Dundas Minerals Secures 270km² Licence Unlocking 5km Bloodwood Gold Anomaly
Key Takeaways
- Exploration Licence E38/4002 was granted on 18 August 2026, covering 270km² and securing full tenure over the 5km Bloodwood gold anomaly — the most advanced target in the Romano Project.
- Historical drilling returned 12m at 3.31 g/t gold from 20m (including 4m at 9.53 g/t), with a single diamond hole confirming gold in fresh rock at depth (2.95m at 1.95 g/t from 113.45m) — yet no systematic RC or diamond programme has ever been completed along the full 5km strike.
- The licence grant triggers a milestone payment of $150,000 cash plus $150,000 in Dundas shares (subject to shareholder approval), under the earn-in agreement with Cazaly Resources that entitles Dundas to an 80% interest in Romano Project tenements.
- Near-term work is focused on native title, heritage, and reserve access approvals before any ground-disturbing work can commence at Bloodwood, with data compilation and systematic programme design running in parallel.
- Dundas' drilling capital is currently committed to its three advanced Kalgoorlie gold projects — Rockland, Capricorn, and Baden-Powell — where heritage clearance and contractor engagement are already in place.
Bloodwood licence secured, unlocking Dundas Minerals’ most advanced gold target
Exploration Licence E38/4002 was granted on 18 August 2026, covering approximately 270km² (89 blocks) in the Mount Margaret Mineral Field. The licence is the largest single tenement in the Romano Project and secures tenure over the full 5km strike of the Bloodwood gold anomaly, the project’s most advanced exploration target.
The licence is registered in the name of Cazaly Resources Limited (ASX: CAZ). Dundas Minerals holds the right to earn an 80% interest in the Romano Project tenements under the earn-in agreement announced 29 December 2025. The grant triggers a milestone payment obligation: $150,000 in cash plus $150,000 in Dundas shares at a deemed issue price equal to the volume weighted average price of Dundas shares over the five trading days immediately prior to the grant date, subject to shareholder approval. If shareholder approval is not obtained, Dundas will instead pay $150,000 in cash.
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
Q&A: What makes the Bloodwood anomaly stand out in the Yamarna gold district
What is the Bloodwood prospect?
Bloodwood was identified by Gold Road Resources through regional soil sampling and shallow air core drilling, which defined a coherent gold anomaly extending approximately 5km along a modelled shear-hosted structure on the eastern margin of the Yamarna Shear Zone. A coherent gold anomaly of this strike length is generally considered a substantial surface footprint, typically reflecting an underlying large hydrothermal system, and at Bloodwood the anomalism is supported by drilling rather than soil geochemistry alone.
Why does the Yamarna Shear Zone matter?
The Yamarna Shear Zone is the structural corridor that controls gold mineralisation across this part of the north eastern Goldfields. The Golden Highway gold deposits sit approximately 20km south of Bloodwood along this structure. The Dorothy Hills Shear Zone, which controls the 6.05Moz Gruyere gold mine approximately 35km southeast, runs parallel to the east. It is important to note that proximity to operating mines or deposits is not indicative of mineralisation within the Romano Project, and no geological or mineral continuity has been established between Romano and any neighbouring deposit.
What do the existing drill results show?
Two historical intercepts define the Bloodwood system. Air core drilling (a shallow, first-pass technique designed to sample through the weathered rock profile near surface) returned a high-grade hit at 12m @ 3.31 g/t gold from 20m, including a higher-grade interval of 4m @ 9.53 g/t gold. A single diamond hole (drilled deeper to test fresh, unweathered rock beneath the weathered profile) then confirmed gold mineralisation continues at depth: 2.95m @ 1.95 g/t gold from 113.45m, with elevated intervals of 1.7m @ 3.29 g/t gold from 114m and 0.7m @ 4.76 g/t gold from 115m.
All drill results referenced here are historical in nature and were not generated by Dundas. Dundas has not independently verified the underlying primary sampling or assay data.
| Hole ID | Type | From (m) | Interval (m) | Au (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18CWAC0920 | Air Core | 20m | 12m | 3.31 g/t |
| Including | 20m | 4m | 9.53 g/t | |
| 18CWDD0028 | Diamond | 113.45m | 2.95m | 1.95 g/t |
| Including | 114m | 1.7m | 3.29 g/t | |
| And | 115m | 0.7m | 4.76 g/t |
Critically, this drilling is shallow, wide-spaced, and first-pass in character. No systematic reverse circulation or diamond programme has been completed along the full 5km of strike, and the mineralised structure has been tested below the base of oxidation by a single hole. The discovery upside along strike and at depth has not been systematically tested.
MD Jonathan Downes on what secured tenure means for Dundas
Jonathan Downes, Managing Director
“Bloodwood is one of the key targets that first drew us to Romano. A five kilometre long gold anomaly with twelve metres at 3.3 grams per tonne inside it, sitting on a major shear corridor in a district that hosts a six million ounce mine, is not something that comes up on granted ground very often.
“What interests us most is how little work has actually been done. The drilling that defined Bloodwood was shallow air core on wide spacing, and the one diamond hole that went beneath it identified gold in fresh rock. The next holes at Bloodwood are extensions to a known system rather than first pass exploration and this makes this such an exciting prospect.
“Securing this licence, on of many help by Dundas that collectively make up the major Romano land holding in frontier gold terrain is the first step. Access is now our priority and we are now working through the native title and heritage process with the Traditional Owners.”
The key investor takeaway from Downes’ commentary is that the Bloodwood anomaly is underexplored by design. The historical programme was regional in intent, designed to identify anomalism rather than test a deposit, which means the depth and strike extension potential of a system already known to carry grade has not yet been evaluated.
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
Near-term priorities: access approvals and systematic programme design
No ground-disturbing work can commence at Bloodwood until native title access, heritage clearance, and reserve entry approvals are in place. Dundas has flagged this as an active workstream rather than an unresolved obstacle, with the following near-term priorities across the Romano Project:
- Progressing native title, heritage, and reserve access approvals over E38/4002
- Compilation and reinterpretation of historical Gold Road datasets across the 5km Bloodwood anomaly
- Design of a first systematic reverse circulation and diamond programme
- Advancing the three remaining Romano exploration licence applications (E38/3983, E38/3995, E38/4000) toward grant
In the near term, Dundas’ drilling capital is committed to its three advanced Kalgoorlie gold projects: Rockland, Capricorn, and Baden-Powell. Heritage survey clearance and Programme of Work approvals are in place across all three, and a drilling contractor has been engaged. This reflects active portfolio management across Dundas’ broader asset base.
E38/4002 carries a minimum prescribed annual expenditure commitment of $89,000, with a five-year licence term commencing 18 August 2026. No Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves have been estimated for the Romano Project.
Don’t Miss the Next ASX Gold Discovery
Big News Blast delivers FREE breaking ASX gold sector news directly to your inbox within minutes of release, complete with in-depth analysis already done. Join 30,000+ subscribers who stay ahead of the market the moment announcements hit the ASX. Click the “Free Alerts” button to start receiving alerts before the broader market has a chance to react.