Koonenberry Gold Reveals Porphyry-Epithermal System as Wilga Flats Drilling Commences

Maiden Dunedoo drilling reveals porphyry-epithermal system as Wilga Flats program begins

Koonenberry Gold (ASX: KNB) has completed a maiden seven-hole RC/diamond drilling program at its Dunedoo Project in NSW, identifying geological hallmarks of a porphyry-epithermal hydrothermal system across 1,412.95m of drilling at the Bolinda Vale and Hillside targets. Simultaneously, the company has mobilised a drill rig to commence a four-hole program at the priority Wilga Flats Project.

Important cautionary note: All mineralisation observations in this announcement are visual estimates made by Company geologists from drill core inspection. No assay results have been received. Visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses where concentrations or grades are the factor of principal economic interest. Assay results are anticipated in early Q4 CY2026.

KNB is systematically drill-testing targets across a 4,826km² NSW exploration portfolio.

Dunedoo: what the drill core is telling geologists

Maiden drilling at the Bolinda Vale target has identified alteration assemblages and veining consistent with an East Lachlan porphyry system, overprinted by multi-stage epithermal carbonate-base-metal veining and brecciation. Key geological observations (visual estimates only) include:

• Interpreted early high-temperature inner propylitic (chlorite-magnetite ± ?biotite) alteration hosting quartz-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite ± sphalerite veins
• Calc-silicate skarn horizons preferentially developed in reactive host rock units
• Propylitic (chlorite-epidote-carbonate) alteration and associated epidote-carbonate veining
• Overprinting sericite-carbonate-chlorite-pyrite (phyllic) alteration with associated sericite-chalcopyrite veining
• Late-stage carbonate-base metal epithermal overprint: carbonate-quartz-sphalerite-galena (± ?sulphosalt) veins and multi-stage breccias

The northern diamond tail hole, 26DNRCD007, specifically intersected the carbonate-quartz-sphalerite ± galena-?sulphosalt veining and multi-stage breccias.

Drilling also intersected disseminated, veined, and replacement-style pyrite across multiple holes, explaining the large 1.6km-long dipole-dipole IP chargeability anomaly at the target, though the source notes minor horizons of graphitic sediments may also contribute. The drilling targets are coincident with a >800m x 400m copper soil anomaly, adding a further layer of geochemical support.

This multi-stage alteration zoning provides geological vectors toward a potential copper-gold system centre. Pending assays will be critical in determining the fertility, tenor, and distribution of copper, gold, and base-metal mineralisation. These results should be read as de-risking the target rationale, not as confirmation of mineralisation.

Understanding porphyry-epithermal systems: why this matters in the Macquarie Arc

A porphyry system forms when magmatic fluids rise through the Earth’s crust and deposit copper, gold, and other metals in and around igneous intrusions. An epithermal overprint refers to a shallower, lower-temperature mineralisation event that can deposit gold, silver, lead, and zinc in veins and breccias above or around the porphyry core. Together, these two systems can stack to create large, multi-commodity deposits.

The Macquarie Arc in NSW is one of the world’s most significant copper-gold provinces. It hosts Cadia (35.3Moz Au, 7.9Mt Cu), Boda-Kaiser (8.43Moz Au, 1.52Mt Cu), and Bushranger-Ascot-Racecourse (599.1Mt @ 0.18% Cu). Bushranger-Ascot-Racecourse sits within the same Rockley-Gulgong Belt that hosts the Dunedoo Project.

KNB describes this portion of the arc as “previously overlooked and under-explored,” forming the basis of its exploration rationale at Dunedoo. It is important to note that the presence of nearby major deposits does not guarantee KNB will achieve similar results. Propylitic alteration refers to early-stage mineral assemblages (typically chlorite, epidote, and carbonate) formed at elevated temperatures around an intrusion. Phyllic alteration is a later, cooler overprint dominated by sericite, pyrite, and quartz.

Wilga Flats drilling commences: targeting Olaf’s epithermal gold trend

Koonenberry has commenced a four-hole, approximately 1,000m RC/diamond drilling program at the northern Olaf’s Epithermal Gold Target within the Wilga Flats Project, located 20km NNW of Evolution Mining’s Cowal Gold Mine (>15Moz Au).

The target rationale rests on several converging lines of evidence:

1. Historic best result from hole ODH-1: 11.33m @ 2.05% Pb + Zn from 190.52m
2. KNB retrospective re-assay of ODH-1 identified previously unrecognised gold: 32m @ 0.10g/t Au from 65m, including 1m @ 0.76g/t Au (located above the historic base metal intersection; the historic Pb-Zn interval was not available for gold re-assay due to insufficient remaining core)
3. Recent core review identified two distinct mineralisation styles: an epithermal quartz-carbonate-adularia-sulphide vein zone, and a separate gold-copper style associated with chlorite-magnetite-pyrite ± chalcopyrite in basaltic-andesitic volcanics interpreted as possible Cowal Igneous Complex equivalents
4. A >1,000m-long polymetallic soil anomaly (Au-Pb-Zn and pathfinder elements) coincident with surface quartz veining and gossanous material
5. A >1,400m-long magnetic anomaly with 3D inversion modelling indicating a strong association with gold-bearing sulphide mineralisation

The broader 4.2km-long Olaf’s Trend contains undrilled strike extensions, representing additional upside for the current program.

Director’s perspective

Paul Harris, Executive Chairman

“Our maiden drilling program at Dunedoo has delivered encouraging initial geological observations pointing towards a multi-stage hydrothermal system displaying both porphyry and epithermal characteristics.

Importantly, we have now established that the large geophysical and geochemical anomalies that drove our initial drill targeting are associated with epithermal & porphyry style alteration, veining, skarn and sulphide development. The geological observations provide important vectors towards the potential centre of a larger copper-gold system, although assays are required to determine its fertility and mineralisation tenor.

The results also demonstrate the value of our strategy of systematically generating targets and moving rapidly to drill test them.

With the Dunedoo samples now at the laboratory, we have mobilised a drill rig to Wilga Flats to test the northern Olaf’s Epithermal Gold Target. Recent resampling has confirmed gold mineralisation above a historical lead-zinc intersection, providing another compelling target for follow-up drilling.

With drilling now underway at Wilga Flats, Dunedoo assays expected in early Q4, Newmont completing its drilling at Junee and field programs commencing at Gundagai, we are entering an active period of exploration and newsflow across our NSW portfolio.”

What’s next: an active exploration pipeline across NSW

Multiple catalysts are converging simultaneously across KNB’s portfolio, making this an active newsflow period for the company:

• Dunedoo: Assay results anticipated in early Q4 CY2026; results to be integrated with multidisciplinary geological, geochemical, and geophysical datasets for follow-up targeting
• Wilga Flats: Drilling underway at the Olaf’s Epithermal Gold Target
• Gundagai: Title transfers complete; field exploration scheduled to commence Q4 CY2026 at the Big Ben and historic Snowball Copper Mine targets
• Breakfast Creek: Recent soil and rock-chip results being interpreted; drill planning and permitting underway
• Junee JV (Newmont): Diamond drilling complete; core processing and assays underway; KNB retains a 20% free-carried interest
• Enmore: Field logistics complete at the Queen of Sheba target; drill testing preparation underway

The Queen of Sheba high-grade gold results at Enmore, which included an 87g/t Au intercept from a third parallel structure, form part of the exploration momentum that has brought KNB to the drill-preparation stage now flagged for the target in the current pipeline.

The table below summarises the current status and near-term catalysts across KNB’s 4,826km² NSW portfolio.

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