Neometals doubles gold and grade at WA dig-ready play
Neometals (ASX: NMT) has more than doubled its gold ounces and delivered a stunning 144 per cent grade increase at its Ironclad deposit in Western Australia, underpinning the company’s pivot to become a near-term gold producer.
The updated resource now stands at 250,000 tonnes at a solid 3.9 grams per tonne gold for 31,000 ounces, a significant jump from its March estimate.
The impressive lift in both ounces and grade at Ironclad, part of Neometals’ wider Barrambie copper-gold project in the Murchison, came from a fresh geological interpretation by the company. Management says its new approach of modelling discrete, high-grade mineralised lodes resulted in lower tonnes but at a significantly higher grade, a trade-off most miners would take any day of the week.
The resource is split between 100,000 tonnes at 2.5g/t for 8,000 ounces in the indicated category and 150,000 tonnes at a punchy 4.8g/t for 23,000 ounces in the inferred category.
Recent drilling results back up the high-grade story, returning a hefty 19-metre intercept going 4.16g/t gold and a notable 12-metre interval at 5.99g/t gold. A third hole also didn't disappoint, giving up an 11-metre hit at 5.5g/t gold from 68m, featuring a cracking three-metre section grading 15.1g/t.
Previous scoping work has flagged the potential for rapid production from toll treatment, a well-worn West Australian playbook that sidesteps the need for standalone processing infrastructure.
Neometals says it has locked in a capital-efficient 50:50 profit-share joint venture with mining contractor BML Ventures. Under the deal, BML will fund and manage Ironclad’s development and mining in exchange for recovering its costs from gold sales, with all surplus funds split evenly.
The arrangement allows Neometals to retain 100 per cent ownership of the mineral rights while fast-tracking a path to cash flow with minimal upfront capital expenditure.
In less than two years since commencing modern gold exploration at Barrambie, we have more than doubled the Ironclad's contained gold ounces and increased the grade to an attractive 3.9g/t gold. Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed
The company is now focused on securing approvals, with a key native title authorisation meeting with the Yugunga-Nya traditional owners scheduled for this month. Once the mining lease is granted, Neometals will lodge final development approval documents, targeting a final investment decision and mining startup by March next year.
Neometals says a further round of infill and extensional drilling is planned for the first quarter of 2027 to convert more of the high-grade inferred material to the indicated category and test for potential high-grade extensions at depth.
Beyond Ironclad, Barrambie stretches across 40 kilometres of greenstone belt, brimming with golden potential. Old timers have already shown the way, pulling up grades averaging a whopping 24.8g/t gold. A broader exploration target posted by Neometals in late 2024 of up to 775,000 ounces also hints at a district-scale upside opportunity waiting to be unlocked.
With a significantly higher-grade resource in the bag, a clever JV structure in place and a clear path to production, Neometals’ quick transition to a cash-generating gold producer looks to be taking shape.
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