Leeuwin Metals Adds 105km² of WA Gold Ground for Near-Zero Cost
Key Takeaways
- Leeuwin Metals has secured 100% interest in three tenements covering approximately 105km² across the Forrestania and Lake Johnston region of Western Australia for an all-scrip consideration of just A$89,250 — zero cash outlay.
- The Marvel Loch application (E77/3376) sits directly beside the Marvel Loch gold mine, in a district with more than 130 years of continuous gold production and multiple known deposits including Nevoria, Yilgarn Star and Cornishman.
- The Lake Johnston tenement (E63/2427) is already granted and adds incidental nickel and lithium exposure alongside the primary gold focus within a mafic-ultramafic greenstone belt.
- The deal requires no shareholder approval, with consideration shares issued within Leeuwin's existing ASX Listing Rule 7.1 capacity and completion expected within five business days.
- The new tenements complement Leeuwin's cornerstone Marda Gold Project, which hosts a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 11.4Mt @ 1.03g/t Au for 378,600oz as reported on 29 July 2026.
Leeuwin expands its Western Australian gold footprint with 105km² acquisition
Leeuwin Metals (ASX: LM1) has entered a binding agreement with Mining Equities Pty Ltd to acquire a 100% legal and beneficial interest in three tenements across the Forrestania and Lake Johnston region of Western Australia, covering approximately 105km², for zero cash outlay.
The portfolio comprises one granted Exploration Licence at Lake Johnston (E63/2427) and two Exploration Licence applications at Marvel Loch (E77/3376) and Forrestania (E77/3413). The acquisition grows the company’s position across proven Yilgarn Craton gold-producing greenstone belts, complementing its cornerstone Marda Gold Project.
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Deal terms: low-cost, all-scrip transaction
The transaction requires no cash outlay, with consideration structured entirely in Leeuwin shares. The consideration shares are to be issued within Leeuwin’s existing ASX Listing Rule 7.1 capacity, meaning no shareholder approval is required.
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Mining Equities Pty Ltd |
| Consideration | 350,000 fully paid ordinary Leeuwin shares |
| Issue price | A$0.255 per share (implied value ~A$89,250) |
| Royalty | 1% gross revenue royalty (AMPLA-standard royalty deed) |
| Completion | Five business days from execution |
Securing approximately 105km² of early-stage exploration ground for an implied scrip value of approximately A$89,250 reflects a capital-disciplined approach, preserving cash for active exploration rather than land acquisition.
Where the ground sits — geology and project context
The three tenements span two distinct greenstone belt settings, each carrying its own mineralisation style and commodity exposure.
Greenstone belts are ancient volcanic and sedimentary sequences preserved in the Earth’s crust that are particularly associated with gold discovery. The Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia hosts some of the world’s most productive examples. Orogenic gold refers to gold deposits formed by fluid movement along deep crustal fault systems during major tectonic events — the style of mineralisation that has historically delivered large, high-grade deposits across this region.
Key attributes of each tenement:
- E77/3376 (Marvel Loch) and E77/3413 (Forrestania): Located in the Forrestania Greenstone Belt, one of WA’s most productive historical gold provinces. The Marvel Loch application neighbours the Marvel Loch gold mine, in a district with more than 130 years of gold production. The belt hosts the Marvel Loch, Nevoria, Yilgarn Star, Transvaal and Cornishman gold deposits. Mineralisation is structurally controlled, associated with banded iron formation and mafic host rocks along a regional shear corridor, and is considered prospective for orogenic gold.
Orogenic gold systems in the Yilgarn have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to yield multiple high-grade zones along a single structural corridor, as seen in the Evanston high-grade results that extended mineralisation within Leeuwin’s existing tenure.
- E63/2427 (Lake Johnston): A granted exploration licence within the mafic-ultramafic Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt, considered prospective for gold, nickel and lithium, providing incidental critical minerals exposure alongside the primary gold focus.
Christopher Piggott, Executive Chairman
“This is a disciplined, low-cost acquisition that grows and complements Leeuwin’s gold exploration footprint across three of the Yilgarn’s proven gold-producing greenstone belts. The Marvel Loch ground in particular sits beside the Marvel Loch gold mine in a district that has produced gold for more than 130 years, and the addition of granted and application tenure at Forrestania and Lake Johnston gives us a pipeline of quality targets to advance in parallel with our cornerstone Marda Gold Project.”
How this fits Leeuwin’s bigger picture
The new tenements sit alongside the Marda Gold Project, Leeuwin’s cornerstone asset. As reported in the ASX announcement dated 29 July 2026, Marda hosts a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate of 11.4Mt @ 1.03g/t Au for 378,600oz, comprising Indicated Resources of 3.1Mt @ 1.04g/t Au for 104,000oz and Inferred Resources of 8.3Mt @ 1.03g/t Au for 274,600oz, reported above a 0.30g/t Au cut-off.
Marda Central also carries an Exploration Target of 4.3Mt to 6.6Mt @ 0.9g/t to 1.0g/t Au for approximately 142,000oz to 186,000oz. Investors should note the cautionary statement that applies to this figure: the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
The newly acquired tenements are positioned as early-stage pipeline ground that complements rather than competes with Marda. Leeuwin’s broader portfolio also includes a 30% free-carried interest (carried through to a Bankable Feasibility Study and Decision to Mine) in the West Pilbara Iron Ore joint venture with Arrow Minerals (ASX: AMD), as well as nickel, copper, PGE and lithium projects in Canada and Western Australia.
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Next steps — what happens now
The pathway forward from here is straightforward:
- Completion of the acquisition within five business days of agreement execution
- Historical dataset compilation and validation immediately following completion
- First-pass exploration planned across the new ground and Leeuwin’s existing tenure in the region
No exploration results from the new tenements are yet available — this is early-stage ground being brought into the pipeline. The all-scrip deal structure preserves the company’s cash for active exploration work rather than land acquisition costs.
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