Waratah Minerals (ASX: WTM) has reported a wide, shallow gold intercept from a brand new target in New South Wales. The first hole at the Goldenclad prospect returned 83m at 1.27g/t gold from just 6m depth, adding a fourth mineralised position to the company’s Spur project and putting the explorer back in front of ASX gold investors.
What the drilling showed
The partial assays from the upper 100m of hole GCD001 include a higher grade core of 42m at 2.23g/t from 12m, plus 6m at 3.75g/t and 8m at 4.83g/t. Waratah says most of the roughly 500m hole is still awaiting assays and drilling is continuing deeper. A second hole has already been collared to test Wollard’s Reef and extend the system south toward the Ironclad lease. The company believes the mostly subvertical zones are likely more than 80% true width.
Why a fourth zone matters
Goldenclad sits about 1km along strike from the Consols Zone and joins Spur, Consols and Ironclad along a 6km corridor. Shallow mineralisation of this width can point to open pit potential, which is generally cheaper to develop than underground mining. No mineral resource has been defined yet. Shaw and Partners has a $1.55 price target and expects a first resource in the first half of 2027, which it estimates at about 3 million ounces covering the Spur and Consols zones only.
What it means for ASX gold investors
Explorers like Waratah trade on drilling momentum rather than cash flow, so results can move the share price sharply in both directions. Investors weighing the sector may also want to compare it with other developers, such as Aurum Resources and its Boundiali project, which is heading into a resource update, or review our wider gold mining coverage. Gold demand data from the World Gold Council remains a useful backdrop, but for a pre-resource explorer the next assay batches and the maiden resource will matter far more than the spot price.
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