Golden Horse Minerals Limited (ASX: GHM) continues to strengthen the exploration case for its flagship Southern Cross project in Western Australia, with new drilling results confirming both shallow and deeper gold mineralisation at the Hopes Hill deposit.
Recent drilling from the Company highlights encouraging gold intersections beneath the historic Hopes Hill pit and along the northern extension of the system, reinforcing the broader scale potential of the project. With multiple rigs operating across the asset and regional targets, the Company is steadily advancing its ambitious 2026 exploration campaign.
The latest results demonstrate that Hopes Hill remains a significant mineralised system, with ongoing drilling aimed at extending known gold zones and uncovering additional resources across the broader Southern Cross Greenstone Belt.
Figure 1: Golden Horse Reports High-Grade Shallow Gold Hits and Confirms Deeper Extensions at Hopes Hill
Strong Early Results from the 2026 Exploration Campaign
Golden Horse has launched an aggressive exploration program in 2026, targeting more than 125km of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling across Hopes Hill and nearby regional prospects.
The campaign is designed to evaluate shallow high-grade mineralisation and test deeper extensions beneath historical workings. Early results from diamond drilling are already confirming mineralisation at depth, while RC drilling continues to reveal broad near-surface gold zones.
Managing Director Nicholas Anderson emphasised the momentum building within the program: “It is great to be at the Stable in Southern Cross and see the first results of our aggressive +125km drill campaign begin to flow.”
The Company currently has two RC rigs and two diamond rigs operating at Hopes Hill, allowing simultaneous testing of both shallow and deeper targets.
Key results reported in the latest update include:
- 7.1m @ 2.5 g/t Au from 178.9m, including 0.5m @ 12.6 g/t Au
- 4.0m @ 3.1 g/t Au from 243m
These intercepts confirm that gold mineralisation extends well beneath the historical Hopes Hill pit.
Extending Mineralisation Beneath the Historic Hopes Hill Pit
Diamond drilling at Hopes Hill Main is targeting deeper zones beneath the historic open pit, which historically reached an average depth of about 50 metres along a strike length of roughly 1.3 kilometres.
Past production from the pit totalled approximately 216,000 ounces of gold, highlighting the historical significance of the deposit.
The latest diamond hole, 26HHDD002, intercepted mineralisation more than 110 metres below the historic workings, confirming the continuation of the gold system at depth.
Importantly, diamond drilling provides detailed geological and structural information that helps the Company refine its geological model and better understand the controls on mineralisation.
Golden Horse is currently processing additional diamond holes at its onsite core facility in Southern Cross, with further assays expected in the coming weeks.
Hopes Hill North Reveals Shallow Wide Gold Zones
While deeper drilling continues at Hopes Hill Main, the Hopes Hill North trend is delivering promising shallow intercepts that could support potential open pit extensions.
RC drilling across this area has confirmed multiple wide gold intersections close to surface.
Notable drill results include:
- 16m @ 1.6 g/t Au from 32m
- 8m @ 1.9 g/t Au from 40m
- 10m @ 1.2 g/t Au from 27m
- 12m @ 1.0 g/t Au from 60m
These results indicate that the mineralised envelope now extends more than 700 metres north of the existing pit, significantly expanding the potential footprint of the Hopes Hill system.
The geology team is actively investigating possible structural controls, including a potential northeast-trending fault that may offset mineralisation along strike.
Step-out drilling is underway to determine whether this fault has displaced mineralised zones or created repeated lodes at shallow depths.
Figure 2: plan view map of Hopes Hill North drilling with highlighted intercepts.
Regional Exploration Expands Across the Southern Cross Belt
Beyond Hopes Hill, Golden Horse is also advancing exploration at several regional targets across its large tenure position in the Southern Cross region.
The Company recently completed a 3,350-metre RC drilling program at Hakes Find, located about 16 kilometres from Hopes Hill and close to the town of Southern Cross.
Key objectives of the program included:
- Testing shallow extensions of known mineralisation
- Evaluating strike continuity along the mineralised trend
- Expanding geological understanding of the area
Assay results from this program are still pending and are expected to be released once laboratory processing is completed.
Following the completion of the Hakes Find campaign, the RC drill rig has moved to the Marionete and Star of Ennuin prospects, where approximately 3,400 metres of drilling will test extensions of historically productive gold systems.
Historic mining in the Marionete and Star of Ennuin area reportedly produced around 750,000 ounces of gold at an impressive average grade of 24 g/t, highlighting the significant prospectivity of the region.
Figure 3: RC drilling underway at Star of Ennuin, with historic mine workings visible in the top right corner.
Drilling Momentum Builds Across Multiple Targets
Golden Horse is maintaining strong exploration momentum across its project portfolio.
Key next steps in the exploration program include:
Hopes Hill
- Continued RC and diamond drilling across the main deposit and northern extensions
- Core logging and assay processing from multiple diamond holes
- Planned RC drilling at the Hopes Hill South zone
Regional Exploration
- Assay results from the completed Hakes Find drilling program
- Ongoing drilling at Marionete / Star of Ennuin
- Planned rig mobilisation to the Golden Valley area in the coming weeks
Managing Director Nicholas Anderson noted that the scale of the drilling program is generating significant data and insights: “With 3 RC and 2 Diamond drill rigs running and the sample labs packed tighter than a float on race day, we are expecting plenty of results to feed the members shortly.”
He added that the strategy of testing potential open pit extensions north of Hopes Hill is already delivering positive outcomes: “The aggressive selection to actively target conceptual open pit extensions to the north of Hopes Hill is paying dividends, with multiple broad intercepts highlighting the prospectivity of the immediate area and indeed the broader Southern Cross Greenstone Belt.”
Investors Outlook
Golden Horse Minerals continues to build exploration momentum across one of Western Australia’s historically productive gold regions.
The latest drilling results provide encouraging signs that the Hopes Hill deposit could extend both at depth and along strike, potentially supporting a larger mineralised system than previously recognised.
Major factors that may attract investor attention include:
- Confirmation of deep mineralisation beneath historic pits
- Wide shallow gold intercepts suitable for potential open-pit development
- A large-scale 125km drilling program generating steady news flow
- Exploration across multiple high-potential regional targets
With several rigs operating simultaneously and a substantial backlog of assays awaiting results, the Company is well-positioned to deliver further updates as drilling progresses.
Share Price Activity (ASX)
- Last Price: $0.695
- Change: +0.015 (2.21%)
- 1 Year Performance: +110.61%
- vs ASX 200 (1yr): +100.79%
The strong share price performance over the past year reflects growing market interest in Golden Horse’s exploration progress and the potential scale of its Southern Cross gold assets.
As additional assay results emerge from both Hopes Hill and regional prospects, investors will closely watch whether the Company can continue to expand the footprint of mineralisation across its extensive landholding.
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