Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) consolidates Huonville Gold District, strengthening IOCG and gold exposure at Broken Hill

Impact Minerals Managing Director Dr Mike Jones outlines the geological, technical and strategic rationale underpinning the acquisition of the Huonville Gold District at Broken Hill, where the newly secured 55 sq km tenement materially extends the company’s continuous land position around one of Australia’s most significant mineral provinces.

The discussion frames the relevance of historical high-grade gold and multi-element assays, the implications of limited but informative legacy drilling, and the integration of modern geophysical datasets developed through the BHP Xplor program and NSW Geological Survey prospectivity modelling.

What is the strategic and geological significance of the Huonville tenement within the Broken Hill district?

EL8024 covers 55 sq km and encompasses most of the historic Huonville goldfield located approximately 25 km southeast of Broken Hill in New South Wales, while being fully contiguous with Impact Minerals’ existing landholding, which now totals approximately 1,800 sq km and effectively surrounds the Broken Hill lead zinc silver deposit containing more than 500 million tonnes of massive sulphide mineralisation.

The consolidated tenure now provides control over more than 100 km of prospective strike length around the Broken Hill Block, placing Huonville within a continuous, district scale land position that captures both the historic goldfield and the broader structural corridors associated with major base and precious metal systems.

“The acquisition of EL8024 extends Impact’s continuous landholding to approximately 1,800 sq km and almost fully surrounds the Broken Hill deposit, one of the world’s largest lead zinc silver systems.”

Geologically, Huonville hosts two principal steeply dipping quartz vein systems striking WSW ENE and NNE SSW, mapped over a combined length of approximately 10 km, with gold mineralisation associated with pyrite in massive, relatively undeformed quartz veins emplaced within major through going shear zones.

The metal association of gold, silver, bismuth, copper and molybdenum corresponds directly with the geochemical signature used in the NSW Geological Survey weights of evidence modelling completed by Kenex in 2018, which identified the Huonville area as prospective for iron oxide copper gold style mineralisation at depth.

This interpretation is further supported by regional magnetic data that delineate a sub basin and structural architecture coincident with the goldfield and with widespread copper occurrences throughout the broader Broken Hill region.

What is the quality and significance of the historical gold and associated metal assays at Huonville?

Rock chip sampling from historical workings has returned consistently high gold grades, with numerous results exceeding 10 g per tonne and a peak assay of 83.2 g per tonne gold, while associated elements include silver up to 21 g per tonne, bismuth up to 0.4%, copper up to 0.26%, and anomalous molybdenum and tungsten.

These samples were derived from dumps, shallow pits and trench exposures developed during small scale mining between 1931 and 1935, with the Panama Hat workings representing the most productive area.

“Legacy rock chip sampling has returned gold grades up to 83.2 g/t, accompanied by elevated silver, bismuth and copper, defining a high grade and multi element mineral system.”

Of particular importance, 15 samples previously analysed by conventional fire assay were later re submitted for screen fire assay, which returned grades on average 42% higher, indicating the presence of coarse free gold within the vein systems and confirming a nuggety gold style.

These results, now reported in accordance with the 2012 JORC Code, define a high grade gold system hosted in pyritic quartz veins and accompanied by a metal association consistent with the IOCG prospectivity model for the district.

Similar late stage gold copper associations are recognised elsewhere around Broken Hill, including Copper Blow and the Pinnacles Mine, providing regional context for the Huonville mineralisation style.

How should the historical drilling results be interpreted in the context of the high grade surface assays?

Historical drilling at Huonville was limited in both depth and spatial coverage, with a total of 15 reverse circulation holes completed for 869 m and an average depth of approximately 65 m.

The initial 1990 program intersected zones of low grade gold and copper mineralisation with down hole intervals up to 24 m, demonstrating that the quartz vein systems possess measurable width and continuity beneath surface workings, although not reproducing the high grade rock chip results.

“RC drilling has confirmed the presence of mineralised structures of meaningful thickness beneath surface workings, although high grade intersections were not replicated due to shallow depth and suboptimal orientation.”

A later 2010 program targeting the Williams and Panama Hat areas did not return significant intersections, with documented uncertainties in collar locations and hole orientations.

Earlier auger, RAB and percussion drilling was primarily designed to test base metal targets, with gold not routinely assayed and many holes failing to reach bedrock.

In this context, the drilling dataset remains early stage and insufficient to test the deeper structural positions of the quartz veins or the broader copper gold system inferred from geochemistry and regional geophysics, while the contrast between high grade surface assays

and lower grade drill intercepts is consistent with near surface enrichment and limited penetration of primary mineralisation.

What is the relevance of the magnetotelluric and regional geophysical data to the current exploration model?

Ground magnetotelluric surveying has recently been completed over parts of the Broken Hill landholding, with the results now being integrated with historical geological, geochemical and drilling datasets.

The Huonville goldfield lies adjacent to a regional sub basin defined by magnetic data and within an area highlighted by the NSW Geological Survey IOCG weights of evidence model as having elevated potential at depth, based on coincident structural complexity and the gold silver bismuth copper molybdenum association recorded in rock chip samples.

“The Huonville area has been independently identified as a priority IOCG target at depth in NSW Geological Survey prospectivity modelling, supported by structural and multi element geochemical data.”

The magnetotelluric data are being used to identify conductive features that may represent sulphide rich zones or fluid pathways within the basement and, when combined with structural interpretation and mapped vein architecture, will assist in prioritising targets for follow up mapping, additional sampling and further geophysical surveys.

This integrated dataset will underpin the selection of initial drill targets designed to test both the structurally controlled gold system and the deeper copper gold potential.

What are the commercial terms of the acquisition and the immediate technical work program?

Impact Minerals has agreed to acquire EL8024 for consideration comprising replacement of a $10,000 security bond, $25,000 in cash, and $125,000 in Impact shares issued at the 5 day VWAP, subject to a voluntary escrow period of 6 months, with a 1% net smelter royalty payable to a previous owner of the tenement and completion subject to ministerial approval.

The licence is in good standing and valid until 29 November 2027.

“The acquisition secures 100% ownership of a contiguous 55 sq km tenement for modest upfront consideration, subject to standard ministerial approval and a 1% NSR.”

Technically, work is focused on verification and synthesis of all legacy datasets, including historical mapping, rock chip geochemistry, drilling and both regional and ground based geophysics, with particular emphasis on validating drill collar positions, reassessing structural controls and integrating the recently completed magnetotelluric survey.

The resulting geological framework will guide detailed mapping, further sampling, additional geophysical surveys and the definition of initial drill targets aimed at testing the depth extent of the gold bearing structures and the broader copper gold system interpreted beneath the Huonville goldfield and surrounding sub basin architecture.

From legacy goldfield to district scale copper gold target

With the consolidation of EL8024 extending Impact Minerals continuous landholding around the Broken Hill Block to approximately 1,800 sq km, the Huonville Gold District represents a structurally coherent and geochemically distinctive target area where high grade quartz vein gold, a consistent silver bismuth copper molybdenum association and independently derived IOCG prospectivity converge.

The integration of verified historical datasets with modern magnetotelluric and regional geophysical surveys establishes a technically grounded pathway for prioritising drill targets that address both the late stage structurally controlled gold system and the deeper copper gold potential interpreted within the regional sub basin architecture, positioning Huonville as a central component of Impact Minerals exploration strategy in one of Australia’s most significant mineral provinces.

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