Ballymore Resources (ASX:BMR) begins deep porphyry copper-gold drilling beneath historic Dittmer mine

Ballymore Resources Limited (ASX:BMR) has initiated a government-backed deep drilling campaign at its Dittmer Project in North Queensland, aiming to test a large, pipe-like magnetic anomaly believed to conceal a copper-gold porphyry system. The 1,200-meter-deep drill hole is being funded by a AUD 250,000 grant under the Queensland Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) and is expected to take around 50 days to complete. This program marks a potentially transformative moment for the Brisbane-based explorer, which has already generated multiple high-grade intercepts from earlier shallow-stage programs at the site.

Why is Ballymore Resources drilling beneath the historic Dittmer mine in 2025, and what makes this porphyry target significant?

The Dittmer Project, located near Proserpine in North Queensland, is centered around the site of the former Dittmer gold mine, which produced 54,500 ounces of gold in intermittent operations between 1935 and 1970. While past production focused on shallow, high-grade lodes such as the Duffer Lode, Ballymore Resources has shifted its exploration focus to deeper, untested targets with potential for larger-scale copper-gold systems.

The current drill campaign targets a 1,200-meter by 800-meter magnetic anomaly located beneath the historic mine. This anomaly was first identified in 2024 using high-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys also funded by the CEI. The geometry and magnetic intensity of the anomaly suggest a “finger-style” or “pencil-like” porphyry system—similar in shape and formation to known copper-gold porphyries in eastern Australia, including Evolution Mining’s Northparkes deposit (3.3 million ounces gold / 2.9 million tonnes copper) and Newmont’s Ridgeway mine (1.9 million ounces gold / 0.31 million tonnes copper).

These vertically extensive but horizontally constrained intrusions are considered highly prospective by exploration geologists and institutional investors, especially in underexplored terrains like North Queensland. The Dittmer porphyry is interpreted as the potential heat engine and mineral source for the overlying Dittmer gold lodes, which would provide a geological vector toward deeper mineralisation at commercial scale.

What are the assay results from the completed Stage 5 program, and how do they support the porphyry hypothesis?

Ballymore Resources recently concluded its Stage 5 underground diamond drilling campaign, which included 14 drill holes (DTDD049 to DTDD062) totaling 3,152.6 meters. These drill holes targeted extensions of the Duffer Lode and have returned several standout results that indicate both high-grade gold and accompanying copper-silver values—an important feature of porphyry-related mineralisation systems.

Assay highlights from the Stage 5 program at the Dittmer Project revealed several high-grade gold and copper intersections. Drillhole DTDD056 delivered a 6.60-meter interval grading 13.67 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 4.4 g/t silver, and 0.18% copper, which included a standout 0.40-meter intercept containing 221.31 g/t gold, 70.2 g/t silver, and 2.71% copper. Drillhole DTDD054 intersected 3.65 meters at 11.92 g/t gold, featuring a higher-grade 1.75-meter segment at 24.65 g/t and a peak of 0.8 meters at 48.16 g/t gold. Meanwhile, drillhole DTDD053 returned 2.85 meters grading 10.55 g/t gold, including a particularly rich 30-centimeter section with 99.8 g/t gold.

All 14 drill holes intersected the targeted lode structure, reinforcing Ballymore’s interpretation of continuity in the mineralized system and indicating increasing copper values at depth. The presence of strong sericite-chlorite alteration and quartz-carbonate-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins further supports the theory that the system may be porphyry-related.

According to internal commentary attributed to Managing Director David A-Izzeddin, the company sees a direct link between the near-surface lodes and a deeper intrusive source. The drill results appear to back this interpretation and have laid the foundation for more extensive resource modeling and mine planning activities.

How is the Queensland government supporting Ballymore’s exploration strategy through CEI grants?

The Queensland Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) plays a key role in supporting early-stage mineral exploration in underfunded regions across the state. In addition to the AUD 250,000 grant for the current deep drill hole, Ballymore Resources also secured a separate AUD 150,000 CEI grant to conduct an induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey over the Andromache porphyry target, located south of the Dittmer mine.

That survey is expected to commence in July 2025, after the Dittmer deep drill hole is completed. The Andromache region, historically explored by CRA in the 1970s, is already known to host anomalous copper-gold geochemistry and favourable structural settings. Ballymore’s plan to integrate IP survey data with magnetic modeling and existing drill results represents a systematic and modern approach to porphyry exploration.

Analysts note that CEI funding allows junior resource companies like Ballymore to undertake larger and more meaningful drill programs without relying on dilution-heavy capital raises. This type of financial backing also tends to attract institutional interest, especially when early-stage drill results are aligned with proven deposit models.

What are the broader geological and historical contexts behind Ballymore’s porphyry exploration thesis?

North Queensland hosts several historically significant and geologically diverse gold and copper systems, including Mount Morgan (17 million ounces gold and 239,000 tonnes copper), Red Dome/Mungana (3.2 million ounces gold), and Kidston (5 million ounces gold). These systems often occur in structurally active zones with multiple intrusive pulses and complex mineralisation overprints—conditions that are now recognized at the Dittmer Project.

Mapping at the Dittmer site has confirmed alteration signatures consistent with porphyry-style systems, such as phyllic and sericitic zones. Soil sampling and trenching across the project have returned elevated copper, molybdenum, silver, and bismuth values, while downhole geochemistry has revealed consistent associations between gold and copper—further supporting the intrusive source hypothesis.

Interestingly, many of the modern porphyry discoveries globally—such as Cadia East, Hugo Dummett, and Pebble East—were “blind” targets found at depth or under cover. Ballymore’s Dittmer drill program fits this exploration model, targeting what may be a concealed porphyry beneath high-grade lode mineralisation.

What is the near-term outlook for Ballymore’s exploration programs across its Queensland asset base?

In addition to the deep porphyry drill hole and IP survey at Andromache, Ballymore Resources is progressing a technical review of airborne EM survey data at the Maniopota prospect within its Ruddygore Project. That review is expected to conclude by the end of June 2025. Ballymore also plans to attend the Noosa Mining Investor Conference in July to engage with institutional and retail investors.

According to the company’s planned 2025 exploration roadmap, Ballymore may extend the underground exploration drive at the Dittmer mine. This will facilitate more precise underground drill targeting of extensions to the Dittmer lode system identified during the 2024 surface drilling campaign.

While Ballymore Resources has not yet defined a formal Mineral Resource estimate for Dittmer, the continuity and grade of drill intercepts from Stage 5 suggest that a maiden resource may be feasible in the near term. Institutional sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, particularly given the consistency of assays and structural predictability seen so far.

If the deep drill hole confirms the presence of a porphyry copper-gold system, Ballymore may significantly de-risk its Dittmer Project and become a major player in Queensland’s emerging copper-gold corridor.