Horizon Minerals (ASX: HRZ) — Burbanks drilling returns spectacular grades - The Early Steps to Build a Gold Mining Story.
- Noel Ong
- 9 hours ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
Horizon Minerals (ASX: HRZ) has reported fresh high-grade infill hits from the Burbanks Gold Project, ~9 km south of Coolgardie, adding weight to the historical high-grade pedigree (Figure 1). The early Phase 1 results delivered multiple high-grade intercepts within the existing resource envelope, including standout intercepts (e.g., 1.55 m @ 99.65 g/t Au), reinforcing geological continuity across Main Lode and Burbanks North ahead of development studies.
Figure 1: Project location map (source: HRZ)
Highlights - The Gold Mining Hub
Historical underground production at Burbanks: 324 koz @ 22.7 g/t Au, in addition to an existing JORC (2012) Mineral Resource of 6.1 Mt @ 2.4 g/t Au for 466 koz.
Ongoing 30,000 m program (Phase 1 infill ~15,000 m; Phase 2 extensional ~15,000 m). 18/45 Phase 1 holes completed; assays returned for 15 holes.
Stand-out Phase 1 infill intersections (downhole, not true width) include:
◽ 1.55 m @ 99.65 g/t Au from 336.3 m, incl. 0.37 m @ 350.00 g/t Au (25HBBD004)
◽ 1.71 m @ 37.18 g/t Au from 71.0 m (25HBBD004)
◽ 4.00 m @ 12.75 g/t Au from 366.1 m, incl. 0.47 m @ 67.28 g/t Au (25HBBD002)
◽ 1.00 m @ 31.63 g/t Au from 106.0 m (25HBBD005)
◽ 1.00 m @ 19.84 g/t Au from 285.0 m (25HBBD013)
Visible gold observed in multiple holes; infill drilling is improving resource continuity/confidence toward Indicated classification to support Ore Reserve and development studies.
Managing Director and CEO Mr Grant Haywood commented,
“These spectacular high-grade intersections from our infill diamond drilling program further demonstrate the exceptional quality of the orebody and underscores the potential of our Burbanks project. Confirming such strong results within our existing resource area provides real assurance in the project and demonstrates the opportunity to deliver improved resource confidence that will feed directly into development studies, ultimately providing valuable high-grade feed to our 100% owned Black Swan processing plant.”
Project Overview
Burbanks is hosted within the Burbanks Shear Zone across basalts with intercalated gabbro/dolerite and sediments. Gold occurs in laminated quartz veins with sulphides and an alteration assemblage including biotite and garnet; quartz-pyritic shears and garnetiferous diorite sills are also noted. Tenement M15/161 is fully granted and in good standing, with established local infrastructure (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Burbanks Mining Centre showing the location of the completed holes in the current drill program (source: HRZ)
Drill Program — What’s Been Done
Phase 1 (Infill ~15,000 m) targets Main Lode and adjacent lodes (Birthday Gift, Burbanks North) to improve continuity and upgrade resources from Inferred to Indicated—supporting Ore Reserve conversion and mine planning. As of this update, 18/45 holes are complete, with assays for 15 holes published and multiple intercepts >20 g/t Au reported. Visible gold in quartz at 357.56 m (25HBBD004) within 0.4 m @ 7.43 g/t Au from 357.4 m (Figure 3) —image is illustrative and not representative of grade/metal content.
Figure 3: Visible gold in quartz at 357.56 m (25HBBD004) (source: HRZ)
Burbanks North — Continuity Strengthened
Infill drilling has confirmed lode position/grade, extended high-grade trends west, and infilled along MRE margins. Continuity has been demonstrated northward and in the corridor between Burbanks North and Main Lode (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Long section (SW–NE) showing Main Lode & Burbanks North, MRE categories and >1.0 g/t pierce points (source: HRZ)
Main Lode
Figure 5 presents a local-grid cross-section (±10 m of the section line) featuring hole 25HBBD004 in context with nearby historical drilling. All >1.0 g/t Au downhole intersections are displayed, illustrating where mineralisation has been pierced across the section and aiding correlation of lodes between old and new drilling. Note: intervals are reported as downhole lengths; true widths are not yet known.
Figure 5: Cross-section (±10 m) for 25HBBD004 with >1 g/t pierce points (source: HRZ)
Hole 25HBBD008 intersected mineralisation ~70 m beneath historical workings, extending the trend to ~300 m below surface (Figure 6) and improving confidence in the geological model. Further drilling is planned along this gap between existing pierce points spaced ~100 m to north and south.
Figure 6: Schematic cross-section (±20 m) with >1 g/t intercepts in 25HBBD008 (source: HRZ)
Mineral Resource Context
Burbanks Mineral Resources (cut-off 0.5 g/t Au for OP, 2.5/2.0 g/t Au for UG) (Table 3): OP Total: 4.86 Mt @ 1.90 g/t Au for 297.7 koz UG Total: 1.19 Mt @ 4.38 g/t Au for 167.9 koz Combined: 6.05 Mt @ 2.39 g/t Au for 465.6 koz (rounding applied). The Company confirms no material changes since the 1 Aug 2024 Group MRE update.
Table 3. Horizon Minerals Limited – Burbanks Gold Mineral Resources (source: HRZ)
Next Steps
Second diamond rig mobilised to accelerate Phase 1; program scheduled to complete by December 2025.
Remaining Phase 1 assays expected by end March 2026; Updated MRE targeted for June 2026, followed by Ore Reserve studies.
Phase 2 (extensional ~15,000 m) planned to commence early 2026 to grow the resource base.
Samso Concluding Comments
When I first caught onto the Horizon Minerals story, I was intrigued by the strategy and the intend of how the company is moving forward. What I saw was a company that should be worth a lot more in terms of market capitalisation with the surging gold price. The valuation of gold companies on the ASX was starting to run upwards, and many had already bolted out of the gate in valuation, but I was wondering why Horizon was still very modest.
Coffee with Samso: Coffee with Samso - An Emerging Gold Mining Story | Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX: HRZ).
In our discussion on the Coffee with Sasmo, Grant started to lay out the foundations for the Samso platform, and I have been a keen admirer of the story since that time. It is also great to see that the rising share price for the company since that time.
Figure 7: The share price chart for Horizon Minerals Limited (source: Commsec).
For me, this is a great confirmation of the strategy, and as Grant mentioned in the Coffee with Samso, the Burbanks story is an integral part of the Horizon story. One of the things I learnt over the years is that good geology that has delivered will always keep delivering, and Burbanks is what good systems do: deliver high grade where you already have ounces and show you there’s more beneath the old workings.
Have a watch of Grant Haywood talking about the Burbanks project in the recent Coffee with Samso that he did in August 2025.
The early Phase 1 holes have tightened geological continuity across Main Lode and Burbanks North and, importantly, tagged deeper mineralisation below historical stopes. That combination—grade plus continuity inside the current envelope with indications of depth potential—supports the core aim here: upgrade classification and de-risk mine design rather than chase step-outs for headlines.
For investors, the remaining Phase 1 assay batches will hopefully continue to grow. After that, Phase 2 step-outs become the growth lever. If the team continues to turn high-grade pierce points into coherent, mineable blocks, the market will have a much easier time pricing Burbanks as a developing asset rather than a historical curiosity.
From a global view, one would be brave to call a drastic fall in the gold price. I do see a correction, but as the new world order is being shifted and being restored at the same time, I think the uncertainty will keep the shiny metal in demand. If you throw in the talk about balancing the capital market within the East vs. West scenario, gold will no doubt be in play.
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