King River goes deep with 11,000m WA Murchison gold assault

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-12 · by Murray Ward

Quick Summary

King River Resources has commenced an extensive 11,082-metre drilling program at the Mindoolah gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The campaign aims to explore eight priority targets with a focus on Excelsior, Demagnetised Target, and Excelsior Repeat. Notably, Excelsior will see 3252 metres of drilling to test deeper extensions beneath historical workings, where previous drilling hit 9.3 grams per tonne gold from just 33 meters deep. The program also includes follow-up drilling on high-grade hits from an earlier phase that achieved a 79% success rate and confirmed shallow mineralisation at Bertram’s and Le Soleil prospects.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

King River Resources launched its largest drilling program in company history, targeting Mindoolah, an old gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The 11,082-metre reverse-circulation campaign focuses on eight priority targets, with a majority of the efforts directed at three major sites: Excelsior, Demagnetised Target, and Excelsior Repeat. Drilling at Excelsior will go as deep as 354 meters, searching for extensions of the gold system previously identified 33 meters below ground, where drilling yielded an impressive 9.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over a span of 4 meters. The company anticipates entering a catalyst-rich period with the start of an aeromagnetic survey in the coming month, marking a strategic shift from reconnaissance to systematic testing of structural corridors believed to be highly prospective for significant mineralization.

Written for “Gold Mining Operation Australia” on 2026-10-12, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
10%
3 of 31 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Correction & hedging signals
60.9
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-10-12 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Gold Mining Operation Australia
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 3223 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)
2026-10-09
Sam Wood held in high-security prison after failed bid for freedom
2026-10-09
Sam Wood moved to correctional centre following failed bail application
2026-10-09
P-plater accused of horror Newcastle car crash bailed to family home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
2026-10-08
Snowtown murderer seen leaving correctional facility
2026-10-08
Oliver Curtis’ transformation from jailbird to corporate kingpin has gone awry
2026-10-03
Tennessee’s prisons chief to resign after failed execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-28
Inside the prison left abandoned for years – now set to reopen as DV offenders weigh on system
2026-09-19
What will happen to your most cherished possessions when you die? You don’t want to know
2026-09-18
What will happen to your most cherished possessions when you die? You don’t want to know

Who wrote this

Murray Ward
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A majority of the 11,082-metre program will be trained on three major targets: Excelsior, the Demagnetised Target and the Excelsior Repeat.
🔮 Unico now has a pro-forma cash pile of $110 million in pro-forma cash to fund 20,000 metres of drilling across its Joaquin and Cerro Leon silver-gold projects in Argentina, with an updated resource and Joaquin’s maiden prefeasibility study set to land by January 2027.
🔮 Dalaroo Metals is gearing up for a fresh drilling assault on what could be a major new discovery at the Wilfred target in Côte d’Ivoire, after maiden drilling at its Bondoukou project delivered a spectacular hit of 18 metres at 7.31 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 63m.
🔮 The 53-hole, 3200-metre program is designed to follow up highly encouraging gold mineralisation hits from a previous campaign and will test strike continuity and the system’s lateral extent.
🔮 The holes were drilled from opposing directions in a scissor-style pattern, giving Dalaroo its first look at how the mineralised structures may sit beneath the surface and reducing the risk of drilling parallel to them.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Rich Côte d’Ivoire gold strike sends Dalaroo soaring
🔮 The deposit is shallow and flat-lying, which could improve project economics by enabling a simple mining process.
🔮 Another hole returned a hefty 74.67m at 1.61g/t gold from just 21.34m, suggesting a substantial gold system could be lurking at depth.
🔮 New Ingerbelle is expected to deliver 750,000 tonnes of copper, 900,000 ounces of gold and 5.5 million ounces of silver over its mine life.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Flagship puts bigger fence around Canadian copper giant
🔮 The fresh numbers will now be folded into an updated geological model and mineral resource estimate as McLaren builds towards its bankable feasibility study.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · McLaren drilling nails high-grade titanium from surface
🔮 Subject to the deals completing, the ASX-listed junior will hold a 90 per cent interest in 199 square kilometres of granted gold exploitation rights.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Critical brings gold guns to Suriname hunt
Also by Murray Ward
Rich Côte d’Ivoire gold strike sends Dalaroo soaring
2026-10-07 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Murray Ward →

Topics

Excelsior King River Resources Mindoolah Murchison Western Australia’s

Subjects

Mindoolah GPE · 4× Gadsby PERSON · 2× Graham Gadsby PERSON · 2× King River Resources ORG · 2× Excelsior ORG · 1× King River ORG · 1× Murchison GPE · 1× River Resources ORG · 1× Spartan Resources ORG · 1× Western Australia’s GPE · 1×

Narrative

Drilling will reach depths of up to 354m in a hunt for deeper extensions of the gold system beneath the old workings, where previous drilling jagged a solid 4m at an impressive 9.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 33m. ‘With the rig active on site and the aeromagnetic survey kicking off this month,we are entering a catalyst-rich period.’King
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-12
🔮 A majority of the 11,082-metre program will be trained on three major targets: Excelsior, the Demagnetised Target and the Excelsior Repeat.
2026-10-12 · The Sydney Morning Herald
King River goes deep with 11,000m WA Murchison gold assault · assertive framing

Claims (31 extracted, 3 hedged)

King River Resources has kicked off its largest-ever drilling program, launching a massive 11,000-metre reverse-circulation (RC) campaign at the company’s historically mined Mindoolah gold project in Western Australia’s highly prospective Murchison region. asserted
Resources → kick → region
The rods are now turning on the huge phase-two program to probe eight priority targets across the project located 70 kilometres north-west of Cue. asserted
rods → turn → Cue
The campaign marks a strategic shift from initial reconnaissance to a systematic test of structural corridors that management believes are most prospective for significant gold mineralisation. asserted
management → mark → mineralisation
A majority of the 11,082-metre program will be trained on three major targets: Excelsior, the Demagnetised Target and the Excelsior Repeat. asserted
majority → train → targets
Excelsior will see 3252m of drilling in what will be the first meaningful deep test beneath the historical open pit. asserted
what → see → pit
Drilling will reach depths of up to 354m in a hunt for deeper extensions of the gold system beneath the old workings, where previous drilling jagged a solid 4m at an impressive 9.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 33m. ‘With the rig active on site and the aeromagnetic survey kicking off this month,we are entering a catalyst-rich period.’King asserted
we → reach → period
The Excelsior Repeat target, a conceptual lookalike northeast of the old Excelsior pit, will also receive similar treatment with a 1710-metre program. asserted
target → receive → program
Notably, while the target sits in a comparable structural position to the Excelsior workings, it has no known historical mining or drilling, presenting as a raw, untested discovery opportunity. asserted
it → sit → opportunity
Another key focus will be the Demagnetised Target, a major magnetic depletion zone west of the Le Soleil prospect that will be tested with 3150m of drilling. asserted
that → test → drilling
King River believes the feature could be a large-scale hydrothermal alteration system that may extend well beyond the limits of historical mining, creating a significant exploration target. uncertain
that → believe → target
The new campaign will also follow up on high-grade gold hits from the company’s successful phase-one drill program. asserted
campaign → follow → program
That initial foray delivered an impressive 79 per cent hit rate and confirmed shallow, high-grade mineralisation, including 1m grading a hefty 13.59g/t gold from 43m at the company’s Bertram’s prospect. asserted
foray → deliver → prospect
Similarly, at the company’s Le Soleil prospect, the maiden campaign returned 3m running 4.7g/t gold from 38m, including a one-metre slice going a chunky 10.7g/t gold. asserted
campaign → return → gold
Intriguingly, that hole was abandoned at just 42m while still in mineralisation due to difficult drilling conditions, leaving the door wide open for further discovery potential lurking at depth. asserted
hole → abandon → depth
Rounding off the drilling blitz, the drill bit will be pointed at a suite of other structural and intrusive targets across the broader project area. asserted
bit → round → area
The team plans about 780m of drilling at Mindoolah Main Reef to test a recently identified mafic intrusive dyke measuring up to 4m wide and returning a surface sample of 1.15g/t gold. asserted
team → plan → gold
Another 630m will target a major fold hinge at Cundy, interpreted from high-resolution geophysics as a key structural control on gold mineralisation. asserted
m → target → mineralisation
Lastly, the company will sink 360 m into the Double Barrel/More Pork prospect, chasing a recent surface sample that returned an eye-catching 8.11g/t gold from a quartz vein. asserted
that → sink → vein
King River Resources managing director Graham Gadsby said: “Commencing this 11,082m Phase-two RC campaign marks a major milestone for Mindoolah, representing our largest targeted drilling program to date at Mindoolah. asserted
Commencing → manage → Mindoolah
Phase-one achieved its core objective, confirming shallow gold mineralisation beneath historical workings while providing the subsurface data required to build a robust geological model.” asserted
Phase → achieve → model
The company’s renewed focus on Mindoolah follows its appointment of Gadsby as managing director in October last year. asserted
focus → renew → October
Gadsby is a geologist with an impressive track record, having been instrumental in discovering the significant Never Never and Pepper gold deposits for Spartan Resources. asserted
Gadsby → discover → Resources
Adding a further layer of intrigue to King River’s Mindoolah story is a curious mismatch between historical records and the physical evidence on the ground. asserted
Adding → add → ground
While official records show just 38,589 tonnes were mined from an open pit in the 1980s, the company’s own calculations of the pit void suggest 1.08 million tonnes of material was actually excavated, hinting that much more ore may have been processed than the old records show or that a lot more gold-bearing material still remains on-site. uncertain
material → show → site
In parallel with the drilling, a second high-resolution aeromagnetic survey is scheduled to fire up to help further refine regional targets. asserted
survey → schedule → targets
The company says results from the survey will be progressively integrated with mapping and geochemistry, along with the fresh drilling data as it comes to hand. asserted
it → say → hand
King River looks to be well-funded for its renewed exploration push, with $3.67 million in cash as at the end of June, having recently bolstered its coffers with the strategic sale of some of the shares it holds in Tivan Limited. asserted
it → look → Limited
The company currently retains 77 million shares in Tivan, worth a further $13.5 million. asserted
company → retain → Tivan
With a massive RC drill program now underway, a new geophysical survey about to take flight and management with a proven nose for discovery, King River appears to be entering a catalyst-rich period. asserted
River → take → period
Following up known high-grade gold and testing large, undrilled conceptual targets could give the company multiple avenues to drive growth at Mindoolah. uncertain
Following → follow → Mindoolah
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? asserted
company → list → something
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support