McLaren Minerals has continued to deliver broad, consistent and high-grade heavy mineral (HM) intercepts from surface at its namesake McLaren titanium project in the western Eucla basin of Western Australia, as the company works towards upgrading its massive resource.
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The 2026 drilling program - a monster 663-hole campaign for 11,568m - is designed to expand and increase confidence in the company’s existing 529-million-tonne indicated and inferred mineral resource, which already showcases an average grade of 4.5 per cent HM.
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which → design → HM
The latest batch of 57 assayed holes returned a length-weighted average of four per cent HM over an impressive average sampled thickness of 20.1m, with every reported interval starting from surface.
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Standout results include a 15-metre hit from surface grading 6.88 per cent HM, with a second hole of 18m assaying 5.87 per cent HM and a third delivering 20m grading 5.69 per cent HM.
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‘These attributes give us great confidence that we can mine and process McLaren with modest operating cost inputs.
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Other strong intercepts from surface featured 21m running 5.53 per cent HM, with two further holes returning 20m at 5.47 per cent HM and 18m going 5.38 per cent HM.
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holes → feature → HM
Within the broader zones of mineralisation, McLaren also picked up pockets of higher-grade material, with 10 holes pulling one-metre assays of at least 10 per cent HM.
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holes → pick → HM
Of those, the best clocked in with 1m at a hefty 17.99 per cent HM and 1m grading 15.60 per cent HM.
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best → clock → HM
The latest drilling has added plenty of weight to McLaren’s working theory that it’s dealing with a remarkably consistent near-surface deposit.
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Of the 57 holes, a thumping 53 – or 93 per cent – delivered at least 15m of mineralisation from surface, 46 ran for 18m or more and 26 punched through at least 21m.
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For a potential bulk mining operation, that sort of geological predictability is potentially geological gold, particularly when it comes to shaping a mine plan and keeping the processing plant fed.
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The fresh numbers will now be folded into an updated geological model and mineral resource estimate as McLaren builds towards its bankable feasibility study.
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McLaren Minerals managing director Simon Finnis said: “More of what we’ve come to expect from McLaren.
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What really sets McLaren apart, and what we’ve said all along, is that it is a very consistent deposit, and a very straightforward deposit, which will lead to ease of mining at scale, and a traditional processing flowsheet.
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The results land at a time of strengthening mineral sands prices and renewed corporate interest in the sector, with some major Australian producers flagging constrained supply and higher contracted zircon prices.
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producers → land → supply
Add a recent wave of M&A activity underscoring strategic interest in WA mineral sands assets and solid drilling results are likely to be well received.
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With no cut-off grade applied, the average results from each hole offer a direct view of the grade and thickness profile available for a mine planner.
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McLaren says the continuation of high-grade intersections gives it flexibility in the mine plan to ensure the project gets the best possible start.
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While the McLaren project is its main game, it has also moved to establish a second front in its mineral sands growth strategy.
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The company recently completed the acquisition of the zircon-rich Barossa project in South Australia, giving it another platform for growth in the prospective Eucla basin.
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The McLaren project sits in the western Eucla Basin of WA, a province known to host economic mineral sand deposits.
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With an enormous resource already on the books and a market that is showing renewed signs of life, McLaren looks to be ticking all the right boxes on the path to development.
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Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting?
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company → list → something
The Aporia
