Silver jackpot has BHM hoping to make the biggest discovery yet in Broken Hill

• Pinnacle Mine drilling hits exceptional grades of up to 921g/t silver and 25.6% zinc+lead at Junction and Rope Shaft areas
• Phase 1 program completed 47 diamond holes totalling 5000m with results supporting upcoming resource update due first half of 2026
• Ongoing drilling is to define a substantial zone of shallow gold and copper mineralisation that could be targeted in the future

Special Report: Broken Hill Mines has good reason to believe its Pinnacle Mine in NSW can keep delivering high-grade feed for its operating Rasp Mill after drilling delivered exceptional results.

The company has hit a silver-rich jackpot at its Pinnacles project, where recent drilling returned exceptional grades of up to 921g/t silver and 25.6% combined zinc and lead.

The results came from extensional drilling at the Junction and Rope Shaft areas, both key zones within Pinnacles.

Ongoing drilling has also highlighted a shallow zone of gold and copper mineralisation overprinting the existing silver-lead-zinc system. One standout intercept – 23.1m at 1.1g/t gold and 0.2% copper from 63.5m – points to significant upside for future resource growth.

The Phase 1 drilling advances Broken Hill Mines’ (ASX:BHM) strategy of assessing the near term potential of open pit operations at Pinnacles to deliver high-grade ore for processing at the Rasp Mill about 15km away.

Earlier this month, the company started mining and processing of high-grade ore from the Blackwoods orebody within the Main Lode.

The Main Lode contains materially elevated silver grades, providing exposure to booming silver prices with spot prices now trading at about US$52.45/oz.

Pinnacles drilling

To date, BHM has completed 47 diamond holes totalling ~5000m within an expanded Phase 1 drill program.

Assays have been received for a further nine holes that tested extensions to the silver-lead rich zone of the Junction and Rope Shaft areas and the zinc-rich zone of Consols South.

These include results from the first two of nine holes at the Junction area that delivered very high-grade silver down dip from the previously released drilling results in the mill area.

Intersections from these two holes included:

• 7.9m at 56.4% zinc equivalent and 1562g/t silver equivalent from 57m (BPD0038); and
• 8.1m at 14.5% ZnEq and 400g/t AgEq from 65m and 8.8m at 11.7% ZnEq and 325g/t AgEq from 14.2m (BPD0039)

Drilling in this area was carried out in proximity to shallow old workings and down-dip from the previously released high-grade results from drilling under the current mill.

The Junction area is interpreted as the down-plunge extension of the same orebody, forming an anticlinal fold dipping to the south.

Previous mining within this area was via underground, however the shallow nature of portions of the mineralisation extent are being assessed for targeted high-grade, open-pit operations.

Over at the Rope Shaft area, drilling continues to deliver consistent high-grade mineralisation comprising shallow silver-lead zones underlain by a lower zinc-rich zone that includes widespread gold and copper overprinting.

The latest assays from this area include:

• 12m at 18.6% ZnEq and 513g/t AgEq from 69m within a broader intercept including 23.1m at 1.1g/t gold and 0.2% copper from 63.5m (BPD033);
• 3.2m at 13.1% ZnEq and 363g/t AgEq from 36m (BPD033); and
• 5.2m at 6.4% ZnEq and 178g/t AgEq from 14.19m (PBD037).

Drilling at Consols South, which targets extensions of the zinc-rich zone adjacent to and below the existing open pit at Pinnacles, returned results such as 3m at 29.2% ZnEq and 807g/t AgEq from 101.9m, 12.1m at 13.4% ZnEq, and 371g/t AgEq from 113.1m.

The five newly reported holes continue to define broad zones of mineralisation containing high-grade internal intervals.

This is promising, as portions of the silver-lead rich zone in the Consols South area have been mined historically.

Results from the drilling will be incorporated into an upcoming update of the Pinnacles resource estimate, which will in turn support an accelerated assessment of open-pit development options and near-term mining opportunities at Pinnacles.

Watch: Broken Hill Mines capitalising on sky-high silver prices

Next steps

Broken Hill Mines is currently awaiting further assays from drilling at Junction, Rope Shaft and Consols South. Assays are also pending for historical unassayed core.

The company has also expanded the Phase 1 drilling by an additional 2000m to a total of about 6000m, though it still remains on schedule for completion during the fourth quarter of 2025.

An updated Pinnacles resource is on target for release in the first half of 2026 to assist with a near-term open pit mining decision.

This article was developed in collaboration with Broken Hill Mines, 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.