Neometals Formalises $2M Standby Loan Facility With First Drawdown Due September
Torque Metals Limited (ASX: TOR) has reported new high-grade gold results from the 100%-owned Paris Gold Project in Western Australia, with drilling at both the Observation and HHH deposits returning mineralisation outside current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) boundaries. According to the ASX announcement dated 3 August 2026, the first extensional diamond holes drilled at both deposits since the 2024 resource update have intersected fresh high-grade zones, supporting the view that the broader Paris Gold Camp remains open for growth.
For investors following ASX gold exploration stocks, the update matters because the current global resource at Paris stands at 3.47 million tonnes at 3.1 g/t gold for 351,000 ounces, yet the latest drilling has already stepped outside those existing boundaries at two separate deposits.
The announcement also marks the first reported field results linked to Torque's recently launched RPM Strategy, which stands for Rapid Path to one Million ounces. The company states this remains an aspirational objective rather than a forecast or exploration target.
The drilling update was centred on two deposits within the Paris Gold Project corridor: Observation and HHH. In both cases, the company reported that mineralisation was intersected beyond the current MRE outlines.
At Observation, the first diamond hole drilled below the existing 25,000-ounce resource at 2.8 g/t gold returned:
Torque stated that this intercept is the deepest recorded at Observation to date and sits about 60 metres down-dip and down-plunge from the current resource model. Furthermore, the company described the intercept as a potential new sub-vertical lode offset from the existing model.
At HHH, which sits about 900 metres north of Paris along strike, drilling also extended mineralisation beyond the current 73,000-ounce resource at 2.0 g/t gold. Reported results included:
These results are reported as down-hole widths, with true widths not yet determined.
| Hole ID | Deposit | From (m) | Interval (m) | Grade (g/t Au) | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26ODD004 | Observation | 201.2 | 2.7 | 5.20 | Deepest intercept at Observation, outside MRE |
| 26ODD004 incl. | Observation | 201.2 | 0.4 | 29.97 | High-grade internal section |
| 26HDD005 | HHH | 253.13 | 1.0 | 20.90 | About 70m down-plunge below current MRE |
| 26HDD005 incl. | HHH | 253.7 | 0.6 | 33.76 | High-grade internal section |
| 26HRC130 | HHH | 220.0 | 2.0 | 2.39 | Down-plunge continuation outside MRE |
| 26PRCDD266 | Paris | 332.7 | 1.3 | 6.94 | Hanging-wall shear, possible PL3 indicator |
The investment relevance is relatively direct. When drilling begins to intersect mineralisation beyond a current resource shell, it can support future resource growth if follow-up work confirms continuity, geometry and scale.
The Observation result appears important because it was the first extensional diamond test beneath the current resource and immediately hit a high-grade interval. According to the announcement, the geological setting is similar to the structurally offset lodes already recognised at the larger Paris Deposit, which currently hosts 253,000 ounces at 3.8 g/t gold.
That comparison does not confirm that Observation will develop in the same way, but it does provide geological context for why the company is following up quickly. Torque stated that another diamond hole is already in progress below 26ODD004 to test the immediate down-plunge potential.
At HHH, the result is supported by both drilling and geophysics. The company stated that the gold in 26HDD005 was hosted within a quartz-carbonate vein with semi-massive sulphides, consistent with the broader Paris style of mineralisation. That matters because it enabled the use of down-hole electromagnetic surveying, which has become a key targeting method across the project.
"These exciting discoveries of new high-grade zones represent an outstanding start to the next phase of resource growth at the Paris Gold Project, with the first extensional diamond holes at both Observation and HHH intersecting significant mineralisation outside their current Mineral Resource boundaries," said Craig Jones, Managing Director and CEO.
Jones also stated in the announcement that the HHH drilling had extended known mineralisation down-plunge and that the DHEM work from the hole had identified a new conductor immediately below the high-grade intercept.
Down-hole electromagnetic surveying (DHEM) is a geophysical method used after a drill hole has been completed. A tool is lowered into the hole to send out an electromagnetic signal. If there is conductive material nearby — such as sulphide-rich zones that can be associated with gold mineralisation — the survey can detect and model it.
In simple terms, DHEM helps geologists look beyond the drilled intersection to identify nearby targets that may not yet have been directly tested.
At the Paris Gold Project, Torque reported that DHEM has a strong historical relationship with drilling success:
Those figures, as reported by the company, give context to the newly identified conductor below 26HDD005 at HHH. It is not itself a gold result, but it is a defined geophysical target with what Torque describes as a strong historical association with mineralisation across Paris, HHH and Observation.
For non-specialist investors, this is one of the more useful parts of the update. Many exploration announcements focus only on assay values. In this case, however, the company is also showing how it chooses where to drill next.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MRE | Mineral Resource Estimate, a formal estimate of mineral tonnes and grade with reasonable prospects for eventual extraction |
| DHEM | Down-hole electromagnetic survey used to detect conductive bodies near a drill hole |
| Down-plunge | Extending deeper along the main direction of a mineralised structure |
| g/t Au | Grams of gold per tonne of rock |
| RC drilling | Reverse circulation drilling, a common method that produces rock chip samples |
| Diamond drilling | Core drilling that produces intact rock samples for more detailed geology |
| JORC Code | The Australasian reporting standard used for exploration results and mineral resources |
| Lode | A defined zone or structure containing mineralisation |
According to the resource table cited in the ASX announcement, the Paris Gold Project MRE currently totals 351,000 ounces at 3.1 g/t gold across three deposits.
| Deposit | Indicated (oz) | Inferred (oz) | Total (oz) | Average grade (g/t Au) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 118,000 | 134,000 | 253,000 | 3.8 |
| HHH | 10,000 | 63,000 | 73,000 | 2.0 |
| Observation | 19,000 | 6,000 | 25,000 | 2.8 |
| Total | 147,000 | 203,000 | 351,000 | 3.1 |
An important point in the report is that while the Paris deposit was updated in July 2026, the HHH and Observation resource figures remain from 2024. That means the new intercepts released in this update are not yet reflected in those resources.
For investors, this creates a clear distinction between the published resource base and the current drill-driven growth story. The existing MRE provides the baseline, while the extensional results indicate where future additions may come from if continuity is confirmed through further drilling.
Torque linked the latest drilling success to its RPM Strategy, introduced on 7 July 2026 following changes to management. The company uses RPM to describe its Rapid Path to one Million ounces approach, while also stating in the announcement that the objective is aspirational and subject to exploration success.
In the report, the strategy appears to have three practical components:
Torque also stated that recent management changes have improved drilling efficiency and lowered the effective cost per metre drilled, which could allow more holes to be completed within the same budget. While the announcement did not quantify the cost change, the operational point is relevant because exploration intensity often depends as much on drilling efficiency as on gross spend.
The near-term exploration pipeline described in the announcement is active across several areas of the project. At Observation, another diamond hole is already underway below 26ODD004. At HHH, follow-up drilling is expected to test the newly modelled DHEM conductor plate below the high-grade intercept in 26HDD005.
The report also outlined continued work at the Paris Deposit, where a recently completed RC and diamond tail hole returned 1.3 metres at 6.94 g/t gold from 332.7 metres in 26PRCDD266 within a hanging-wall shear. Torque stated this may represent a possible splay related to the target PL3 structure, while DHEM surveys are underway to help refine targeting.
Beyond the three known deposits, the company said exploration drilling is planned before the end of calendar 2026 at several broader camp prospects.
| Prospect | Context from the report |
|---|---|
| Maynards Dam | Planned target, heritage survey to open access |
| Strauss West | DHEM-defined prospect with limited deeper drilling |
| Marmaracs | Regional target within broader camp |
| Lady Doris | DHEM-defined target, heritage survey pending |
| St Ives East | Regional target, heritage survey pending |
According to the announcement, these areas have seen minimal or no drilling below 40 to 50 metres, meaning they remain lightly tested at depth.
There are several reasons the update may draw market attention. First, the results came from the first extensional diamond holes at both Observation and HHH since the 2024 MRE update, and both delivered mineralisation outside current resource limits.
Early-step extensional success can improve confidence in future drilling campaigns because it suggests the system is not closed off where previous models stopped.
Second, the grades reported are materially higher than the average grades in the current HHH and Observation resources. Narrow intercepts do not on their own define economic scale, but high-grade cores such as 29.97 g/t gold and 33.76 g/t gold can be important markers within structurally controlled gold systems.
Third, DHEM is playing an increasingly central role in target generation at Paris. If the company's stated 90% historical correlation continues to hold, upcoming DHEM-targeted drilling could provide an efficient way to test for additional sulphide-linked gold zones.
Fourth, and perhaps most notably, the project footprint remains large relative to the current resource envelope. Torque controls about 57 kilometres of strike within a 350 square kilometre greenstone belt, while the current MRE spans only about 2.5 kilometres of strike. That does not guarantee further discoveries, but it indicates a large part of the land package remains underexplored compared with the existing resource area.
The 3 August 2026 update presents a company trying to grow a known gold system on multiple fronts simultaneously. Observation has delivered its deepest intercept to date below the existing resource, HHH has returned a new high-grade hit with a fresh DHEM target beneath it, and Paris itself continues to be tested for an additional lode.
The current 351,000-ounce Paris Gold Project resource remains the formal benchmark. However, the latest drilling suggests the company is now actively testing where that benchmark may expand next.
For investors focused on ASX gold explorers, the near-term watchpoints are clear: follow-up drilling below 26ODD004, DHEM-targeted work at HHH, ongoing PL3 testing at Paris, and first-pass drilling at regional targets once heritage surveys are completed. If those programmes continue to return mineralisation beyond current model boundaries, the Paris Gold Camp may ultimately require a larger resource frame than the current MRE reflects.
Discovery Alert's proprietary Discovery IQ model scans ASX announcements in real time, instantly identifying high-grade exploration results like those emerging from Torque Metals' Paris Gold Project — turning complex mineral data into actionable investment insights for both short-term traders and long-term investors. Explore how historic ASX mineral discoveries have generated substantial returns on Discovery Alert's dedicated discoveries page, and begin your 14-day free trial today to position yourself ahead of the broader market.