QMines Ltd (ASX:QML) High-Grade Gold and Silver Results Continue at Mount Mackenzie
12 January 2026
Price Sensitive Announcement $
Highlights:
- The maiden drilling program at Mount Mackenzie continues to return high-grade gold and silver intercepts that demonstrate growth potential.
- Drilling is progressing with haste with 22 of the 36 planned holes now completed, totalling 3,240 metres from a planned 5,000 metre program.
- Significant gold and silver intercepts include:
o 9m @ 7.78g/t Au & 39.39g/t Ag; within
▪ 15m @ 5.10g/t Au & 34.05g/t Ag from 17m (MMRC014)o 2m @ 16.01g/t Au & >100g/t Ag; within
▪ 18m @ 3.40g/t Au & 28.34*g/t Ag from 36m (MMRC013)o 8m @ 5.29g/t Au & 22.11g/t Ag; within
▪ 15m @ 3.59g/t Au & 24.91g/t Ag from 20m (MMRC012)o 5m @ 5.50g/t Au & 41.64g/t Ag; within
▪ 17m @ 2.36g/t Au & 16.45g/t Ag from 4m (MMRC008)o 7m @ 4.33g/t Au & 58.59g/t Ag; within
▪ 13m @ 2.51g/t Au & 41.74g/t Ag from 51m (MMRC006)o 3m @ 5.22g/t Au & 62.43g/t Ag; within
▪ 9m @ 2.74g/t Au & 26.47g/t Ag from 7m (MMRC015) - Broad zones of shallow mineralisation continue to support interpretation of a robust high
sulphidation epithermal system amenable to open pit mining. - Drilling has confirmed multiple stacked mineralised zones within individual holes highlighting the thickness and continuity of the system.
- Drilling continues unabated with multiple rigs still active on site and further assays results
pending.
Overview:
QMines Limited (ASX:QML) is pleased to report additional Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling results from its ongoing maiden drilling program at the Mount Mackenzie gold-silver project in Central Queensland.
Assays have now been received for a further 12 RC holes completed at the North Knoll deposit. Results confirm both grade continuity and the presence of multiple high-grade shoots within broader mineralised envelopes, consistent with the existing geological model. Additionally, holes MMRC007 and MMRC008 have intersected a deeper, continuous zone of gold-silver mineralisation that was previously only sparsely tested by historical drilling.
These results demonstrate that mineralisation persists below the known deposits and highlight the potential for depth extensions within the North Knoll system. These deeper mineralised zones remain open along strike and at depth and will be further assessed as drilling continues and additional assay results are received.
Gold-silver mineralisation remains shallow, laterally continuous, and strongly associated with zones of advanced argillic alteration and pervasive silicification. Several holes intersected multiple mineralised intervals, highlighting the stacked nature of the system.
The program was designed to confirm historical mineralisation, improve geological confidence in the existing geological model underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimate, and support future mine design and optimisation studies.
Mount Mackenzie Project
The Mount Mackenzie Project is a high-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver deposit located approximately 120km northwest of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. The project is 100% owned by QMines and is situated within the Connors Magmatic Arc of the New England Fold Belt, a well-recognised mineralised province in eastern Australia.
Mineralisation at Mount Mackenzie is hosted within altered volcanic rocks and is characterised by advanced argillic alteration, pervasive silicification, and elevated gold and silver values. The deposit is interpreted to represent the upper levels of a high-sulphidation epithermal system, with gold-silver mineralisation occurring within broad, shallow zones that are amenable to open pit mining. Recent drilling has also confirmed the presence of a deeper, laterally continuous zone of mineralisation beneath the main shallow zones, an area that was previously only sparsely tested by historical drilling.
Mount Mackenzie currently hosts a JORC 2012 code-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 3.35Mt at 1.40g/t Au and 8.4g/t Ag1 for approximately 151,000oz of gold and 902,000oz of silver, comprising Indicated and Inferred resources. The resource remains open at depth and along strike, with both historical and recent drilling demonstrating continuity of mineralisation within multiple mineralised domains. The Mineral Resource Estimate is reported using cut-off grades of 0.5g/t Au for oxide material and 0.7g/t Au for fresh material, consistent with the assumptions outlined in the original 9 July 2025 ASX announcement.
Drilling Program
The Mount Mackenzie drilling program continued uninterrupted through the Christmas period, utilising two diamond drill rigs.
The Mount Mackenzie deposit has historically been drilled predominantly using open-hole percussion methods and often utilised 2m sample composites. This was common industry practice at the time and was effective in defining the overall extent of mineralisation and supporting early resource estimation. However, aspects of the historical dataset limit geological and statistical confidence without modern validation.
The current RC and diamond drilling program with modern QAQC controls has been designed to generate highquality geological and assay data for direct comparison with historical drilling, allowing statistical validation and calibration of legacy results. The RC drilling is focused on infill and near-resource step-out drilling to improve grade continuity, constrain mineralised geometry, and test extensions beyond the current resource footprint.
Diamond drilling is used selectively to recover continuous oriented core through key mineralised, alteration, and structural zones. Core is used for detailed lithological, alteration, and structural logging, including assessment of alteration zonation, sulphide distribution, veining and breccia styles, and structural controls on mineralisation.
Drilling reported in this announcement infills areas of historical drilling within the existing resource footprint and improves confidence in grade continuity and mineralised geometry through comparison of historical and modern datasets. As assays continue to be received, the combined dataset is being used to refine the geological model and guide both targeted infill drilling to improve resource confidence and extension drilling to test mineralisation at depth and along strike, supporting the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate, pit optimisation, and mine design work at Mount Mackenzie
Company Notes:
Executive Chairman, Andrew Sparke, said:
“These results continue to reinforce Mount Mackenzie as a high-quality gold–silver asset with genuine scale and strong development potential. The consistency of grades, the presence of multiple stacked mineralised zones, and the confirmation of continuity both laterally and at depth are exactly what we want to see at this stage of the program.
What is particularly encouraging is that modern drilling is validating and, in several areas, improving confidence in historical results while also identifying deeper zones that were largely untested. This gives us growing confidence in the robustness of the North Knoll system and its ability to support future resource growth.
With drilling progressing uninterrupted and assays continuing to flow, our focus is now on targeted infill and step-out drilling to strengthen the resource base and underpin mine design and optimisation studies.
Mount Mackenzie is shaping up as an important contributor to our broader Central Queensland development strategy, alongside Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek, as we work toward an updated PreFeasibility Study in the second half of 2026.”
Exploration Manager, Tom Bartschi, added:
“The latest drilling is materially improving our understanding of the Mount Mackenzie system. Modern RC
and diamond data are allowing us to resolve lithological variability, alteration zonation, and structural
controls that were not captured in the historical drilling, and to properly define mineralised domains within the North Knoll area.
Results are demonstrating stacked mineralised zones with high-grade shoots developed within advanced
argillic and strongly silicified volcanic sequences, with higher-grade gold-silver mineralisation associated
with structurally focused zones and brecciation. Importantly, drilling is confirming continuity of
mineralisation both laterally and at depth beyond the shallow zones defined by earlier work.
With improved geological resolution and confidence in mineralisation geometry, we are now in a position
to refine domain boundaries, advance targeted infill drilling to improve resource confidence, and test
extensions along strike and down dip where the system remains open and only sparsely drilled.”
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