Southern Cross Gold Strikes 26.2 g/t Gold Beneath Historic Victorian Goldfield
Southern Cross Gold strikes 26.2 g/t gold beneath historic Redcastle goldfield
Southern Cross Gold Consolidated has announced high-grade gold and antimony results from the first deep drilling campaign beneath the historic Redcastle goldfield in Victoria. Drill hole SDDRE016 at the Laura prospect returned 26.2 g/t Au over 0.14 m from 112.98 m and 15.4 g/t Au over 0.22 m from 321.84 m, confirming Costerfield-style mineralization over more than 250 m of vertical extent. The results mark a significant step in proving that the high-grade system historically mined at surface continues at depth, with eight separate gold intercepts recorded in a single hole.
Redcastle sits 7 km along strike from Alkane Resources’ Costerfield mine on a parallel structure and adds a second regional discovery engine alongside the company’s flagship Sunday Creek project. Historic mining at Redcastle averaged only ~55 m depth, meaning the deeper system now confirmed by SDDRE016 represents an entirely new exploration frontier across 14 reefs and 17 km of combined historic workings.
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What is Costerfield-style mineralization and why does it matter?
Costerfield-style refers to a specific type of epizonal gold-antimony deposit found in central Victoria. These deposits formed in the late Devonian period, roughly 60 million years later than the mesozonal gold systems at Ballarat and Bendigo, and are characterised by high-grade gold hosted in steep extensional veins with associated stibnite (antimony) mineralization. Epizonal deposits form at less than 6 km depth compared to mesozonal (6-12 km) and hypozonal (>12 km) systems.
Alkane Resources’ Costerfield mine, which sits adjacent to Redcastle on the same geological corridor, contains 2 million ounces of gold equivalent (Mandalay Resources Q3 2021) and in 2020 was the sixth highest-grade global underground mine and a top-5 global antimony producer.
The drill results at Redcastle show the same vein architecture, mineral assemblage, and grade profile as Costerfield, validating the geological thesis that drove initial exploration. The confirmation of Costerfield-style mineralization at depth transforms Redcastle from historic workings into a genuine exploration target with district-scale potential.
Eight high-grade intercepts extend mineralization over 250 metres vertically
SDDRE016 returned eight separate high-grade gold intervals from surface to more than 250 m vertical depth. Three mineralized features were logged: a deformed black shale unit, bedding-parallel laminated veins, and steep-to-vertical extensional veins. Visible gold was observed in the extensional veins, consistent with Costerfield-style architecture. The hole intersected the target chargeability anomaly and passed through the Redcastle Anticline hinge at approximately 380 m depth before reaching a final depth of 410.45 m.
True thickness is interpreted as 70-85% of sampled thickness. The headline intercept at 26.2 g/t Au sits at 86 m vertical depth below surface, while mineralization was encountered from 102 m to 360 m downhole.
| Intercept | From (m) | To (m) | Gold Grade | Antimony |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 103.30 | 103.40 | 2.1 g/t Au | 0.81% Sb |
| 2 | 110.91 | 111.26 | 2.5 g/t Au | — |
| 3 | 112.98 | 113.12 | 26.2 g/t Au | — |
| 4 | 154.45 | 154.55 | 1.1 g/t Au | 0.06% Sb |
| 5 | 294.11 | 294.21 | 5.0 g/t Au | 0.33% Sb |
| 6 | 321.84 | 322.06 | 15.4 g/t Au | — |
| 7 | 329.57 | 329.78 | 4.8 g/t Au | — |
| 8 | 334.50 | 334.64 | 2.8 g/t Au | — |
Michael Hudson, President & CEO
“These are the first deep holes ever drilled beneath the Laura prospect at Redcastle, and they have done exactly what we hoped. We have intersected high-grade gold, visible gold and antimony in the same Costerfield-style vein architecture that has made this corner of Victoria one of the highest-grade gold endowments on earth.”
District-scale opportunity across 17 km of untested reef systems
Redcastle hosts 14 individual reefs across a 900 m cross-strike corridor, with combined historic workings extending over 17 km of strike. The vast majority has never been drill tested below approximately 50 m depth. The Welcome Group of mines reportedly extracted 20,583 oz at 254.6 g/t Au over 2 km of strike to a maximum depth of 125 m. The Redcastle Gold Mining Company produced 35,000 oz at 33 g/t Au from Clarke’s Reef. Historic mining averaged only ~55 m depth, meaning the deeper system now confirmed by SDDRE016 represents an entirely new exploration frontier.
Reef widths typically measured under 0.6 m, with mining widths of approximately 1 m.
- Historic production figures are unverified by SXGC and do not constitute JORC 2012 or NI 43-101 compliant estimates.
- Approximately 50% of the target area sits under alluvial cover.
- The water table sits at approximately 50 m average depth.
Second hole at Beautiful Venus confirms structural setting
SDDRE017 tested the Beautiful Venus prospect below historic workings intersected at 42.5 m vertical depth in earlier hole MDDRE014. The hole returned low-tenor gold with a best result of 0.91 g/t Au over 0.29 m from 140.71 m. Trace antimony was observed in a steep extensional vein at 66.5 m downhole. The hole confirms the structural setting and vein style, providing vectoring data for future drilling at the prospect.
Eleven rigs now operational across Southern Cross Gold’s Victorian portfolio
The company now has 11 drill rigs operational across the 10 km strike at Sunday Creek, with two rigs dedicated to regional targets up to 8 km east of the core drill area. Results are pending from 71 holes as the company advances its 200,000 m drill program through to Q1 2027.
Sunday Creek spans 10 km of strike with drilling from surface to 1,200 m depth. The project has delivered 88 composite intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au from 126.3 km of drilling. Redcastle adds a second discovery engine alongside Sunday Creek, diversifying exploration upside within the epizonal gold-antimony corridor.
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Strategic positioning in the critical minerals landscape
Antimony features highly on critical minerals lists in Australia, the US, Canada, Japan, and the EU, with China controlling 56% of global mined supply (2023 EU study). China’s export restrictions on antimony have elevated the strategic importance of Western supply sources. Southern Cross Gold’s inclusion in the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) and Australia’s AUKUS-related legislative changes position the company as a potential key Western antimony supplier.
Preliminary metallurgical work at Sunday Creek has shown non-refractory mineralization with gold recoveries of 93-98% through gravity and flotation.
- China controls 56% of global mined antimony supply (2023 EU study).
- Australia ranks seventh globally for antimony production, all from Costerfield.
- Antimony applications: flame retardants, solders, munitions, batteries, semiconductors.
The dual gold-antimony profile at both Sunday Creek and Redcastle provides exposure to two commodities with strong pricing dynamics and strategic importance.
What comes next at Redcastle
Further drilling is required to define strike and dip continuity between intercepts at Laura, with additional diamond drilling programs planned across the 17 km of untested reef systems. Extensive geophysical and remote-sensing programs have already been completed, including ground magnetics, high-density gravity, IP surveys, and a 58 km² LiDAR survey identifying over 40,000 hard rock and alluvial workings via machine learning.
Ground magnetics, gradient array IP, and offset dipole-dipole IP have been completed. Reconnaissance sampling at the Black Squall prospect has returned 73 g/t Au and 3,500 ppm Sb in float samples.
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