Gateway Mining Initiates Drilling at Promising Great Western Gold Target
Drill rods are now spinning as Gateway Mining embarks on its inaugural systematic drilling campaign at the highly anticipated Great Western gold prospect. Located near Wiluna in Western Australia, this initiative marks a significant step in exploring a target that has drawn comparisons to renowned gold camps like Jundee and St Ives in the Eastern Goldfields.
Unprecedented Exploration in a Gold-Rich Region
Gateway Mining has deployed two aircore rigs to systematically test a 16-kilometre-long dolerite unit within its Yandal project area. Intriguingly, despite being situated in one of Australia's most gold-prolific regions, the Great Western prospect has never been drilled before. The company has spent months conducting surface mapping, high-resolution geophysical surveys, and has discovered hundreds of gold nuggets along a 7km outcropping stretch of the shear zone, indicating strong surface gold anomalism.
The geological setting at Great Western is particularly promising, as it is hosted within a sheared, differentiated dolerite unit—a rock type known to be an effective trap for gold mineralisation. This creates a structural environment that geologists describe as 'textbook' for gold deposition, similar to the conditions found at the successful Jundee and Junction gold camps.
Phased Drilling Program and Strategic Approach
The initial two-week aircore program will focus on the 7km outcropping portion, targeting areas with the strongest gold-in-soil anomalies and nugget fields. Following this, reverse circulation (RC) drilling will be employed to probe deeper zones of elevated veining and alteration, as well as areas beyond the reach of aircore rigs. The full drill program is expected to span approximately three months, with assay results released to the market as they become available, potentially providing a steady stream of news catalysts.
Gateway Mining's chief executive officer, Richard Pugh, emphasised the build-up to this program, noting that extensive surface gold anomalism and numerous nugget discoveries have been documented since September 2025. The company is well-positioned financially, with $19.4 million in cash and $9.3 million in liquid ASX securities as of December 2025, ensuring it can sustain drilling operations without immediate market fundraising.
Broader Context and Future Prospects
Great Western is part of Gateway's flagship Yandal gold project, which covers about 1,780 square kilometres in the Yandal Greenstone Belt, 85 kilometres northeast of Wiluna. The project is strategically located just 50km northeast of Northern Star Resources' Jundee Mill, a cornerstone operation that has produced gold for 30 years, highlighting the region's prospectivity for high-grade, narrow-vein lode-style deposits.
Gateway's Yandal project already boasts a resource of 8.17 million tonnes grading 1.52g/t gold for 400,400 ounces, centred on the Horse Well Gold Camp and Dusk 'til Dawn deposit. Initial geological mapping at Great Western reveals a highly altered, structurally complex landscape with similarities to Horse Well, suggesting potential for a large-scale gold system. The company has indicated that additional drill rigs may be introduced as the program progresses.
If the drilling results align with the geological promise indicated by surface findings, Great Western could emerge as the next major discovery in the Yandal belt, adding to Western Australia's rich gold mining legacy.
