QMines Ltd. has announced a major upgrade to its Mount Mackenzie gold and silver project, expanding the resource to 170,000 ounces of gold and 1.12 million ounces of silver.
Located north-west of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, the updated JORC mineral resource estimate (MRE) stands at 5.22 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1.01 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 6.7 g/t silver.
The result marks a 32 per cent increase in contained gold and a 30 per cent boost in contained silver since QMines acquired the asset.
The increase in resources has led to a surge in confidence in the project, with approximately 70 per cent of contained gold now classified in the higher-grade Indicated category.
Indicated resources now total 3.77 Mt at 0.99 g/t gold and 7.3 g/t silver, delivering a robust technical foundation for future open-pit optimisations, metallurgical testing, and mining studies.
The update incorporates data from a recent 73-hole, 9,798-metre reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling campaign focused on the North Knoll deposit.
The drilling confirmed that mineralisation is structurally controlled rather than randomly distributed, showing a shallow-enriched gold zone overlying deeper mineralised structures.
“This is the first Mount Mackenzie Mineral Resource Estimate informed by QMines drilling and represents a clear advancement from the Resource base the Company acquired,” said QMines Exploration Manager Tom Bartschi.
“The drilling and statistical review demonstrate that gold at Mount Mackenzie is not randomly distributed.
“It is controlled by alteration, structural preparation and position within the mineral system, and those controls are now much better constrained.”
The deposit remains open along strike and at depth. With the updated MRE marking QMines’ ninth resource upgrade across its portfolio since listing in 2021, the company plans to target further extensions to the mineralised system.
“These learnings have enabled a more representative geological model and provide clearer targeting criteria for future resource growth drilling, particularly at depth and west of North Knoll,” Bartschi added.
