SX2 Southern Cross Gold Clears First Regulatory Hurdle at Sunday Creek
Key Takeaways
- Resources Victoria accepted Mining Licence Application MIN009040 on 22 September 2026, covering 30.7 hectares of 100% company-owned freehold land at the Golden Dyke workings — triggering a 120-day ministerial decision window.
- Acceptance is the first step in a multi-stage Victorian approvals process; a planning permit and an approved Mine Work Plan are both required before any mining can commence at Sunday Creek.
- Public advertising begins the week of 28 September 2026 in The North Central Review and The Age, with a minimum 21-day comment period open to any person.
- Sunday Creek has returned 98 composite intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au from 142.5 km of drilling, with antimony contributing approximately 15–17% of in situ recoverable value at a project with 12 km of interpreted strike length.
- A 200 km drill program is planned through Q1 2027 across the full Sunday Creek footprint, including the Christina, Rising Sun, and Apollo historic mines, with additional mining licence applications possible if results warrant.
Sunday Creek takes a regulatory step forward
Southern Cross Gold Consolidated has announced that Resources Victoria accepted Mining Licence Application MIN009040, lodged by wholly owned subsidiary Clonbinane Goldfield Pty Ltd, over the Golden Dyke workings at the Sunday Creek Gold-Antimony Project. The acceptance date was 22 September 2026, covering approximately 30.7 hectares of 100% company-owned freehold land located 60 km north of Melbourne.
The company is clear in how it frames the milestone: acceptance is the first step in a staged approvals pathway, not a right to mine.
Here are four high-level takeaways from the announcement:
- Resources Victoria has accepted MIN009040 as complete, covering the historic Golden Dyke workings on 30.7 hectares of company-owned freehold land.
- A mining licence defines the licence area and holder — it does not permit mining to commence. An approved Mine Work Plan and a planning permit are both required before any mining could begin.
- The application follows several years of drilling, technical assessment, and engagement with the regulator, neighbouring landholders, and the local community.
- The application will be publicly advertised for a minimum of 21 days, during which anyone may comment or provide feedback. A decision is due within 120 days of acceptance.
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What this milestone means — and what comes next
The approvals pathway explained
From acceptance, the statutory process under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 (Vic) unfolds in a defined sequence:
- Within 14 days of acceptance, the company must advertise the application in a local newspaper and a Victoria-wide newspaper. Public notices will appear in The North Central Review and The Age from the week of 28 September 2026, and Resources Victoria will publish details on its application website.
- Written notice must be provided to the owners and occupiers of adjoining land.
- Any person may comment on or object to the application within 21 days of the last advertisement.
- Resources Victoria considers all submissions and makes a recommendation to the Minister for Resources.
- The Minister’s decision to grant or refuse the licence is due within 120 days of acceptance.
Critically, a mining licence does not, on its own, permit mining to commence. It defines the licence area and the licence holder and is the first of several approvals required. Before any mining could commence at Sunday Creek, SXGC would need to:
- Obtain a planning permit under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), or prepare an Environment Effects Statement if required, through a process that includes formal public exhibition and submissions.
- Prepare a Mine Work Plan and obtain its approval from Resources Victoria. A Mine Work Plan is substantially more detailed than the company’s current Exploration Work Plan and cannot be approved until planning consent is in place.
- Lodge a rehabilitation bond with Resources Victoria, hold public liability insurance, and give seven days’ written notice of intention to commence work to the landowner and Resources Victoria.
| Step | Regulatory Instrument | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mining Licence Application | Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 (Vic) | Accepted — 22 September 2026 |
| Public advertising and submissions | Minimum 21-day public comment period | Commencing week of 28 September 2026 |
| Ministerial decision | Recommendation from Resources Victoria to Minister for Resources | Due within 120 days of acceptance |
| Planning permit | Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) — or Environment Effects Statement | Not yet commenced; required before mining |
| Mine Work Plan approval | Resources Victoria approval | Not yet commenced; requires planning consent first |
| Pre-commencement conditions | Rehabilitation bond, public liability insurance, seven days’ written notice | Not yet commenced |
For investors, what matters here is process literacy. The company is advancing through a transparent, well-defined Victorian regulatory framework with each step publicly communicated — a meaningful signal in a jurisdiction where approvals risk is a known variable.
CEO quote
Michael Hudson, President & CEO/Managing Director
“Lodging the mining licence application is an important step for Sunday Creek and the outcome of several years of drilling, technical work and conversations with our neighbours and the communities around Kilmore, Clonbinane and Sunday Creek. Exploration drilling continues to exceed our expectations, and governments and industry partners around the world are seeking new antimony supply sooner than anyone anticipated. That combination has allowed us to begin assessing the project in more detail and to plan the next steps through the Victorian regulatory and approvals process. Sunday Creek already supports around 120 jobs, and a potential new Western source of antimony matters to Australia and its allies.
“A mining licence is a starting point, not a right to mine. Before any mining could occur at Golden Dyke, SXGC would need an approved Mine Work Plan and also a planning permit, which has its own public process. We will keep sharing information as each step comes up, and we welcome hearing from anyone who has questions or concerns.”
Why Sunday Creek’s gold-antimony profile matters
Sunday Creek is an epizonal gold-antimony deposit — meaning it formed at shallow crustal depths of less than 6 km during the late Devonian period. Epizonal deposits are classified according to their depth of formation: epizonal (less than 6 km), mesozonal (6 km to 12 km), and hypozonal (greater than 12 km). Victorian analogues include Fosterville, Costerfield, and Redcastle, and epizonal deposits in this region commonly carry elevated antimony content alongside high-grade gold.
Antimony is the strategic element that adds a layer of significance beyond a conventional gold project. It is a critical additive in munitions primers, semiconductors, batteries, and halogen-containing flame retardants — making adequate supply a priority for both energy transition and defence industries.
China holds a 56% share of global mined antimony supply, according to a 2023 European Union study. That concentration of supply in a single jurisdiction has placed antimony on the critical minerals lists of Australia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Union. For a Western-world project like Sunday Creek, that bottleneck creates genuine strategic relevance — for industry, defence procurement, and investors weighing sovereign supply chain risk.
SXGC’s positioning reflects this. The company’s inclusion in the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) and Australia’s AUKUS-related legislative changes position it as a potential key Western antimony supplier.
At the project level, antimony represents approximately 15% to 17% of in situ recoverable value at Sunday Creek, using an AuEq formula of Au(g/t) + 2.39 × Sb(%). The project has returned 98 composite intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au from 142.5 km of drilling (including historic drilling).
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Project scale and the road ahead
Sunday Creek is a sizeable discovery by any measure. Mineralisation follows a “Golden Ladder” structure across 12 km of interpreted strike length, with structures drill-tested from surface to 1,200 m depth. The company holds 2,296 ha of strategic freehold land across the project.
Exploration drilling continues across the full Sunday Creek footprint, including at the Christina, Rising Sun, and Apollo historic mines. A 200 km drill program is planned through Q1 2027. If drilling at those other prospects returns results of comparable prospectivity, the company may apply for additional mining licences over those areas in future — each following the same public assessment process.
The community engagement commitment runs alongside all of this. SXGC operates a dedicated phone line (1800 717 638) and a community website at www.southerncrossgoldcommunity.com.au, with the company stating it will continue sharing information at each step of the process.
The Mining Licence Application over the Golden Dyke workings is the first formal step on a licence covering company-owned freehold land in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. Backed by a large ongoing drill program and a methodical approach to regulatory engagement, the milestone advances Sunday Creek closer to a point where the approvals pathway ahead becomes clearer.
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