Broken Hill Gold Wins 751km² of Historic High-Grade Ground to Double SA Footprint
Key Takeaways
- Broken Hill Gold (ASX: BH6) won competitive tenders for two new Exploration Licence Applications covering a combined ~751km², doubling its regional tenure to more than 1,500km² in South Australia's Curnamona Province.
- The Waukaringa Goldfield carries historical production of approximately 45,000oz at 23g/t Au, with total district production estimated at ~87,000oz — neither field has seen modern drilling since the 1980s.
- First-pass field work on the new tenements is scheduled for Q4 2026, with drilling on walk-up targets planned for Q1 2027, aligning with BH6's broader 2027 White Dam mining restart strategy.
- The existing White Dam Project hosts a 4.6Mt at 0.7g/t Au resource for 102koz, with infrastructure including open-pit mines, a heap leach facility, and a fully operational gold extraction plant already in place to process any future ore feed from the new ground.
- BH6's active near-mine drilling programme at White Dam continues in parallel, with both rigs moving to the Icebreaker gold-copper sulphide zone in October 2026.
BH6 doubles its regional footprint with two major tenure wins
Broken Hill Gold (ASX: BH6) has successfully won competitive tenders for two Exploration Licence Applications (ELAs) covering a combined ~751km², expanding the company’s regional tenure by 100% to more than 1,500km². The two new ELAs secure the Manna Hill Goldfield and the Waukaringa Goldfield, both located 50–80km west of White Dam operations, and both carrying credentials of historical high-grade gold production dating back to the 1890s.
The South Australian Department for Energy and Mining confirmed the successful tender awards following competitive applications submitted in May 2026. The acquisition consolidates BH6’s position in South Australia’s Curnamona Province, a corridor attracting increasing attention from major explorers.
Matthew Boyes, Managing Director
“This is another significant step forward for BH6 as we continue to expand and consolidate a major new gold hub in SA within the vicinity of White Dam by securing a further circa 800km2 of highly prospective ground over an area with proven historical production. This tenure is very prospective and materially adds to our current exploration portfolio with walk up drill targets on historic goldfields with no modern exploration.”
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Two goldfields, proven grade, and decades of neglect
Both goldfields carry historical production records that give modern explorers a compelling starting point. High grades achieved by 1890s miners using basic methods suggest robust underlying mineralisation, and the absence of modern drilling means these fields have never been properly tested with contemporary techniques, including deep drilling and geophysics.
Manna Hill Goldfield
- ~7km strike of historical workings
- Underground mines to approximately 100m depth
- Recorded shallow production of approximately 3,400oz at 18g/t Au (late 1890s, sourced from historical government geological reports, not JORC-compliant)
- No modern drilling since the 1980s
Waukaringa Goldfield
- ~5km strike of historical workings
- Underground mines to approximately 48m depth
- Recorded shallow production of approximately 45,000oz at 23g/t Au (late 1890s, sourced from historical government geological reports, not JORC-compliant)
- No modern drilling since the 1980s
- Total district production from alluvials and hard rock: approximately 87,000oz Au per regional map data
Historical grades of 18–23g/t Au at shallow depth tell you something important. Early miners could only extract ore profitably if grades were sufficiently rich to offset their primitive methods. When grades this high appear in shallow workings, it indicates the mineralising system was vigorous, and modern techniques, including deeper drilling and geophysical imaging, have real potential to identify extensions and new zones below and along strike from the old mines.
Matthew Boyes, Managing Director
“These two blocks have been left dormant after multiple years tied up in litigation before being released for tender…”
Exploration timeline and what comes next
BH6 is running a dual-track strategy: progressing permitting on the new regional ground while continuing to accelerate the active White Dam near-mine drilling programme.
New ELA exploration schedule
- October 2026 — Historical database compilation and geophysical data review commences to define priority areas and plan first-pass programmes
- Q4 2026 — Field mapping, sampling, and geophysics to begin once heritage agreements and environmental permitting are in place
- Q1 2027 — Drilling planned on walk-up targets on the historic goldfields
White Dam near-mine programme — momentum continues
- RC and Diamond core drilling in progress at the Vertigo deposit, investigating down-dip potential
- IP and magnetic geophysics completed at Icebreaker and Rolling; focus now shifting to Vertigo, then near-mine prospects including Mary Mine and Green & Gold
- Heritage surveys planned for Wilkins and Wadnaminga Prospects in October 2026
- Both rigs to move to Icebreaker in October 2026 to continue drilling on the new gold-copper sulphide zone
- Results to be published as received and compiled
The planned Q1 2027 drilling on the new tenements aligns directly with the company’s broader 2027 mining restart strategy at White Dam. These are complementary programmes, not competing ones. The near-mine work advances the production pathway while the regional ground builds the longer-term discovery pipeline.
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Why the Curnamona Province matters for BH6 investors
The tenure expansion compounds BH6’s early-mover position in a province that the company itself describes as becoming some of the most prized exploration ground in Australia, with major companies now focusing on acquiring and exploring in the region.
The White Dam Project carries an existing resource of 4.6Mt at 0.7g/t Au for 102koz Au (per regional map data). That established resource sits alongside infrastructure that already includes open-pit mines, a heap leach facility, and a fully operational gold extraction plant. For investors, that infrastructure matters: any ore feed from the new tenements has a logical processing pathway already in place, rather than requiring a greenfield capital build.
The company’s stated strategy is “discovery without dilution,” aiming to self-fund exploration through production rather than repeated equity raisings. The 2027 mining restart at White Dam is intended to support that model.
| Tenement | Size | Key Historical Goldfield | Nearest Production Hub |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Dam ELs | ~750km² (existing) | Vertigo, Icebreaker | White Dam Mine |
| Manna Hill ELA | Part of ~751km² combined | Manna Hill Goldfield (~3,400oz @ 18g/t, historical) | 50–80km west of White Dam |
| Waukaringa ELA | Part of ~751km² combined | Waukaringa Goldfield (~45,000oz @ 23g/t, historical) | 50–80km west of White Dam |
Note: Individual ELA area splits are not separately disclosed in the announcement; the combined figure of ~751km² covers both new licences.
The company’s dual mandate is clear: advance the 2027 mining restart at White Dam to generate self-funding capacity, while aggressively exploring the expanded regional footprint across more than 1,500km² of South Australian tenure. No drilling results have been received from the new tenements at this stage — this announcement confirms the tenure award and identifies targets only.
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