Aureka Hits Gold on Three New Fronts at Irvine Expanding Beyond 398koz Resource
Key Takeaways
- Aureka has confirmed gold mineralisation across three distinct zones at the Irvine Gold Project, all sitting outside the current 398koz JORC Inferred Mineral Resource and representing genuine extensions to the known system.
- The Eaglehawk drilling delivered the first significant gold confirmed in the previously undrilled 2km gap between the Resolution and Adventure Lodes, with reef continuity confirmed just 75m vertically from surface.
- West-flank mineralisation at Eaglehawk mirrors the geometry of the 5.3Moz Magdala Mine at Stawell, where gold was mined on both sides of the same basalt unit — all current Irvine JORC resource sits on the east flank only.
- The South Resolution hole (RD054) terminated inside 3.09g/t Au mineralisation due to poor ground conditions and will be re-drilled, leaving the primary target untested and high-potential.
- The pending Wedderburn Gold Processing Mill acquisition, announced 7 September 2026, provides a conceptual processing pathway for all of Aureka's Victorian projects and lifts pro-forma total JORC resources to approximately 455koz @ 2.27g/t Au.
Three new fronts of gold discovered at Aureka’s Irvine Project
Aureka Ltd (ASX: AKA) has intersected significant gold mineralisation across three distinct zones at its flagship Irvine Gold Project in Victoria’s Stawell Corridor, in an announcement dated 15 September 2026. The results include the first significant mineralisation confirmed in the underexplored 2km gap between the Resolution and Adventure Lodes, a newly identified deep structure below the Resolution Lode, and high-grade shallow mineralisation to the south — all sitting outside the current 398koz JORC Inferred Mineral Resource (comprising Resolution Lode: 358koz; Adventure Lode: 40koz). Drilling remains ongoing, and results from hole RD058 are partial, with further assays pending QAQC completion.
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What the three drill zones revealed
North Resolution — new structure at depth
Hole RD058 intersected what appears to be a newly identified northern mineralised structure located approximately 80m west of the Resolution Fault — placing it outside the current Inferred Mineral Resource area. Because assay results from RD058 are partial and subject to ongoing QAQC validation, any further significant results will be reported separately once finalised.
Significant assays returned from RD058 to date include:
- 3.92m @ 4.74g/t Au from 238.82m, including 0.72m @ 9.18g/t Au from 238.82m and 0.5m @ 16.1g/t Au from 241.64m
- 0.95m @ 3.71g/t Au from 116.75m
Mineralisation occurs along the faulted margins between basalt and sediments, reinforcing the rheological contact model analogous to the +5.3Moz Magdala Mine at Stawell, approximately 16km to the north. The newly identified structure has the potential to deliver further down-plunge high-grade gold intercepts at depth, with additional drilling planned in due course.
High-grade intercepts at Resolution have been a recurring feature of Aureka’s drilling program, establishing the structural precedent that the current holes targeting depth extensions and southern up-dip zones are building upon.
South Resolution — high-grade intercept near surface
Hole RD054 targeted the Advanced Exploration Target immediately up-dip and to the south of the Resolution Lode. A Tenacity-styled HW structure (the same structure type that has historically delivered some of the highest grades at Irvine) was intersected at 155.1m, with individual assay values of up to 9.44g/t Au.
Significant assays from RD054 include:
- 3.5m @ 2.79g/t Au from 155.1m, including 0.7m @ 8.78g/t Au from 155.1m
- 1.7m @ 2.1g/t Au from 160m — note the hole terminated in 3.09g/t Au mineralisation due to poor ground conditions
Poor ground conditions caused by increased structural complexity and the likely convergence of nearby fault margins prevented full penetration of the targeted zone. The hole ended within the mineralised structures, representing an inconclusive test of the projected target. It will be re-drilled from another angle, with high potential remaining.
Eaglehawk area — first mineralisation in the 2km gap
Diamond drilling in the Eaglehawk area has delivered the first significant mineralisation confirmed within the underexplored 2km gap separating the Resolution and Adventure Lodes. Drilling was conducted along strike of the historic Eaglehawk mine, located approximately 800m west of the main Resolution-Adventure Shear on the western side of the Irvine basalt, confirming reef continuity only 75m vertically from surface.
Significant assays from the Eaglehawk holes include:
- EH002: 0.9m @ 3.84g/t Au from 145.9m and 0.2m @ 6.01g/t Au from 288.75m
- EH004: 2.25m @ 1.34g/t Au from 90.7m (individual assays up to 3.04g/t Au)
- EH001: 1.0m @ 3.98g/t Au from 258m and 0.6m @ 1.68g/t Au from 308.95m
Critically, all current JORC mineralisation at Irvine sits on the east flank of the Magdala Basalt. These results on the west flank demonstrate the expansion potential of the system, possibly analogous to the 5.3Moz Magdala Mine at Stawell where mineralisation and mining has occurred on both sides of the same basalt unit.
Understanding the Irvine system — why this discovery matters
A JORC Mineral Resource is a formally estimated quantity of mineralisation classified by confidence level (Inferred, Indicated, or Measured) that meets a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction. Drilling results outside that boundary do not yet contribute to the resource figure — but they expand the geological system and are the direct precursor to future resource growth.
The 2km gap between Resolution and Adventure has been an underdrilled corridor separating two known lodes. Confirming gold-bearing structures within it for the first time materially expands the known footprint of the Irvine system. The Magdala analogy is instructive: at the 5.3Moz Stawell Goldfield, mineralisation occurs on both sides of the same basalt unit that separates zones at Irvine. Aureka is now seeing early evidence this bilateral pattern could also apply at its project.
The company has defined Exploration Targets for the Irvine project that contextualise how much additional resource could potentially exist beyond the current JORC estimate:
| Exploration Target | Tonnes (Mt) | Gold Grade (g/t) | Gold Ounces (koz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Targets | 1.33 – 2.66 | 2.0 – 2.3 | 85 – 197 |
| Conceptual Targets | 2.35 – 4.7 | 2.0 – 2.3 | 151 – 348 |
The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
Aureka’s broader Victorian gold portfolio
Aureka is an integrated Victorian gold company encompassing current production, near-term development, and large-scale growth projects. On a pro-forma basis (conditional on successful close of the mine and mill acquisition announced on 7 September 2026), Aureka’s total JORC Inferred Mineral Resources amount to approximately 455koz @ 2.27g/t Au across all projects. The portfolio includes:
- Irvine Gold Project (flagship): 398koz JORC Inferred, located 16km from the operating Stawell Gold Mine with a production history of over 5Moz
- Fiddlers Creek Underground Gold & Silver Mine: restarted production in 2025 as a high-grade, smaller-scale operation
- Comstock (St Arnaud): 56koz JORC Inferred @ 1.21g/t gold; production licence in application
- Wedderburn Gold Processing Mill: one of a limited number of gold mills in Victoria; currently processing Fiddlers Creek ore; pending acquisition close (announced 7 September 2026), providing a conceptual pathway to first production for all projects
- Jubilee and Morning Bill: gold and base metals exploration projects
Visible gold at the St Arnaud project (the Comstock asset listed at 56koz JORC Inferred) provided an earlier signal of the broader mineralised system across Aureka’s Victorian portfolio, with a production licence now in application.
The Wedderburn mill acquisition is the connective tissue across the portfolio. It provides Irvine and Aureka’s other projects with a conceptual processing route that did not previously exist as a company-owned asset.
What management said
James Gurry, Managing Director
“Our flagship Irvine Gold Project continues to yield new mineralisation in multiple areas – at depth in the north, closer to surface in the south, and west in the 2km gap between the lodes. The acquisition of Wedderburn Gold Processing facility, one of only a small number of mills in Victoria, now provides all our projects with a conceptual pathway to first production…”
Jozef Story, Exploration Manager
“The most recent intercepts successfully demonstrate extensions beyond current JORC Mineral Resource Estimate and the historically mined Eaglehawk workings and reiterate the importance of exploring for additional gold mineralisation associated with emerging second order structures distal to the main Irvine Shear…”
Drilling remains ongoing at Irvine as the company targets mineral extensions within its Advanced Exploration Targets. Aureka’s stated aim is to grow the Irvine project to beyond 1Moz of gold resources. Despite 59km of drilling completed since discovery in 2017, management describes the technical geological framework and definitive mineralising controls at Irvine as still being in their infancy.
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Global Mineral Resource summary
The table below presents Aureka’s full global JORC Mineral Resource, sourced from Table 2 in the 15 September 2026 announcement.
| Prospect | Cut-Off (g/t) | Tonnes | Gold Grade (g/t) | Gold Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution Open Pit | >0.5 | 1,775,000 | 2.16 | 123,000 |
| Adventure Open Pit | >0.6 | 680,000 | 1.85 | 40,300 |
| Total Irvine (Stawell) Open Pit | Various | 2,455,000 | 2.07 | 163,300 |
| Resolution Underground | >1.0 | 2,335,000 | 3.13 | 235,000 |
| Total Irvine (Stawell) | Various | 4,790,000 | 2.59 | 398,300 |
| Comstock (St Arnaud) | >0.5 | 1,450,000 | 1.21 | 56,500 |
| Total All Projects | Various | 6,240,000 | 2.27 | 454,800 |
There is a low level of geological confidence associated with inferred mineral resources and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of indicated mineral resources or that the production target itself will be realised.
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