Early signs are promising for a junior mining company aiming to establish a significant gold exploration hub in Western Australia’s Goldfields. In the first half of June, Perth-based Metal Hawk Ltd (MHL) collected sufficient geochemical samples at its Leinster South project to generate new regional targets.
These initial field efforts have also supported the WA government’s decision to co-fund the company with up to $180,000 for future drilling in the area as part of its green fields Exploration Incentive Scheme. Shortly thereafter, MHL announced that, following the approval of an Indigenous heritage survey report, it received permission to commence an approximately 5,000-metre RC programme.
This programme will consist of 50 holes, reaching depths of five to 100 metres, targeting previously untested gold-bearing quartz vein systems at the Thylacine and Siberian Tiger prospects. The focus will be on effectively bedrock-testing multiple stacked and steeply dipping outcropping gold-bearing veins.
According to one of the company’s latest ASX releases, diamond drilling is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025, targeting both prospects. Additionally, planning is underway for a second phase of soil sampling to investigate various further untested structural targets, expected to occur concurrently with the RC work.
Located approximately 72 kilometres north-northwest of Coolgardie and 30 kilometres south ofLeinster, Leinster South spans 430 square kilometres on the Agnew-Lawlers greenstone belt, which has historically yielded over five million gold ounces at grades exceeding five grams per tonne from several world-class deposits.
Siberian Tiger, MHL’s initial target, lies on the eastern limb of the Lawlers anticline.Interest in the area was sparked following the company’s initial site visit in mid-2024, which revealed a soil anomaly with a gold grade of 0.482 g/t.
In November, the company announced rock chip assay results from sampling at the newly identifiedThylacine prospect, located1.5 km east of Siberian Tiger along the northeast-southwest trending parallel greenstone belt.
Earlier this year, MHL reported the discovery of new mineralised quartz veins at Thylacine andThylacine East (within theThylacine camp northeast of Thylacine), as well as at the new WhiteTiger prospect, situated about one kilometre east of Thylacine. This work expanded the mineralised footprint of the broader Thylacine prospect area to 900 by 150 metres.
Ongoing regional geological mapping and geochemical sampling continue to reveal excellent untested regional gold potential at Leinster South, particularly in gold-hosted granites at Tysons and White Tiger. Notable samples include gold grades of 40.22 g/t and 22.26 g/t (both at White Tiger), 24.56 g/t(Thylacine), 17.95 g/t (White Tiger), 12.48 g/t (Thylacine East),8.04 g/t (Thylacine South), 6.90 g/t (Thylacine Camp), 6.75 g/t(Thylacine East), and 6.34 g/t (Thylacine South).
MHL’s managing director, Will Belbin, expressed enthusiasm about receiving the final heritage approval for drilling, stating that the team is eager to commence RC field activities.
“This is the most highly anticipated early-stage drilling programme I’ve been involved with, and it is an exciting time for Metal Hawk shareholders,” he noted.
“Our preparations are nearly complete, and we look forward to a very active period ahead.”In addition to Leinster South, the company holds the Berehaven project, located just 25 to 35 km east-southeast of the Goldfields capital, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, which is prospective for both nickel sulphide and gold mineralisation.
Metal Hawk discovered nickel sulphide and high-grade goldat the Commodore prospect, situated about five kilometres northof Horizon Minerals’ currently closed Blair nickel mine (35 kmsoutheast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder) and only four kilometres southeastof its Golden Ridge gold deposit.
During the March quarter, MHL relinquished Berehaven’s nickel rights to Horizon subsidiaries Black Mountain Gold and KalgoorlieOre Treatment Company. However, the junior retained 100 per cent of the mineral rights for the Blair north tenements that host the Commodore nickel and gold prospects. Furthermore, MHL wholly owns Yarmany, located approximately 40 km northwest of Coolgardie.
With 50 km of strike potential along the Ida Fault, a major regional structure along the margin of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, Yarmany is considered prospective for lithium, nickel, and gold. No field activities were conducted on this tenure during the last quarter.
