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.