Brought to you by BULLS Nโ BEARS
Penny Taylor
The latest assays from Broken Hill Goldโs Icebreaker prospect in South Australia have given fresh legs to the theory it may have stumbled onto a significant new gold-copper system just metres beneath an existing oxide resource.
The company, formerly PacGold, has unveiled more broad sulphide hits at its 100 per cent-owned White Dam project, 80km from Broken Hill. It says the results confirm a consistent gold-copper zone open in all directions and at depth, strengthening evidence that Julyโs discovery was no one-hit wonder.
A standout hole delivered 46 metres grading 1.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.3 per cent copper from 37m across oxide and sulphide mineralisation. Deeper zones returned 25m at 1.5g/t gold and 0.5 per cent copper from 58m and 28m at 2.4g/t gold and 0.7 per cent copper from 93m, including 16m at 3.5g/t gold and 0.9 per cent copper from 96m.
The hole ended at 126m in anomalous gold and copper. Another returned 12m at 1.6g/t gold and 0.4 per cent copper from 51m and finished mineralised, while a third cut several sulphide zones between 45m and 96m.
โAfter the very successful recent capital raise, BH6 is in a very strong position to push exploration of Icebreaker harder and unlock its true potential.โ
Broken Hill Gold managing director Matthew Boyes
The findings add to Julyโs 20m at 2.5g/t gold and 0.5 per cent copper from 58m, with the company saying sulphide grades show an appreciable lift over the mineralisation above.
The discovery emerged almost by accident while drilling to upgrade Icebreakerโs 20,300-ounce oxide resource. Sulphides appeared just 5m to 15m beneath it, marking White Damโs first primary sulphide-hosted gold-copper discovery.
Broken Hill Gold believes the broad widths within 50m of surface beneath gold slated for mining and heap leaching point to substantial bulk tonnage open-pit potential. Tested only to 120m below the surface, the company says continuous mineralisation reaches 90m in thickness in places, although its size and geometry remain undefined.
Broken Hill Gold managing director Matthew Boyes said: โWe have no idea how large this could be, as the sulphide discovery was made while we were drilling one of the lowest grade areas of the oxide system. The Curnamona province is becoming some of the most prized exploration ground in Australia primarily for IOCG and large metasediment-hosted copper-gold systems.โ
Induced polarisation and magnetic surveys will sharpen Icebreaker targets before drilling resumes in September. The reverse circulation rig will return after targeting, while a diamond rig will probe deeper and investigate a large gravity anomaly beneath the prospect.
Geophysics will also cover targets at Rolling, White Dam East and Vertigo Deeps, with Rolling on the same magnetic feature as Icebreaker. Meanwhile, 73 oxide holes are feeding a resource upgrade ahead of pit optimisation and mine planning.
White Dam sits in South Australiaโs Curnamona Province, a mineral-rich region known for gold-copper systems. Broken Hill Gold says shallow oxide gold caps can mask primary sulphide mineralisation. Although Icebreaker shows some tantalising IOCG-style characteristics, whether it ultimately develops into a large-scale iron-oxide-copper-gold system remains to be proven by the drill bit.
Spinning out its North Queensland exploration assets enables Broken Hill Gold to focus fully on its South Australian operation. The former gold producer yielded 180,000 ounces and has established pits, heap-leach facilities and an operational gold plant, putting prospective mineralisation near infrastructure largely paid for by previous owners.
Icebreaker has also helped trigger an 18-month, 30,000m-plus campaign of drilling, geophysics and geochemistry across tenements containing more than 50 historical prospects.
Broken Hill Gold says the key targets were generally drilled to no more than 80m. One exception beneath the Hannaford pit returned 29m at 0.7g/t gold from 315m and remains open along strike and down dip.
The province hosts substantial copper-gold deposits including Kalkaroo, North Portia and Mutooroo. Kalkaroo, 40km north of White Dam, hosts 1.1 million tonnes of copper and 3.1 million ounces of gold, with Sandfire Resources able to earn up to an 80 per cent interest under a deal potentially worth $240M.
The timing of the new discovery has given Broken Hill Gold a handy market tailwind. Gold is trading near historic highs, while copper is similarly riding high as electrification, power-grid upgrades and data-centre growth bolster its longer-term demand story.
What Broken Hill Gold bought in late 2025 as a second-life gold operation is rapidly developing another personality. Icebreaker has now delivered the width, grade and repeatability to justify a much bigger hunt; the next job is to find out just how big the thing can get.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
From our partners
About the Author
