During the December quarter, QMines Ltd concluded a substantial 5,064-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at its newly acquired Develin Creek Copper Project in central Queensland, as part of efforts to expand the mine life of the nearby flagship Mt Chalmers Project.
The 43-hole program returned high-grade copper, gold, silver and zinc intersections, reinforcing the project's potential for resource expansion and near-term development.
Develin Creek drilling
The drilling program focused on two key deposits—Scorpion and Window—where results indicate strong mineralisation continuity and the potential for future resource upgrades. Key Scorpion intersections include:
- 31 metres at 2.35% copper, 0.37 g/t gold, 20 g/t silver and 2.37% zinc from 104 metres;
- 17 metres at 2.88% copper, 0.61 g/t gold, 21 g/t silver and 2.06% zinc from 106 metres;
- 20 metres at 2.94% copper, 0.42 g/t gold, 20 g/t silver and 1.4% zinc from 46 metres, including 6 metres at 4.16% copper from 57 metres.
Results from Window also support the potential for additional resource growth, with one notable drill hole returning 61 metres at 0.75% copper from 49 metres, including 5 metres at 2.33% copper from 50 metres.
Today, the company has received the final batch of results from Scorpion’s drilling program, hitting broad copper mineralisation up to 114 metres at 1.65%
Building resource base
QMines completed the full acquisition of Develin Creek from Zenith Minerals Ltd in September 2024, finalising the remaining A$1.76 million payment in cash and shares.
The project’s existing mineral resource estimate stands at 3.2 million tonnes at 1.05% copper, 1.22% zinc, 0.17 g/t gold and 5.9 g/t silver, with nearly half of the resource classified as indicated under JORC 2012.
Recent drilling at Scorpion and Window was designed to upgrade the resource classification by improving geological confidence through infill drilling.
Step-out drilling has also identified extensions to mineralised zones, potentially increasing the resource size.
Progress at Mt Chalmers
QMines’ flagship Mt Chalmers project continues to advance, with six resource updates and a pre-feasibility study (PFS) completed to date.
The project, a historical high-grade copper-gold mine 90 kilometres from Rockhampton, now has an ore reserve estimate of 9.6 million tonnes at 0.65% copper, 0.48 g/t gold, 0.27% zinc, 5.2 g/t silver and 4.3% sulphur.
The company is planning additional drilling to refine the mine plan and enhance economic outcomes.
The Mt Chalmers open pit has been designed as a three-stage operation, with each stage expected to deliver between 2.8 million tonnes and 3.9 million tonnes to an onsite processing plant.
Outlook and next steps
With Develin Creek’s maiden drilling program completed and all samples sent for analysis, QMines expects to release further results from the remaining drill holes in February 2025.
The company will also continue to assess step-out drilling targets and further define its development strategy.
Additionally, QMines is reviewing historical data from its Cawarral Gold Project, which has seen limited modern exploration despite the presence of small-scale historical gold mines.
Data compilation and target generation are underway to support potential future exploration campaigns.