Terrain fires up drill rig on rich, Murchison gold-silver targets

Terrain Minerals has fired the starting gun on a new drilling campaign at its Lightning and Monza prospects in Western Australia’s Murchison goldfields, after pulling up a string of mouth-watering, high-grade gold and silver hits earlier this year.

The company’s rig is now punching out a 17-hole, 3350-metre reverse circulation (RC) drill campaign targeting multiple zones across the two parallel gold structures. 

The drilling program is expected to be wrapped up in 20 days - with a further eight-week wait for assay results. It was designed to define and extend known mineralisation on site ahead of a maiden resource forecast in mid-2026.

Lightning and Monza lie 50m apart, within the company’s Smokebush project, 350 kilometres north of Perth. Despite their proximity, initial geological data suggests they may have formed during different mineralising events, adding a layer of intrigue to the story.

Smokebush sits at the southern tip of WA’s Yalgoo greenstone belt, about 50km south of 29Metals’ famed Golden Grove volcanongenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit. Terrain’s Lightning-Monza prospects also sit between two other major players - 25km south of Warriedar’s Ricciardo gold deposit and 15km north of Vault Mining’s Rothsay project.

Lightning’s drill bit lit up the field last month with a headline 11m intercept going at 6.03 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 43.5g/t silver from just 75m downhole. Adding to the excitement, a shallow 3m hit near surface came in at 6.12g/t gold from only 26m.

Monza didn’t disappoint either, hitting 5m at 3.77g/t gold from 180m down-dip.

The recent results also back up historical results at Monza, such as 4m at 4.46g/t gold and 7m at 2.72g/t, hinting that a mineralised system with serious legs may lurk beneath.

Lightning’s potential was first flagged in 2021, when geophysical (IP) modelling suggested a new gold zone 50m west of the historic drilling. The hunch proved right in late 2023, when Terrain drilled 2m at 6.22g/t gold from 82m in the target zone. The March hits have further validated the model and boosted confidence in a potentially significant mineralised system.

At Lightning, the drill bit will probe the full 600m strike length of the IP anomaly, which runs parallel to the 700m-long Monza structure. Terrain plans to position most of its drill holes into the guts of the target and along its flanks, while also hunting for possible parallel trends.

Notably, multi-element analysis from Lightning has revealed strong correlations between gold and metals, such as lead, zinc, silver and arsenic, which hint at the possibility of a VMS structure. 

Given that VMS operations, such as Golden Grove and Mt Gibson are just 50km away, Terrain says it certainly isn’t ruling out the potential for more than just gold at Lightning.

Meanwhile, at Monza the truth teller will be put in a search for extensions of the already defined 700m mineralised zone. 

In parallel with its drill program, the company has kicked off metallurgical test work on material from Lightning and has engaged independent experts to assess gold and silver recovery through gravity and cyanide leach methods. This will be a critical step towards de-risking any future development.

Meanwhile, Terrain has submitted a mining lease application for Monza, covering both prospects, in a sign the company may already have one eye on near-term production should the drill bit keep delivering.

Terrain’s drilling blitz comes as the company pushes a pro-rata rights issue aimed at raising up to $1.8 million to help fuel the campaign. In a strong vote of confidence from the boardroom, directors are putting skin in the game, committing $116,000 and underwriting a further $115,000.

With assays pointing to a still-untapped mineral system and proximity to major gold and base metal deposits, Terrain’s Lightning and Monza prospects are shaping up as prime exploration territory. This drill campaign could be the spark to light the fuse.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au