Golden Horse Minerals (ASX: GHM) has burst out of the gates with the kind of vigour that would make any thoroughbred proud. Just weeks after its ASX debut in December 2024, the company has completed its first drilling campaign at Hakes Find, marking an impressive start in its quest to unlock the mineral riches of Western Australia’s Southern Cross Greenstone Belt. With $18 million raised in its IPO and a stable of high-priority prospects to explore, Golden Horse is saddling up for a busy year ahead.
Hakes Find: Clearing the First Hurdle
Golden Horse’s maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Hakes Find spanned 1,219 metres over 16 holes, all completed within eight days. The goal was to validate historical drilling data while testing the orientation and grade of mineralisation over 150 metres of strike length. Early observations of significant alteration in drill cores have the company’s team optimistic as they await assay results due in early February.
“Hakes Find is an excellent starting point for Golden Horse,” said Managing Director Nicholas Anderson. “This first campaign has allowed us to refine our systems and prepare for the bigger races ahead in 2025.”
Located 10 kilometres south-southwest of the town of Southern Cross, Hakes Find is known for its historical significance, with past drilling delivering gold intersections such as:
- 12 metres at 3.49 g/t gold from 24 metres
- 7 metres at 4.10 g/t gold from 46 metres, including 1 metre at 15.40 g/t gold
The project’s geology features gold-bearing quartz-sericite schist and ferruginous veining, akin to the nearby Transvaal mine, which produced over 340,000 ounces of gold at 4.62 g/t. Golden Horse is betting that Hakes Find holds similar potential for a strong showing, with plans to follow up this campaign pending assay results.
The Southern Cross Greenstone Belt: A Proven Track with Untapped Potential
Golden Horse’s home turf, the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt, has long been a star performer in Australia’s gold production. The region hosts world-class deposits exceeding one million ounces of gold, but much of it remains untested with modern exploration methods. Fragmented ownership over the years has left large areas underexplored, providing Golden Horse with a rare opportunity to consolidate and systematically explore a 1,900-square-kilometre landholding that includes 130 kilometres of strike.
“The Southern Cross region is like a champion horse that’s never been properly trained to its full potential,” Anderson explained. “We’ve brought the tenements under one roof, and now we’re ready to unlock their true value.”
Hopes Hill: The Prize Stallion
With Hakes Find out of the gates, Golden Horse is now preparing to shift its focus to Hopes Hill, a prospect that could quickly become the jewel of its stable. Historically mined in the 1980s and 1990s, Hopes Hill produced 216,000 ounces of gold at 2.25 g/t from a 1.3-kilometre-long shallow open pit. Past exploration was constrained by fragmented tenements, but Golden Horse’s consolidation of the area has cleared the way for a much deeper investigation.
In February 2025, Golden Horse will begin a 4,500-metre RC drilling program at Hopes Hill, the first drilling in the area in over 20 years. The campaign will aim to validate historical results, define the geometry of the mineralisation, and explore a poorly tested hanging wall structure.
“Hopes Hill is a thoroughbred in our portfolio,” Anderson said. “It has the potential to rapidly boost our resource inventory and deliver early wins for our shareholders.”
Soil Sampling: Grooming the Next Winners
Golden Horse isn’t just focusing on established runners. Between July and November 2024, the company collected over 1,000 soil samples from five different areas across its tenements. Using CSIRO’s Ultrafine™ assay technique, Golden Horse is analysing these samples for subtle geochemical anomalies that could indicate new prospects lurking beneath transported cover.
This groundwork complements the company’s broader exploration strategy, which includes developing greenfields and brownfields targets to ensure a steady pipeline of projects. Among the prospects being evaluated are:
- Birthday West: A brownfields target leveraging historical mining data
- Ennuin Dome North and South: Greenfields areas with promising structural potential
- Athenia: Another early-stage prospect with strong initial indicators
The results from the soil sampling program, expected in the coming weeks, could identify fresh contenders for future drilling campaigns.
IPO Success: Fuel in the Tank
Golden Horse’s rapid progress is underpinned by its successful IPO, which raised $18 million (before costs). Managed by Euroz Hartleys and Canaccord Genuity, the funds provide the company with a solid bankroll to fund its ambitious exploration strategy.
“The strong support we received during our IPO has been humbling,” Anderson said. “It’s allowed us to hit the ground running and focus on delivering results for our shareholders.”
The Road Ahead: A Gruelling but Rewarding Race
Golden Horse’s 2025 calendar is packed with high-stakes campaigns. With assay results from Hakes Find just around the corner and the Hopes Hill drilling program poised to kick off in February, the company is on track to deliver a steady stream of updates.
The Southern Cross Greenstone Belt is shaping up to be fertile ground for both resource definition and discovery, and Golden Horse is riding high on the momentum of its early achievements. As the company builds toward defining a resource base and generating new targets, it’s clear that its stable of prospects is set to deliver a thrilling performance.
For investors, the company’s swift progress since listing suggests it’s a frontrunner worth watching. With a strong jockey in management, ample funding, and a promising track in the Southern Cross region, Golden Horse looks set to gallop towards a golden future.
