Kalamazoo Delivers 50m at 4.9g/t Gold as Mt Olympus Drilling Concludes
Key Takeaways
- The completed 72-hole, 13,726m Resource Definition Drilling Program at Mt Olympus delivered a standout final intercept of 50.0m @ 4.9g/t Au from 193.0m, producing 246 gram-metres and ranking among the program's best results.
- 38 intercepts exceeded 50 gram-metres and 16 exceeded 100 gram-metres across the full program, demonstrating broad, high-grade continuity rather than isolated pockets of mineralisation.
- Approximately 61% of significant intercepts since the 2022 MRE returned grades at or above the current resource average of 2.7g/t Au, meaning new drilling is reinforcing — not diluting — the deposit's grade profile.
- Mineralisation has been identified approximately 80m below the Scoping Study pit shell and remains open at depth and down-plunge, building the structural case for a future underground development phase beyond the initial open-cut focus.
- An updated Mineral Resource Estimate is targeted for Q4 2026, feeding directly into a Pre-Feasibility Study targeted for Q1 2027, against an existing total Ashburton Gold Project resource of 1.44Moz Au at 2.8g/t.
Final assay results cap an outstanding 72-hole program at Mt Olympus
All assay results are now in hand from the completed 72-hole, 13,726m Resource Definition Drilling Program at Mt Olympus, with Kalamazoo Resources Limited (ASX: KZR) delivering a standout headline intercept of 50.0m @ 4.9g/t Au from 193.0m (KADD0021, downhole length) to close out the campaign.
The program returned 38 intercepts exceeding 50 gram-metres, including 16 exceeding 100 gram-metres, demonstrating the scale and continuity of broad, high-grade mineralisation at the Mt Olympus deposit within the 100%-owned Ashburton Gold Project (AGP) in Western Australia. An updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is targeted for Q4 2026 and remains on track.
The five new headline intercepts not previously reported (all widths are downhole lengths) are:
- 50.0m @ 4.9g/t Au from 193.0m — KADD0021
- 59.0m @ 3.2g/t Au from 206.0m, incl. 33m @ 4.3g/t Au and 11m @ 5.6g/t Au — KARCD0166
- 53.0m @ 2.4g/t Au from 198.0m, incl. 39.8m @ 3.0g/t Au — KADD0024
- 14.0m @ 5.4g/t Au from 150.0m — KARCD0167
- 29.0m @ 2.1g/t Au from 42.0m, incl. 10m @ 4.0g/t Au — KARC0211
Executive Director Dr Ben Ackerman
“These final assays complete an outstanding 72-hole resource definition program at Mt Olympus. The result of 50m at 4.9 g/t gold, together with the broad intersections in KARCD0166 and KADD0024, reinforces the grade and continuity of the mineralised system. Importantly, drilling has also identified mineralisation approximately 80m below the Scoping Study pit shell, which remains open at depth and down-plunge. The completed program and substantially expanded technical dataset provide a strong foundation for the updated Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for Q4 2026. With approximately 25,000 metres of additional drilling now incorporated into the geological model, together with an expanded Sulphur database of more than 28,000 assays, Kalamazoo has significantly advanced its understanding of the Mt Olympus deposit. This work builds on an extensive history of drilling and reflects the strength of the technical progress made by our team.”
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What the drilling data means for Mt Olympus — and why it matters
Grade quality above the resource benchmark
Approximately 61% of significant assay intercepts returned since the 2022 MRE have come in at grades at or above the current Mt Olympus average resource grade of 2.7g/t Au. That is a meaningful quality signal: the new drilling is not diluting the deposit’s grade profile, it is reinforcing it.
Gram-metres is a combined measure of grade multiplied by interval length. It gives investors a single number to compare the significance of intercepts of different widths and grades. An intercept of 50m @ 4.9g/t Au produces 246 gram-metres, placing it comfortably among the program’s standout results.
Drilling has intersected mineralisation both within and beyond the current resource envelope, including outside the resource model but inside the conceptual A$4,000/oz Scoping Study pit shell. That distinction matters: it signals potential for future mining inventory to grow within the economic pit boundary already modelled.
Deep mineralisation extends below the pit shell
Hole KARCD0166 delivered more than broad high-grade widths at depth within the pit shell. It also identified a mineralised zone approximately 80m below the Scoping Study pit shell and 90m outboard of the Zoe Fault, which acts as the main fluid conduit for the Mt Olympus system.
The specific deep intercepts from KARCD0166 (all downhole lengths) include:
- 4m @ 2.6g/t Au from 342m
- 14m @ 2.5g/t Au from 354m, incl. 4m @ 4.7g/t Au from 361m
- 9m @ 3.7g/t Au from 379m, incl. 4m @ 6.9g/t Au from 381m
These represent the deepest mineralisation identified at Mt Olympus to date, and the zone remains open at depth and down-plunge to the south-east, supporting the case for future underground development beyond the initial open-cut focus.
The Mt Olympus underground expansion case has been building across successive drill campaigns, with high-grade intercepts at depth and down-plunge providing the structural and grade continuity arguments that underpin a potential transition beyond the initial open-cut focus.
A Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is a formal estimate of the quantity and grade of mineralisation that has reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Resources are classified by confidence level: Inferred (least confident), Indicated, and Measured. Converting Inferred tonnes to the Indicated category requires tighter drill spacing because more data points are needed to demonstrate geological continuity with confidence. The Resource Definition Drilling Program has reduced spacing to approximately 20m x 20m across key areas, which is the prerequisite for that conversion and for future Ore Reserve estimation. Ore Reserves feed directly into mine planning and project economics, making this drill density upgrade a material step toward development readiness.
A deposit built on 40 years of drilling — now at its most data-rich point
Mt Olympus has been drilled across three major campaigns since 1986, with cumulative drilling reaching over 114,000m. Each campaign built on the last, but Kalamazoo’s program stands apart in both method and focus.
| Operator | Period Active | Primary Method | Metres Drilled (approx.) | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sipa Resources | Pre-2010 | RC / RAB | ~45,000m | Near-surface oxide mineralisation; initial mine development |
| Northern Star Resources (NST) | Post-Sipa | RC / Diamond | ~25,000m | Oxide starter pit and deeper sulphide exploration |
| De Grey (option period) | 2024 | Diamond | ~2,000m | Geological model; sulphide-hosted mineralisation |
| Kalamazoo (KZR) | 2020 – 2026 | >50% Diamond Core | ~23,000m | Resource definition; structural and sulphide model |
What separates Kalamazoo’s campaign qualitatively is the diamond core component. More than 50% of Kalamazoo’s drilling has included diamond core, providing oriented structural measurements that were unavailable from prior RC-dominated campaigns. Those measurements allow geologists to model feeder structure geometry and lode continuity directly, rather than inferring them.
The supporting datasets are equally significant. The sulphur assay database has expanded to over 28,000 assays, and 12 new geotechnical drill holes totalling 2,662m, plus approximately 6,700m of wireline logging, have been completed. All of these inputs are being incorporated into the MRE update.
CEO Andrew McDougall
“We see Mt Olympus as the cornerstone asset of the Ashburton Gold Project. This program has increased our confidence in the deposit, highlighted further growth potential and materially advanced the project towards development. Our immediate priorities are delivery of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Ashburton PFS, while continuing targeted growth drilling beneath Mt Olympus and at the high-grade Peake deposit.”
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What comes next for Kalamazoo and the Ashburton Gold Project
The completion of the Resource Definition Drilling Program sets up a clear sequence of milestones. The near-term priorities are:
- Updated MRE for Mt Olympus — targeted Q4 2026, on track
- Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) — targeted Q1 2027, with all major technical workstreams progressing
- Ongoing underground growth drilling at Mt Olympus — one rig active, targeting down-dip and lower RL high-grade zones
- Continued drilling at the high-grade Peake deposit
- Review of satellite resources and regional growth options across the broader 519km² tenure
For context, the existing Ashburton Gold Project total Mineral Resource stands at 1.44Moz Au (16,190kt @ 2.8g/t Au, comprising 1,436,000oz across Mt Olympus, Peake, Waugh, and Zeus deposits, with the Romulus Inferred Resource of 329kt @ 2.6g/t for 27,000oz in addition to this total).
The updated MRE feeds directly into Ore Reserve estimation and the project economics being developed within the PFS. The Pre-Feasibility Study has not yet been completed, and the project has not entered development. What today’s results represent is the data foundation that makes those next steps possible: a deposit that is better understood, better drilled, and better positioned for the economic studies that will determine its future than at any point in its 40-year drilling history.
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