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Rowena Duckworth
Gateway Mining has discovered yet another gold prospect at its Yandal Gold Project in Western Australia’s prolific Yilgarn Craton.
The company identified a third gold prospect, Rubicon, sitting on a parallel structure directly to the east of its earlier Haflinger discovery and along the same Mustang Trend within the Celia-Mustang structural corridor.
Early-stage, widely spaced aircore drilling has defined gold mineralisation over 700 metres of strike. Notably, the system is still wide open to the south – a geologically charged zone now firmly in the company’s sights.
Headline intercepts from Rubicon included 12m running at 1.0 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, featuring 4m grading a healthy 2.6g/t gold from 72m. Another hole threw up 4m assaying 2.3g/t gold within a solid 16-metre section at 1.0g/t gold from 72m. A third hole delivered an 8m slice going 1.2g/t gold from 96m.
‘These results represent another very exciting prospect discovery.’
Gateway Mining chief executive officer Richard Pugh
Aircore results from a freshly identified prospect should command more than a fleeting glance.
What makes Rubicon particularly persuasive is the geological context. The shear zone here is up to 200 metres wide and mirrors the structural setting that controls high-grade gold accumulation at the neighbouring Haflinger prospect.
The same geometry at Haflinger subsequently delivered some write-home intercepts as drilling matured. Management is drawing a direct parallel, noting the drilling at Rubicon appears to be entering the strongest part of the system.
There is also a convincing kicker in the story. Deep weathering at Rubicon has caused most of the aircore holes to terminate in saprolite without ever testing the shear zone in fresh rock. The mineralised target beneath the weathered profile consequently remains completely untouched, leaving the door wide open for follow-up reverse circulation (RC) drilling to test what lurks at depth.
Rubicon is the third parallel prospect to emerge along the Celia-Mustang trend, joining youngsters Haflinger and Hummer.
Gateway Mining chief executive officer Richard Pugh said: “Repeating gold mineralisation on parallel structures within a broader structural setting is precisely the type of setup you expect to see in large gold camps, and that’s exactly what the Company believes is emerging across the Celia-Mustang area.”
The newly discovered Rubicon forms part of the company’s flagship Yandal gold project, comprising 1,780 square kilometres of world-class real estate in the Yandal Greenstone Belt, 85 kilometres northeast of Wiluna in Western Australia.
The project already hosts a resource of 8.17 million tonnes grading 1.52g/t gold for 400,400 ounces. The resource is centred on the Horse Well gold camp and the Dusk ’til Dawn deposit, providing a solid foundation for ongoing exploration success.
As aircore drilling at the Mustang shear has now wrapped up, the company has freed up the two rigs to test its priority Great Western target, with an additional RC rig due on site shortly.
Once all assay results are in hand across the broader Celia-Mustang Trend, planning will begin for infill and extensional drilling at Rubicon, Haflinger and Hummer to sharpen up the picture ahead of follow-up RC programmes.
Gateway is well-placed to sustain the drilling momentum, with $19.4 million in cash and $9.3 million in liquid investments at the end of December – a balance sheet that gives the company plenty of runway to keep drilling without the distraction of fundraising.
With three prospects along one prospective geological structure and fresh rocks below that haven’t yet been touched, the Yandal project is shaping up as one of the more tantalising exploration stories in the WA goldfields right now.
Gateway is systematically assembling the building blocks of something that could prove genuinely district-scale. RC drilling is planned, fresh rock is waiting, and assays are still pending across a further 400 metres of strike to the south at Rubicon alone.
If the geology continues to deliver what the structural setting is promising – and Haflinger’s trajectory suggests it might – the conversation around Yandal could look very different by the end of 2026.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
