QMines (ASX: QML) identifies five large gold targets at Mount Mackenzie amid dual-rig drill push

QMines Limited (ASX: QML) has significantly advanced its structural and geological understanding of the Mount Mackenzie Gold Project in central Queensland, following a detailed reprocessing of historical magnetic data. The exploration breakthrough has led to the identification of five near-surface gold targets across the Mount Mackenzie and Clive Creek tenements, each aligned with a magnetite-destruction corridor that reflects intense hydrothermal alteration.

The reinterpreted data suggest that Mount Mackenzie is part of a broader, structurally coherent magmatic-hydrothermal system along the Connors-Auburn Arc. With the company’s dual-rig drill campaign already underway, the newly defined targets are being tested for their potential to extend the current resource and add scale to what is emerging as a structurally robust and mineralogically enriched gold-silver corridor.

What does the magnetic reinterpretation reveal about the mineral system at Mount Mackenzie?

The reinterpretation of legacy heliborne and ground magnetic datasets, originally collected by Newcrest Mining Limited and SmartTrans Holdings Limited, has revealed a 1.5 kilometre magnetite-destruction corridor. This zone aligns directly with known high-sulphidation gold-silver mineralisation at Mount Mackenzie. The corridor appears to reflect the core of a magmatic-hydrothermal upflow zone where oxidising fluids have replaced magnetite in volcanic rocks with sulphide minerals associated with gold deposition.

This demagnetised trend, when combined with geological and structural mapping, has enabled QMines Limited to outline five distinct targets. These include the Northern Pit Corridor (Target A), the Southern Corridor Extension (Target B), the Eastern Magnetic Ridge (Target C), the Cross-Fault Relay Zone (Target D), and the Western Magnetic Low (Target E). Each target demonstrates either structural complexity, magnetic depletion, or contact features typical of productive epithermal systems.

Exploration Manager Tom Bartschi noted that the company’s targeting exercise, enabled by Mitre Geophysics’ reprocessing of the datasets, has brought a new level of resolution to the geological model. Bartschi stated that the positioning of the targets along strike and in parallel corridors suggests potential to expand the mineralised envelope through shallow drilling. The company is now testing these zones in an ongoing dual-rig program, with the first batch of samples already dispatched for assay.

How does the geology at Mount Mackenzie support high-sulphidation epithermal gold mineralisation?

The Mount Mackenzie and Clive Creek tenements are located within the Connors-Auburn Arc, a magmatic belt formed during the Late Carboniferous to Permian period. This arc was shaped by the Hunter-Bowen Orogeny and is known for hosting intrusive and extrusive volcanic rocks, fault systems, and associated hydrothermal mineralisation. During a transition to crustal extension around 305 million years ago, a dense network of faults and dykes formed, serving as conduits for metal-rich fluids that deposited gold and silver at shallow crustal levels.

The Mount Mackenzie deposit is hosted within steeply dipping volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. These are intruded by the South Creek Igneous Complex, a monzodiorite–monzonite intrusive suite that provided the magmatic heat source driving hydrothermal activity. The key mineralisation style is high-sulphidation epithermal, with gold hosted in silicified breccias, vuggy quartz zones, and alteration halos containing pyrite, enargite, covellite, and tennantite.

Two principal mineralised zones have been delineated at Mount Mackenzie. The North Knoll extends approximately 350 metres along strike and 100 metres down dip and contains the bulk of the defined mineral resource. The Southwest Slopes zone is characterised by steeply dipping veins and breccias. Both zones remain open along strike and at depth, with new structural insights suggesting further targets beyond the current limits of drilling.

What do the five magnetic targets indicate about Mount Mackenzie’s mineralisation potential?

The Northern Pit Corridor (Target A) sits directly above a subtle magnetic low coincident with the existing mineral envelope. This area reflects intense alteration and is interpreted as the central upflow conduit for hydrothermal fluids. The current RC drilling campaign is prioritising this zone to test mineralisation continuity.

The Southern Corridor Extension (Target B) reveals a demagnetised zone extending south from the pit. Curvature in the magnetic gradient suggests structural step-overs or relay faults, which are commonly associated with fluid flow enhancement and gold deposition. Planned work includes surface geochemistry and shallow drilling.

The Eastern Magnetic Ridge (Target C) contrasts sharply with the surrounding magnetic lows and is interpreted to represent an intact subvolcanic intrusive. This may have acted as a heat source for the system and will be explored through mapping and geochemical sampling.

The Cross-Fault Relay Zone (Target D) highlights an intersection of magnetic gradients that may reflect a structural dilation zone. These intersections are ideal for epithermal mineralisation, and exploration will focus on detailed fault mapping and orientation analysis.

The Western Magnetic Low (Target E) is interpreted as a distal lithocap, representing the upper alteration zone above a deeper upflow structure. Fieldwork will assess geochemical gradients and alteration vectors to determine whether concealed mineralisation exists beneath the alteration cap.

Is Clive Creek structurally connected to Mount Mackenzie?

The Clive Creek Project, located approximately seven kilometres north-northwest of Mount Mackenzie, exhibits a similar magnetic and structural grain. Reprocessed imagery shows a consistent north-northwest trending pattern, with cross-cutting east-northeast lineaments. This framework mirrors the Mount Mackenzie structure, suggesting that Clive Creek may represent a distal extension of the same mineralising system.

Although no confirmed gold mineralisation has been recorded at Clive Creek, the subdued magnetic highs and lows reflect volcanic-intrusive contacts and potential zones of hydrothermal demagnetisation. The geological setting includes rocks correlating with the Mount Benmore Volcanics and Macksford Andesite, intruded by dioritic and monzonitic units from the South Creek Igneous Complex.

The initial phase of work at Clive Creek will focus on field mapping, alteration logging, and geochemical sampling to evaluate the presence of silica-clay-pyrite alteration and gold-pathfinder elements such as arsenic, antimony, copper, and silver. These results will guide decisions on potential drilling or geophysics.

What are the current resource estimates across the Mount Mackenzie and Mt Chalmers portfolio?

The Mount Mackenzie deposit contains an Indicated Mineral Resource of 2.3 million tonnes grading 1.38 grams per tonne of gold and 9.6 grams per tonne of silver. An additional 1.1 million tonnes at 1.45 grams per tonne of gold and 5.8 grams per tonne of silver is classified as Inferred. The project is not yet included in QMines Limited’s mine plan, pending further drilling and development milestones.

The company’s broader resource base includes the Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek assets. At Mt Chalmers, the Measured and Indicated resource totals 10 million tonnes grading 0.75 percent copper, 0.42 grams per tonne of gold, and 4.6 grams per tonne of silver. Develin Creek contributes a further 4.1 million tonnes at over 1 percent copper and 6 grams per tonne of silver, making the portfolio a significant Queensland copper-gold project cluster.

Together, QMines Limited’s projects contain more than 15.5 million tonnes of JORC-compliant resources. The strategic goal is to scale these into a sustainable copper-gold production platform, with Mount Mackenzie now emerging as a key component in this development pathway.

How are investors responding to QMines Limited’s progress at Mount Mackenzie?

While shares of QMines Limited have seen limited movement in recent weeks, the technical clarity provided by the magnetic reinterpretation and the launch of the dual-rig drilling campaign are generating renewed interest among institutional and retail investors. Queensland-based copper-gold developers are gaining visibility amid rising gold prices and global copper supply concerns, creating a supportive macro backdrop for explorers with multi-asset portfolios.

The Mount Mackenzie project is of particular interest because of its shallow oxide potential, structural continuity, and proximity to existing infrastructure. Analysts expect that if drilling confirms resource extensions along the demagnetised corridor, QMines Limited could move toward integrating Mount Mackenzie into the broader Mt Chalmers development plan.

What is the future outlook for QMines Limited across the Connors-Auburn corridor?

The ongoing drilling at Mount Mackenzie will provide crucial data for expanding the mineral resource and refining the geological model. If confirmed, the interpreted targets could significantly enhance the scale and confidence of the asset, moving it toward pre-feasibility or integration into a regional production hub.

Clive Creek represents early-stage upside potential. If the hydrothermal signatures match those at Mount Mackenzie, the two projects could together define a structurally continuous and mineralogically consistent corridor extending for over 10 kilometres.

QMines Limited’s immediate focus remains on validating the magnetic targets through drilling, with assay results expected in the coming weeks. The company will also continue surface exploration at Clive Creek to build confidence in the system-wide scale of the Connors-Auburn mineral province.

What are the key takeaways from QMines Limited’s Mount Mackenzie gold target discovery and exploration update?

The following key developments and strategic implications summarize the latest exploration results and future outlook for the Mount Mackenzie and Clive Creek projects under QMines Limited’s ongoing copper-gold growth strategy in Queensland:

• QMines Limited has identified five near-surface gold targets at Mount Mackenzie based on reprocessed magnetic data, confirming a 1.5 kilometre-long magnetite-destruction corridor.
• The targets are interpreted to represent distinct hydrothermal and structural settings typical of high-sulphidation epithermal systems, including upflow zones, structural relay faults, and lithocaps.
• A dual-rig reverse circulation drilling campaign is currently underway to test extensions of the existing mineralised zones and validate the newly defined magnetic anomalies.
• The Mount Mackenzie project sits within the Connors-Auburn Arc, a Late Carboniferous to Permian magmatic belt known for structurally controlled gold-silver systems.
• The North Knoll and Southwest Slopes zones remain open along strike and at depth, with drilling focused on confirming mineral continuity and expanding the oxide gold footprint.
• Reprocessed imagery suggests that the Clive Creek tenement, located 7 kilometres to the north-northwest, may be a structurally coherent extension of the same mineral system.
• Resource estimates at Mount Mackenzie currently total 3.4 million tonnes at 1.40 grams per tonne of gold and 8.4 grams per tonne of silver, classified as Indicated and Inferred.
• The broader QMines Limited portfolio now comprises over 15.5 million tonnes of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred resources across Mount Mackenzie, Mount Chalmers, Develin Creek, and Woods Shaft.
• Institutional sentiment remains watchful, with investor focus now shifting to assay results from the dual-rig program and the prospect of integrating Mount Mackenzie into the Mt Chalmers mine plan.
• QMines Limited is also progressing low-impact reconnaissance at Clive Creek, with mapping and geochemical sampling designed to evaluate hydrothermal alteration and gold-pathfinder signatures.