New Murchison Gold Limited has reported an exceptional high-grade gold intersection from resource extension drilling at its Crown Prince Gold Mine, part of the Garden Gully Gold Project near Meekatharra, Western Australia, highlighting the potential for further resource growth as the Company continues to evaluate an underground mining operation.
Plan of the northern Crown Prince open pit showing the CPRC004–CPRC009A and CPRC026–CPRC038 drill traces and intercepts, and section line A–A’. Image Credit: New Murchison Gold Limited
Reverse circulation (RC) drill hole CPRC030 returned 14 m at 231.67 g/t gold from 80 m, including 4 m at 805.2 g/t gold from 80 m and 1 m at 2,860 g/t gold from 82 m.
Visible gold was identified in drill chips from the high-grade interval, with the 2,860 g/t sample representing the highest-grade one-metre RC sample recorded in the Company's Garden Gully drilling database.
The intersection is located outside the current Crown Prince Mineral Resource interpretation, beneath the final open-pit shell and close to the proposed underground mine design.
The result adds to the Company's growing body of high-grade drilling evidence beneath Crown Prince, where technical studies are underway to assess the potential development of an underground mining operation.
New Murchison Gold CEO Alex Passmore commented:
“We are very pleased with this exceptional high-grade result from our recent near mine extensional drilling at Crown Prince. CPRC030 has returned the highest-grade RC sample we have recorded at Garden Gully, and 14 meters at over 200 g/t gold. The intersection is close to the proposed underground mine design and outside the current Mineral Resource, highlighting the potential for further resource growth as we continue to evaluate the underground opportunity. Together with CPRC008 and our earlier SEZ results, the case for a Crown Prince underground continues to build.”
High-Grade Gold Intersection Extends Crown Prince Mineralization
The latest results come from an 18-hole RC drilling program targeting the MOB and NOB areas in the northern part of the Crown Prince deposit, beneath the existing open pit.
The program comprised seven RC holes totalling 1,900 m drilled from surface on the western side of the pit and 11 RC holes totalling 1,191 m drilled from within the Stage 2 Crown Prince open pit.
Assays have been received for 12 of the 18 holes.
Drill hole CPRC030, completed from a drill pad approximately 50 m below natural surface, intersected a high-grade quartz-veined zone containing visible gold.
The standout intersection of 14 m at 231.67 g/t gold included a one-metre sample that initially returned 2,620 g/t gold. A repeat laboratory assay returned 3,100 g/t gold, with the reported grade of 2,860 g/t representing the average of the two results.
The Company interprets the mineralization as a discrete high-grade quartz vein shoot hosted in chlorite–talc ultramafic schist.
While the orientation, plunge and continuity of the shoot are not yet known, the result highlights an area for further drilling and geological evaluation.
Assays remain pending for nearby drill holes CPRC026, CPRC034, CPRC037 and CPRC038, which will assist in better defining the mineralized zone.
Surface Drilling Identifies Additional High-Grade Zones
Additional high-grade results were returned from surface drill hole CPRC008, located approximately 125 m west of CPRC030.
The hole intersected two high-grade gold zones:
- 3 m at 14.9 g/t gold from 181 m, including 1 m at 22.9 g/t gold from 182 m.
- 4 m at 13.5 g/t gold from 192 m, including 1 m at 36.0 g/t gold from 193 m.
The intersections occur in smoky quartz veins within sheared mafic schist, approximately 160 m below natural surface.
They are located approximately 120 m vertically above a previously reported intersection in drill hole NGGRCDD1184, which returned 3.2 m at 48.9 g/t gold from 330 m, including 0.35 m at 345.5 g/t gold.
The results suggest a possible vertically extensive high-grade quartz vein–shear system on the western side of the MOB/NOB area, which will be tested through further drilling.
Assays for surface drill hole CPRC009A also remain pending.
Crown Prince Underground Development Potential Strengthens
New Murchison Gold is progressing technical studies into the potential development of an underground mine beneath the Crown Prince open pit.
These studies build on the Company's existing Crown Prince Underground Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.45 million tons at 3.2 g/t gold for 150,400 ounces, reported in September 2026.
The latest high-grade intersections are particularly relevant to the underground evaluation because of their proximity to potential early underground access.
The Company is investigating an initial underground portal approximately 75 m below natural surface within the Crown Prince pit, potentially providing access to mineralization in the NOB and MOB areas outside the current Ore Reserve.
The CPRC030 intersection lies approximately 43 m below the proposed portal elevation, while the CPRC008 intersections are approximately 85–95 m below it.
High-grade gold intercepts have now been recorded in both the southern SEZ area and the northern MOB/NOB area, approximately 200 m apart.
Previous SEZ drilling returned 0.28 m at 17,240 g/t gold in NGGRCDD974 and 13 m at 13.3 g/t gold in NRD008.
If the high-grade shoots prove continuous, an underground operation could potentially access several of them using shared decline and ventilation infrastructure.
The Company will undertake further drilling and geological modelling to better understand the geometry and continuity of the high-grade zones, with mining methods, dilution and recovery to be assessed once the mineralization is more clearly defined.
Next Steps
New Murchison Gold is planning additional drilling and technical work to build on the latest high-grade results and progress its underground evaluation.
Planned activities include:
- Completing a diamond twin of CPRC030 to confirm the width and grade of the high-grade zone and provide oriented core for structural interpretation.
- Undertaking step-out diamond and RC drilling around CPRC030 and CPRC008 to better define the orientation, plunge and continuity of the mineralization.
- Coordinating further drilling with planned geotechnical diamond holes for the proposed underground portal and decline.
- Incorporating the latest drilling results into geological models, future Mineral Resource updates and ongoing underground mining studies.
The results will contribute to the Company's assessment of the underground opportunity beneath its operating Crown Prince Gold Mine.