By Stockhead

Special Report: Ballard Mining has grown the Mt Ida gold resource by 56% to 1.84Moz, adding 658,000oz after close to 125km of drilling since its February resource update.

The updated Ballard Mining (ASX:BM1) global mineral resource estimate stands at 20.4Mt at 2.8g/t gold for 1.84Moz, up from 1.18Moz in February.

Ballard says the September estimate keeps the same key assumption inputs as the previous MRE, including an A$4,500/oz gold price for pit optimisation, a 0.5g/t open-pit cut-off and a 1.5g/t Baldock underground cut-off.

The lift incorporates 124,626m of reverse circulation and diamond drilling, with Ballard calculating a discovery cost of A$36/oz based on A$24.1m of exploration expenditure between January 1 and June 30.

The resource now comprises 970,000oz in open-pit resources and 866,000oz underground, giving the feasibility study a larger inventory to optimise across both mining methods.

Baldock does the heavy lifting

Cornerstone deposit Baldock contributed 357,000oz of the increase, growing 35% to 12.2Mt at 3.5g/t gold for 1.36Moz.

Its grade is unchanged from the February estimate, while the deposit now contains 647,000oz in the higher-confidence Indicated category and 716,000oz Inferred.

Across Mt Ida, 647,000oz is Indicated and 1.189Moz remains Inferred, leaving further resource conversion as a key part of the path towards an Ore Reserve.

The upgrade follows Ballard’s earlier Baldock infill campaign, which was designed to build confidence in the deposit ahead of reserve work.

Regional deposits also made a meaningful contribution. West Knell increased to 147,000oz and Golden Vale to 124,000oz, while Neptune, Pluto and Astro-Quasar entered the resource inventory for the first time.

The maiden resources stand at 27,000oz for Neptune, 27,000oz for Pluto and 21,000oz for Astro-Quasar.

Managing director Paul Brennan said the drilling had added ounces quickly while strengthening the technical base for the next development studies.

“The additional 658 koz of contained gold has been delivered through a disciplined and systematic drilling program and equates to an average of 110 koz added per month between the drilling cut-off dates for this MRE and the previous February 2026 MRE,” Brennan said.

“Importantly, the expanded Mineral Resource strengthens the technical foundation for the planned Feasibility Study, while ongoing drilling continues to target extensions to known deposits and the conversion of Inferred Resources to higher confidence classifications.”

Resource growth meets development work

The bigger resource comes as development work advances at Mt Ida.

In an August project update, Ballard said feasibility-level metallurgical and mine geotechnical work had been completed, its exploration camp had been expanded to 30 rooms and a contract had been awarded for an approved 4km public road diversion. 

The same update outlined a total 3.7GL/year of approved water abstraction across the project.

Mt Ida had also previously secured its Mining Proposal, Mine Closure Plan, Native Vegetation Clearing Permit and a Works Approval for construction of up to a 2.0Mtpa processing plant and tailings storage facility.

That means the feasibility study can now assess a materially larger resource base alongside technical, permitting and early infrastructure work that has already moved beyond the starting blocks.

Ballard plans further infill drilling at Baldock, Golden Vale and West Knell to move Inferred ounces into the Indicated category, while the feasibility study will determine the preferred balance between open-pit and underground extraction.

Drilling completed after the June 30 MRE cut-off has also logged extensions to mineralisation, with assays pending and therefore not included in the current resource.

The Mt Ida feasibility study and Ore Reserve estimation remain targeted for mid-CY2027.

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