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Penny Taylor
Golden Dragon has unleashed a fresh phase of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Behring Bore and Coodardy prospects within its Cue project in WA’s Murchison, chasing both scale and strike in a steadily expanding high-grade gold system.
The new program will include probing a newly recognised camp-scale target, with a 2100m program already in motion and earlier shallow hits hinting at serious size potential.
At Coodardy, previous drilling delivered standout shallow intercepts including 8 metres at 7.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 20m and 4m at 9.7g/t gold from 24m. The results outlined a mineralised corridor stretching about 700m along strike, where multiple sections consistently returned elevated grades.
Golden Dragon says the geological picture also appears to be shaping up neatly. Gold is hosted in quartz-veined, carbonate–pyrite altered dolerite and chlorite schist beneath a cover of sediments and interlayered basalts.
‘The system has proven it is gold mineralised and the priority now is on learning the extent.’
Golden Dragon Mining managing director Simon Buswell-Smith
The mineralisation sits in layers of flat quartz veins stacked on top of one another, formed as the rocks cracked under stress. This has created a broad and fairly consistent mineralised system that is easier to track. The company believes the combination of continuity and shallow gold in the oxidised zone above the fresh rock has strengthened the case for potential open-pit mining, should further drilling confirm scale.
The system is also interpreted to gently plunge northward into fresh rock, opening a deeper exploration dimension, which will be tested in the upcoming campaign. The drill bit will also investigate extensions into underexplored ground to assess whether grades improve or thicken beyond the oxide horizon.
Over at Behring Bore, Golden Dragon will branch out into a broader and bolder play, targeting a gold system spanning roughly 900m by 500m beneath shallow transported cover. Mineralisation is tied to the upper portion of an altered, pyritic dolerite unit capped by graphitic schists. The area has been heavily folded and faulted, near a major structure called the Big Bell Anticline, which has created favourable pathways and traps for gold mineralisation.
Early interpretations suggest Behring Bore may host narrow, high-grade shoots nestled within a broader mineralised halo, a hallmark of lode-style systems with potential to scale. Management says the prospect, already highlighted by strong multi-element geochemical sampling, has been tagged as the most prospective camp-scale target within the project and is bolstered by its strategic position near major shear zones.
Despite all the encouraging signs to date, Behring Bore remains lightly tested, with sparse historical drilling and limited bedrock exposure leaving plenty of room for discovery. The current program will tighten drill spacing and target step-outs to unlock the system’s true footprint.
Golden Dragon Mining managing director Simon Buswell-Smith said: “The system has proven it is gold mineralised and the priority now is on learning the extent.”
The company has steadily built a serious footprint spanning 600 square kilometres in Western Australia’s gold-rich Murchison region, stitching together previously scattered ground into a single large and strategic landholding now known as its Cue gold project.
The move has transformed what was once a patchwork of separate tenements into a coherent exploration play sitting along strike from some of the district’s best-known gold camps. Early reviews have already outlined an inventory of 14 priority targets across the tenure, pointing to the potential for multiple gold centres on a par with other million-ounce camps in the neighbourhood.
The belt is buzzing with activity, from Westgold Resources’ Big Bell and Bluebird mines through to Ramelius Resources’ recently acquired 2.5-million-ounce Dalgaranga project.
Location adds another layer of leverage. The project sits within easy haulage distance of operating mills, including Westgold’s Big Bell and Tuckabianna plants and Ramelius’ Mount Magnet hub, opening a potential pathway to toll treatment should Golden Dragon strike paydirt.
With gold prices holding strong and infrastructure close at hand, even modest hits could quickly stack the economics. The swelling suite of targets, rigs rolling and assays pending suggest the Dragon is circling something substantial as it chases a standout gold find.
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