Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M) earlier this week confirmed that Phase 2 drilling at its Mt Turner project in Queensland is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026, following a successful initial program completed in November.
The company told investors that Phase 1 returned multiple mineralised intersections across gold, silver, and zinc targets. It said the upcoming campaign will expand to approximately 7,000 metres of RC and diamond drilling.
Lightning said the objective is to define mineralisation along strike lengths of up to 800 metres, with further targets including the Isis prospect, where surface sampling returned grades up to 21.9 g/t gold.
The company also plans to test a copper porphyry target, supported by an induced polarisation anomaly. It said this zone may host a copper-molybdenum-gold system and will be a focus of the upcoming campaign.
CEO Alex Biggs said the program is fully funded, with drill plan refinements and soil sampling to begin early in the new year. The company expects to release multiple updates through Q1 and Q2.
Biggs said the Mt Turner project continues to demonstrate scale and prospectivity, positioning Lightning for a busy 2026.
Proactive:
Welcome back to Proactive Newsroom. I'm now joined by Lightning Minerals Managing Director and CEO Alex Biggs. Alex, good to see you again.
Alex Biggs:
Good to see you.
Proactive:
You're now heading toward an aggressive Phase 2 drilling program at Mt Turner. How soon will that begin, and what should investors know?
Alex Biggs:
That's correct. We released our announcement today, 11 December, outlining our strategy for Mt Turner. Drilling is scheduled to commence in Q1 2026. This follows a successful Phase 1 program, which delivered multiple mineralised intersections — gold, silver, zinc. It’s a target-rich environment.
We’re now planning to define mineralisation along significant strike lengths — up to 600, 700, even 800 metres. We’re building off the success of Phase 1. There were some really good intersections and strong gold grades. It’s an exciting time.
Proactive:
Phase 1 in November was very successful. What will run differently in Phase 2?
Alex Biggs:
Phase 1 confirmed our belief in the project's potential. It’s a brownfields asset with previous mining, so we had a head start with targeting. We drilled 1,000 metres of diamond drilling in Phase 1. For Phase 2, we’re scaling up significantly — about 7,000 metres of RC and diamond drilling, maybe more.
We’ll test further targets, including the Isis prospect, where we recorded a 21.9 g/t gold rock chip. That extends known mineralisation along strike up to 12 kilometres. We’ve got five or six areas we really like.
We’ll also test a copper porphyry target. It has potential to host a copper-molybdenum-gold system. We’ve got an IP anomaly there and it’ll be part of this program. So we’re drilling more, targeting more, and working in a very promising geological setting.
Proactive:
Phase 2 is fully funded. What kind of updates can investors expect as we head into 2026?
Alex Biggs:
Today’s announcement sets out our intent and targeting strategy. There’ll be some refinement to the drill plan — we’ll release an update in the new year that shows exactly where and why we’ll be drilling.
You can expect soil sampling to start, drilling to follow, and we’ll report results as we go — just like we did in Phase 1. So we’re expecting multiple news flow events out of Mt Turner in Q1 and Q2 next year. It’s shaping up to be a very busy year, continuing the momentum we’ve built through the second half of 2025.
Proactive:
Plenty happening at Mt Turner in the next few months. We look forward to following the story. This was Lightning Minerals Managing Director and CEO Alex Biggs.