Industrial Minerals Secures North Pool Licence Unlocking Maiden Drill at Laverton
Key Takeaways
- The Western Australian DMPE has granted Exploration Licence E38/4061 (North Pool) to Industrial Minerals Ltd, removing the single largest regulatory barrier to maiden drilling at the Laverton Gold Project.
- North Pool sits 1.5 km along strike from Genesis Minerals' Beasley Creek deposit (430 Koz @ 2.0 g/t Au) within the same BIF-hosted, structurally controlled Chatterbox Shear Zone setting.
- Historic high-grade intercepts at North Pool — including 1m @ 82.2 g/t Au and 4m @ 19.17 g/t Au from surface — have never been systematically followed up, forming the core targets for the planned reverse circulation programme.
- Three pre-drilling steps remain: completion of the heritage survey with registered native title holders, engagement of a drilling contractor, and Programme of Work approval from DMPE.
- The Laverton Gold Project covers approximately 205 km² within the Laverton Tectonic Zone, a terrane that has produced over 28 Moz of gold historically.
North Pool tenement secured, maiden drilling at Laverton now within reach
Industrial Minerals Ltd (ASX: IND) has received the grant of Exploration Licence E38/4061 (North Pool) from the Western Australian Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE), securing tenure over the North Pool Project within the broader Laverton Gold Project. The grant is a meaningful regulatory milestone: tenure security means the company can now formally advance heritage survey completion and drilling contractor engagement toward maiden drilling. North Pool was acquired as part of the Galleon Metals Ltd acquisition announced on 13 May 2026.
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What makes North Pool compelling
A high-grade target sitting 1.5 km from a 430 Koz deposit
The Laverton Gold Project covers approximately 205 km² within the Laverton Tectonic Zone, an Archaean granite-greenstone terrane that has produced over 28 Moz of gold historically. The Chatterbox Shear Zone is the principal mineralised structure at the project, hosting banded iron formation (BIF)-controlled gold mineralisation along an interpreted strike extent of at least 1,700m, confirmed by a discrete, coherent magnetic-gravity anomaly defined through IND’s recent reinterpretation of drilling and open-file geophysical data.
The project sits approximately 1.5 km along strike from Genesis Minerals’ (ASX: GMD) Beasley Creek deposit (430 Koz @ 2.0 g/t Au), within the same BIF-hosted, structurally controlled setting. What makes North Pool particularly interesting is that several high-grade historic intercepts across the project were never systematically followed up. Maiden drilling will target exactly that untested ground.
Previously reported historic high-grade intercepts at North Pool include:
- 1m @ 82.2 g/t Au from 63m (BCP0482)
- 4m @ 19.17 g/t Au from surface (BCP0413)
- 8m @ 4.06 g/t Au from 22m (BCP0414)
- 1m @ 36.0 g/t Au from 24m (BNWI176)
- 2m @ 12.97 g/t Au from 55m (BCP0369)
These intercepts are spatially coincident with the magnetic-gravity anomaly along the Chatterbox Shear Zone and form the core targets for the planned reverse circulation drilling programme.
Warrick Clent, Managing Director
“…High-grade intercepts like 1 metre at 82 grams and 4 metres at 19 grams from surface have never been properly followed up, and we are looking forward to testing them.”
What is a BIF-hosted gold system and why does it matter to investors
Banded Iron Formation (BIF) refers to ancient, iron-rich sedimentary rock sequences that act as chemical traps for gold. When intersected by a shear zone, these sequences can host high-grade gold shoots with significant strike and depth extent. The deposit style is well understood across Western Australia, where BIF-hosted systems have produced some of the region’s most significant gold discoveries. At North Pool, the Chatterbox Shear Zone cuts through exactly this type of sequence, placing the project in the same geological setting responsible for the adjacent Beasley Creek deposit.
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Path to drilling — what happens next
With tenure now secured, IND has outlined three concrete steps required before the drill rig turns at North Pool:
- Heritage survey: Active engagement with registered native title holders is underway; completion of the survey across the planned drill area is required before drilling can commence.
- Drilling contractor: Selection and engagement of a contractor for the reverse circulation programme is being finalised.
- Programme of Work approval: IND will progress the required Programme of Work approval with DMPE and finalise the design of a reverse circulation drilling programme to step out along, and test at depth, the Chatterbox Shear Zone beneath and between the historic high-grade intercepts.
IND has stated it will keep the market informed on the timing of the programme.
| Milestone | Detail | Status | Next Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Survey | Engagement with registered native title holders across planned drill area | Underway | Completion required before drilling commences |
| Drilling Contractor | RC programme contractor selection | Finalisation underway | Engage upon selection |
| Programme of Work Approval | DMPE submission and RC programme design | Pending | Progress submission and finalise programme design |
With the tenement granted, the single largest regulatory risk to drilling has been removed. The company is now purely execution-focused, working through the remaining heritage and approvals pathway toward what would be the first systematic drill test of one of the Laverton Tectonic Zone’s more compelling untested high-grade targets.
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