Acquisition
King River Resources Secures Option to Acquire Mindoolah Gold Project for Up to A$600,000
•February 17, 2026
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Why It Matters
Reviving a historically high‑grade goldfield can generate rapid value and strengthen Australia’s gold production, while demonstrating how contemporary exploration can unlock legacy resources.
Key Takeaways
- •19.02 g/t historic average grade, 5,700 oz produced
- •100 km² greenstone tenure, largely under‑explored
- •Historic drill: 4 m @ 9.3 g/t Au, shallow depth
- •Option A$225k, full purchase A$600k by June 2026
- •Modern geophysics may extend high‑grade reefs deeper
Pulse Analysis
The Murchison gold district has long been a cornerstone of Australia’s mineral wealth, hosting world‑class deposits such as Big Bell and Day Dawn. Mindoolah’s early‑20th‑century output—averaging an extraordinary 19.02 g/t gold—places it among the most prolific historic sites, yet mining stopped at shallow depths due to water constraints. This legacy leaves a substantial, untapped resource envelope beneath a 100 km² greenstone corridor that modern explorers find highly attractive.
King River Resources is leveraging that legacy by deploying contemporary exploration tools that were unavailable to the original miners. High‑resolution airborne geophysics, machine‑learning‑driven geochemical modeling, and precision drilling enable the company to map concealed quartz reefs and stockworks within the Youanmi Terrane’s mafic‑volcanic and granitic host rocks. Early data, including 4 m intervals grading over 9 g/t Au from 1980s drill holes, suggest that deeper, unmined lodes could significantly augment the historic grade envelope. The financial structure—A$225,000 option fee and a A$600,000 purchase price—offers a low‑cost entry point, aligning with King River’s mandate to create value quickly.
If King River successfully delineates a modern resource at Mindoolah, the project could inject fresh supply into the global gold market and reinforce Australia’s position as a premier gold producer. Investors are likely to view the venture as a high‑upside, low‑capital play, especially given the scarcity of new, high‑grade discoveries worldwide. Moreover, the revival model underscores a broader industry trend: re‑evaluating historic mines with cutting‑edge technology to unlock hidden value, a strategy that could reshape exploration economics across the sector.
Deal Summary
King River Resources announced it has secured an exclusive option to acquire the historic Mindoolah gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The option costs A$225,000 and gives the right to purchase the project outright for A$600,000 cash before 30 June 2026.
Article
Source: Sydney Morning Herald – Business
High‑grade history lures King River to WA Murchison gold
By Michael Busbridge
February 17 2026 — 8:51 pm
King River Resources has moved to acquire the high‑grade Mindoolah gold project, 70 km northwest of Cue in Western Australia’s Murchison region. Historic mining at Mindoolah dates back to the early 1900s and delivered an eye‑watering average grade of 19.02 g/t gold for more than 5,700 ounces.
Back then, miners were limited by water and depth, with workings stopping around the 20‑metre level. In other words, they barely scratched the surface of what modern explorers now chase with rigs, geophysics and modelling software.
The tenure package covers about 100 km² of highly prospective greenstone, much of it under shallow cover and largely under‑explored.
“We are zeroing in on high‑grade gold opportunities within proven mineralised corridors.”
— Graham Gadsby, Managing Director, King River Resources
Management believes the true source of the historic high‑grade reefs has never been properly tested using modern geophysics, ultra‑sensitive soil geochemistry or systematic drilling, leaving plenty of blue‑sky potential.
Plentiful walk‑up drill targets are represented by abundant gold occurrences in rock chips and outcropping quartz veins along strike from old workings and pits at Mindoolah.
Historical drilling in the 1980s at one prospect called Excelsior jagged 4 m grading 9.3 g/t Au from 33 m and 4 m grading 8.85 g/t Au from 32 m, sitting quietly underneath old workings. These hits suggest that unmined gold lodes extend to depth.
High‑grade gold trench sampling averaging 6.08 g/t Au was noted at another prospect, Cundy, while at a third, dubbed Excelsior Southeast, quartz‑vein sampling 120 m from the main pit assayed 9.98 g/t Au.
There are also numerous rock chips exceeding 15 g/t Au at the nearby Bertrams and Le Soliel prospects.
King River Resources Managing Director Graham Gadsby said:
“Our mandate is clear: we are zeroing in on high‑grade gold opportunities within proven mineralised corridors where we can deploy our expertise to create value rapidly. The project’s historical production grade of 19.02 g/t Au is a testament to the exceptional quality of this mineralising system. The fact that high‑grade intercepts such as 4 m @ 9.30 g/t Au remain unmined at shallow depths represents a compelling opportunity that has been overlooked for decades.”
Geologically, Mindoolah ticks boxes gold explorers love, with a variety of Archaean rock types present. The project sits in the Youanmi Terrane, where mafic volcanic rocks, banded iron formation and amphibolite are intruded by a large monzogranite body.
Gold mineralisation occurs as quartz reefs and stockworks, ranging from one to five metres in width within and around this intrusion—a setting that has delivered multiple high‑grade deposits across the Murchison, including Big Bell, Day Dawn and Blue Bird.
Under the terms of the agreement King River has secured an exclusive option for A$225,000, with the right to buy the project outright for A$600,000 cash. The option may be exercised at any time prior to its expiry on 30 June 2026.
Mindoolah shapes up as a classic revival story. If modern tools can unlock what early miners could not reach, King River may have just dusted off a forgotten goldfield and given it a very modern second life.
Contact: [email protected]
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