Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT)'s joint venture partner Kuniko Ltd has secured a drill rig and will begin Phase 2 diamond drilling in early July at the Commonwealth–Silica Hill Gold–Silver Project in central New South Wales, with the program designed to build on recent high-grade gold and silver discoveries and support a mineral resource estimate upgrade later this year.
Under the earn-in and joint venture agreement, Kuniko can earn up to a 70% interest in the project by funding exploration, while Impact retains a free-carried 30% interest through to a decision to mine.
Drilling to target extensions at three mineralised zones
The Phase 2 campaign will comprise an initial six diamond drill holes for about 1,340 metres, targeting extensions to mineralisation at Silica Hill, Commonwealth Main Shaft and Commonwealth South. The program has scope to be expanded depending on results and ongoing geological review.
At Silica Hill, drilling will follow up a newly discovered mineralised zone identified about 100 metres beyond the current resource footprint. The target remains open up-dip, down-dip and along strike, while additional holes will test deeper extensions to a high-grade gold zone.
At Commonwealth Main Shaft, drilling will target down-plunge and down-dip extensions to high-grade polymetallic mineralisation below existing drilling, while Commonwealth South drilling will test the continuity of a recently confirmed high-grade gold shoot.
Strong Phase 1 results underpin expectations
The upcoming program follows a successful Phase 1 campaign in which all six drill holes intersected mineralisation, confirming extensions to known mineralised zones and identifying a new discovery at Silica Hill.
Highlights included drill hole CMKNI004 at Silica Hill, which returned 84 metres at 2.6 g/t gold equivalent from 226 metres, including 3.4 metres at 50 g/t gold equivalent and a bonanza-grade interval of 0.5 metres grading 347 g/t gold equivalent. At Commonwealth South, hole CMKNI006 intersected 7.1 metres at 9.7 g/t gold equivalent, including 3.1 metres at 21.6 g/t gold equivalent.
Impact managing director Dr Michael Jones said the new discovery at Silica Hill had opened a new area for drilling below the existing deposit and supported the company's long-held view that Commonwealth and Silica Hill form part of a much larger mineral system.
"We are pleased to see Kuniko accelerating exploration drilling at Commonwealth following the successful Phase 1 program, which identified significant step-outs to mineralisation, particularly at Silica Hill. The very high-grade vein discovered there — 0.5 metres at 27 g/t gold and 2% silver — has opened a new area for drilling below the existing deposit and is a key target for the Phase 2 program commencing early July.
"We have always believed Commonwealth and Silica Hill sit atop a much larger system, and this next program will test that thesis. With Impact holding a 30% free-carried interest to a Decision to Mine, there is significant upside for shareholders. This validates our strategy of unlocking value in legacy exploration assets as we advance the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina project and our investment in the Alluminous HPA processing technology."
Resource upgrade targeted for late 2026
Alongside the drilling program, Kuniko has engaged Resource Potentials to complete a regional targeting review incorporating historical geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets, including MobileMT survey data. The work is aimed at refining existing targets and generating new drill opportunities across the broader project area.
Key milestones include the commencement of drilling and completion of the targeting review in July, receipt of Phase 2 assay results in September and an updated mineral resource estimate by December 2026.
About the project
The Commonwealth–Silica Hill Project is located about 100 kilometres north of Orange in the Lachlan Fold Belt, a major Australian mining district that hosts operations including Cadia-Ridgeway, Northparkes and Cowal. The project sits along trend from Alkane Resources' Boda-Kaiser copper-gold deposit.
The project comprises the Commonwealth Main and Commonwealth South polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and the nearby Silica Hill epithermal silver-gold system. Existing JORC-compliant inferred resources have been defined at both Commonwealth and Silica Hill, while several additional targets across the project remain untested by drilling.