Brightstar Resources Hits 40 Visible Gold Points in Deep Drill Push Below 700m
Key Takeaways
- Two new deep diamond drillholes at Brightstar Resources' Two Mile Hill deposit logged a combined 40 occurrences of visible gold, with both holes ending in mineralised tonalite at depths of 901.4m and 1,010.9m without reaching the western contact.
- The mineralised tonalite at the Shirvington Zone is now interpreted at greater than 400m horizontal thickness and remains open at depth below 700m vertical, pointing to material upside beyond the existing 1.45Moz Two Mile Hill–Shillington resource.
- Visible gold was recorded in two distinct settings — sheeted quartz veins and within shear zones in the tonalite matrix itself (notably at 682.5m in TMHDD26005) — indicating multiple styles of gold mineralisation across the system.
- Assay results from all four holes in the approximately 3,800m program are pending, with TMHDD26005 and TMHDD26006 core despatched to Intertek for Photon Assay with results expected within 6–8 weeks.
- A follow-up ~6,500m extensional diamond drilling program is planned for the December 2026 quarter, targeting the Shirvington Zone in all directions with particular focus on the western tonalite contact below 500m vertical depth.
Visible gold at depth signals major resource upside at Two Mile Hill
Brightstar Resources has announced a significant extensional drilling result at its Two Mile Hill deposit, with 40 occurrences of visible gold logged across two new deep diamond drillholes — TMHDD26005 and TMHDD26006. Both holes intersected the eastern contact of the mineralised tonalite and drilled through more than 400m of continuous mineralised host rock, with neither hole reaching the western contact before ending in mineralised tonalite at depths of 901.4m and 1,010.9m respectively. The tonalite unit is now interpreted at greater than 400m horizontal thickness and remains open at depth below 700m vertical depth, pointing to what the company describes as a substantial likelihood for material Mineral Resource upside. Assays for all four holes in the approximately 3,800m extensional program are pending, with core from TMHDD26005 and TMHDD26006 being despatched to Intertek for Photon Assay with results expected within 6–8 weeks.
Alex Rovira, Managing Director
“Completing the program with a further 40 occurrences of visible gold over the final two holes is a hugely encouraging result and continues to reinforce the scale of the Shirvington Zone below the recently updated Mineral Resource. Both holes confirmed and extended the thickening host tonalite at depth and along strike to the north, pointing to further upside to the interpreted dimensions of the host unit.
Coarse visible gold was logged at regular intervals throughout the sheeted quartz veining and, encouragingly, also within shear zones in the tonalite itself (Figure 2: TMHDD26005 at 682.5m). This indicates the system is hosting multiple styles of free gold, which will be important as we piece together the controls on mineralisation at depth.
Plans are underway for a ~6,500m follow-up extensional diamond drilling program at Two Mile Hill in the December 2026 quarter, targeting extensions to the Shirvington Zone in all directions, with a particular focus on the western tonalite contact below 500m vertical depth.
In parallel, geophysical crews are mobilising to Sandstone to undertake a widespread infill and extensional ground gravity survey over tenure prospective for felsic intrusive-hosted deposits. The survey will add valuable foundational understanding of the basement stratigraphy in central Sandstone, helping us refine the ten geophysical anomalies already identified and generate new targets across the broader camp.”
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What the Shirvington Zone means for the existing resource
A deposit already carrying serious weight
Before examining the new drilling, it helps to understand the scale of what already sits in the ground. The Two Mile Hill deposit is part of a larger, well-defined resource base. Key figures from Brightstar’s 28 September 2026 announcement “Sandstone Resource Grows to 3.6Moz, Group MRE to 5.2Moz” include:
- Combined Two Mile Hill–Shillington MRE: 24.6Mt @ 1.8g/t Au for 1.45Moz
- Total Sandstone Gold Project MRE: 79.4Mt @ 1.4g/t Au for 3.6Moz
- Indicated component: 30.4Mt @ 1.5g/t Au for 1.5Moz
- Group MRE (BTR attributable): 5.2Moz
This is already a substantial resource by any measure. The Shirvington Zone sits below it — and based on current drilling, it appears to be growing.
What the new drilling revealed
The Shirvington Zone is a newly identified, deeper extension of the tonalite-hosted mineralisation at Two Mile Hill. Prior drilling had already flagged exceptional grades at depth: hole TMHRCD26020 (reported 3 August 2026) returned a broad intercept of 305.4m @ 1.82g/t Au from 351.9m, including high-grade zones of 17.5m @ 9.68g/t Au from 351.9m, 13.4m @ 8.59g/t Au from 531.0m, and 34.6m @ 4.11g/t Au from 586.7m.
The 305m gold intercept at Two Mile Hill, returned by hole TMHRCD26020 earlier in the program, was the foundational result that defined the Shirvington Zone as a target worthy of deep diamond follow-up, with that single broad intercept averaging 1.82g/t Au across its full length.
The two new diamond drillholes were designed to test whether that tonalite system thickened further at depth. Both did. TMHDD26005 and TMHDD26006 intersected the eastern contact of the tonalite and drilled through more than 400m of mineralised host rock without reaching the western contact. Visible gold was observed throughout, typically in association with galena and pyrite in quartz veins. Importantly, coarse visible gold was also logged within shear zones in the tonalite matrix itself — most notably at 682.5m in TMHDD26005 — indicating multiple styles of gold mineralisation are present across the system.
The four-hole program is now complete. All holes ended in mineralised tonalite, with assays pending across the full approximately 3,800m program.
| Hole ID | Depth (m) | Key Feature | Status | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMHDD26003 | 1,039.2 | Previously reported; assays pending | Assays pending | Previously reported |
| TMHDD26004 | 888.3 | Previously reported; assays pending | Assays pending | Previously reported |
| TMHDD26005 | 901.4 | 40 visible gold occurrences (combined with TMHDD26006); VG in shear zones at 682.5m | Assays pending | This announcement |
| TMHDD26006 | 1,010.9 | 40 visible gold occurrences (combined with TMHDD26005); deepest hole in program | Assays pending | This announcement |
How visible gold fits into gold exploration
Visible gold (VG) refers to gold that can be seen with the naked eye in drill core. It is relatively uncommon, and its presence is generally viewed as a positive geological indicator — but understanding what it does and does not tell you is important before drawing conclusions.
In most gold systems, mineralisation is microscopic and requires laboratory assay to detect and quantify. When gold is visible, it typically signals a zone of elevated concentration. In this case, the VG at Two Mile Hill appears in two distinct settings. First, in sheeted quartz veins — the classic signature of an orogenic gold system. Second, within the matrix of the tonalite itself, which suggests the mineralising fluids permeated the host rock more broadly, not just through discrete veins.
That distinction matters. A system hosting multiple styles of gold mineralisation tends to be more spatially extensive and potentially higher tonnage than one confined to narrow vein corridors. The presence of both vein-hosted and matrix-hosted VG across more than 400m of tonalite increases confidence in the scale of the system. However — and this is critical — visible gold is not a substitute for laboratory assay. The company’s own cautionary statement notes explicitly that visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy for laboratory analyses where grades are the factor of principal economic interest. The visible gold grains logged at Two Mile Hill are typically less than 1mm in diameter, and the percentage of gold within the mineralised zones is estimated at less than 0.01% by volume.
What you can say with confidence is that the frequency and distribution of visible gold across both new holes is directionally encouraging. When considered alongside the prior 305.4m @ 1.82g/t Au intercept from the same system, these observations build a coherent picture of a large-scale, mineralised tonalite body. If assays confirm grade consistency with the visible gold distribution, the resource could extend materially below its current floor of approximately 700m vertical depth.
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What comes next: follow-up drilling and the broader exploration campaign
Two parallel workstreams are advancing at Sandstone, each with distinct near-term catalysts.
- Approximately 6,500m follow-up extensional diamond drilling program planned for the December 2026 quarter
- Target areas: extensions to the Shirvington Zone in all directions, with particular focus on the western tonalite contact below 500m vertical depth
- Geophysical crews mobilising to Sandstone for a widespread infill and extensional ground gravity survey
- Survey objectives: foundational understanding of the basement stratigraphy and refinement of ten geophysical anomalies already identified
- Plans to test up to ten other potentially analogous felsic intrusives proximal to Two Mile Hill
- Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) and development workstreams advancing in parallel
The most immediate catalyst is the assay results. All four holes from the approximately 3,800m program — TMHDD26003, TMHDD26004, TMHDD26005, and TMHDD26006 — have results pending, with the company anticipating receipt of assays from TMHDD26005 and TMHDD26006 within 6–8 weeks.
Brightstar’s broader platform provides meaningful context for these results. The company holds a group MRE of 5.2Moz across its Goldfields and Sandstone hubs in Western Australia. At Goldfields, construction of the 1.5Mtpa processing plant is underway, with first gold production targeted in the June 2027 quarter.
Ready to Learn More About the Shirvington Zone at Two Mile Hill?
Brightstar Resources’ extensional drilling program has logged 40 occurrences of visible gold across two deep diamond drillholes, with the mineralised tonalite now interpreted at greater than 400m horizontal thickness and remaining open at depth — pointing to material upside beyond the existing 3.6Moz Sandstone resource. Assay results from all four holes in the ~3,800m program are pending, with a further ~6,500m follow-up program planned for the December 2026 quarter.
Explore the full details of the Two Mile Hill drilling results and Brightstar’s broader Sandstone exploration strategy by visiting the Brightstar Resources investor profile on Discovery Alert. Stay ahead of upcoming assay results and development milestones as the Shirvington Zone continues to take shape.