Broken Hill Gold turns up heat on deeper SA gold-copper hunt

Broken Hill Gold has launched a major geophysics program and is mobilising a second drill rig to its 100 per cent-owned White Dam gold-copper project in South Australia, ramping up the hunt for sulphides to determine whether its high-grade Icebreaker discovery is the tip of a much bigger iceberg.

The company has started 48 line-kilometres of induced polarisation (IP) and 670 line-kilometres of high-resolution ground magnetics to pinpoint deeper sulphide targets. The surveys are due to be completed by mid-October, with initial results expected then.

Icebreaker sits in the central White Dam project area, 80km west of Broken Hill, where historical exploration overwhelmingly chased shallow oxide gold suited to heap leaching. Broken Hill Gold struck paydirt, unearthing primary sulphides during ongoing oxide resource drilling and opening a new front beneath ground barely tested by previous explorers.

Initial drilling returned a 20-metre hit at 2.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.5 per cent copper from 58m, including 6m at 7.5g/t gold and 1.2 per cent copper from 66m. Later work delivered 46m at 1.1g/t gold and 0.3 per cent copper from 37m. Adding to the intrigue, Icebreaker sits within a magnetic anomaly extending for up to 1km and the company has reported the discovery open in all directions.

‘We anticipate the surveys being instrumental in defining clear, high-priority targets at depth, by mid-October.’

Broken Hill Gold managing director Matthew Boyes

Broken Hill Gold sees deeper potential beyond Icebreaker. One particular deep hole beneath the nearby historical Hannaford pit returned 29m at 0.7g/t gold from 315m, adding weight to the company’s view that mineralisation beneath Hannaford and Vertigo remains open along strike and down dip.

Broken Hill Gold managing director Matthew Boyes said: “Given the mineralisation styles observed in initial drilling, we anticipate the Induced Polarisation and high-resolution ground magnetic surveys being instrumental in defining clear, high-priority targets at depth, with initial results expected by mid-October.”

The next phase takes the hunt deeper. A dedicated diamond rig is mobilising to work alongside the current reverse circulation (RC) oxide program, with drilling planned into the Icebreaker sulphide zone and beneath Vertigo and Hannaford.

Diamond core will also retrieve sulphide material from Icebreaker andoxide mineralisation at Vertigo for metallurgical testwork, helping assess how the different ore styles could respond to processing as White Dam chases resource growth and moves towards an open-pit restart.

The two-rig setup forms part of an 18-month exploration push already underway, comprising more than 30,000m of RC and diamond drilling, electrical and magnetic geophysics and geochemistry across White Dam and regional targets including Wadnaminga. The work is expected to define and upgrade the resource.

In parallel, September oxide drilling at Vertigo North Extended and Hannaford is expected to feed an updated and upgraded resource estimate in the fourth quarter, followed by open-pit optimisation and mine planning. Its Rolling, Hannaford East and Icebreaker targets are also in the near-mine oxide push to restart mining.

Beyond the central mine area, Broken Hill is spreading its geophysical net across more than 50 underexplored historical prospects, where key targets were generally drilled no deeper than 80m. Survey coverage extends from nearby Vertigo and White Dam East to Mary Mine, 12km west of the White Dam mine, Wilkins 12km south and Green & Gold 16km southwest.

There is plenty of historical smoke to chase. Mary Mine returned 16m at 0.9g/t gold and 2.2 per cent copper, while Green & Gold yielded 36m at 1g/t gold and 0.3 per cent copper.

The company acquired White Dam in late 2025, inheriting an operation that previously produced 180,000 ounces. The project benefits from historical pits, heap-leach infrastructure and a gold extraction plant, which is expected to generate the cash to bankroll a broader exploration push.

The wider geological address adds another layer. White Dam sits in the Curnamona Province, which has already demonstrated its capacity to host large copper-gold deposits. Kalkaroo, 40km north, hosts 1.1 million tonnes of copper and 3.1 million ounces of gold.

With geophysical crews mapping the subsurface and a second rig poised to punch deeper holes, Broken Hill Gold has two prizes in its sights: push White Dam’s oxide resources towards an open-pit restart while the surveys and drill bit determine whether Icebreaker has exposed the first glimpse of something much bigger underneath.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au