Golden Horse Minerals Ltd (ASX: GHM) put out a cheeky press release this week, saying they'd started the year "at a gallop" with visible gold in their first exploration hole at the Hopes Hill prospect.
The release caught the eye of the team at Shaw and Partners, who said the find was a "significant breakthrough''.
Image source: Getty Images
So what exactly did they report?
Golden Horse said this week that their first diamond drill hole had intersected visible gold at a depth of 200m under the previously-mined Hopes Hill pit, which has previously produced 216,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 2.4 grams per tonne.
The company cautioned that visible gold should not be considered a substitute for laboratory tests.
Other results of note included a 6.6m intersection at a grade of 2.6 grams per tonne from a depth of 379.5m at Hopes Hill Main and 10m at 1.2 grams per tonne from 27m at Hopes Hill North.
The company said it had mobilised a second diamond drill rig and a third reverse circulation rig at the site to expedite the more than 125km drilling program already underway.
Golden Horse Managing Director Nicholas Anderson said it was a great result so far.
With the very first hole drilled at Hopes Hill for 2026, we are thrilled to report that we have intercepted visible gold in 26HHDD001 which is a testament to our belief in the potential of this mineralised system. Whilst following geological best practice, we took the additional steps of comprehensively assaying around the visible gold to ensure we gain a detailed understanding of the gold deportment. Of the 156 re-assays, over half graded above 5.0 grams per tonne of gold with multiple +10 grams per tonne assays to 63.3 grams per tonne highlighting the upside we see at Hopes Hill. What is particularly exciting is this high-grade mineralisation is located within the footwall package, which was previously thought to have hosted lower grade mineralisation. We backed ourselves and swung the rig onto a new hole to test our geological model, and to intersect visible gold in a rock unit outside the conventional 'mine geology corridor' is a fantastic outcome for the company.
Shares are looking cheap
Shaw and Partners, in a research note sent to clients this week, said the visible gold was significant as it occurred in an area previously discounted as a primary gold target.
The broker has a $1.50 price target on Golden Horse shares, compared with the current price of 69 cents. The stock has increased from lows of 21 cents over the past year.
Golden Horse Minerals was valued at $185.7 million at the close of trade on Tuesday.
