Legacy Minerals Launches 8,000m Discovery Drilling at Mascotte and Emu

BY WILLIAM HADRIAN ON MAY 13, 2026

Legacy Minerals Holdings Ltd

  • ASX Code: LGM
  • Market Cap: $27,015,556
  • Shares On Issue (SOI): 200,115,229
  • This is a special feature article produced for our partner.

    Legacy Minerals Launches 8,000m Discovery Campaign at Mt Carrington Silver-Gold Project

    Legacy Minerals Holdings (ASX: LGM) has received NSW Government drilling approvals for an 8,000-metre diamond drilling campaign targeting new silver, gold and copper discoveries at its flagship Mt Carrington Project. The Legacy Minerals Mt Carrington 8000m drilling program at Mascotte and Emu will test two distinct prospects, each representing potential resource expansion opportunities within the broader 1.2Moz AuEq (115Moz AgEq) Mt Carrington Mineral Resource.

    The announcement outlines an active exploration strategy designed to build upon recent drilling successes. The Mascotte Phase 1 program has already delivered what the company describes as a "new greenfields gold discovery," with the maiden hole returning 40m at 1.0g/t Au from 151m. Meanwhile, the Emu Prospect represents the first modern drill test of porphyry-epithermal targets that haven't been tested with contemporary techniques for approximately 50 years.

    With assays from seven Mascotte Phase 1 holes pending and rig mobilisation planned for this month, the next three months are positioned to deliver multiple exploration catalysts across the Mt Carrington system.

    CEO & Managing Director Christopher Byrne commented: "Legacy Minerals is continuing our gold, silver, and copper exploration and discovery-focused approach across the Mt Carrington Project. These two new drilling approvals at Mascotte and Emu, totalling 8,000 metres, represent new discovery opportunities on the Project as part of this dual-track strategy of discovery and development."

    Two Strategic Drilling Programs Targeting Distinct Geological Settings

    Mascotte Phase 2: Extending High-Grade Silver-Gold Intercepts

    The Mascotte Prospect, located approximately 3.5km south-east of Drake village within EL6273, has received approval for eight additional diamond holes totalling 4,000m. Each hole is permitted to depths of 500m, designed to test structural and depth extensions from the Phase 1 program.

    The prospect's exploration pedigree is supported by substantial historical workings across a 1.3km mineralised trend. Historical drilling between 1969–1970 comprised only 18 shallow percussion holes limited to approximately 50m strike length and less than 70m depth. Importantly, none of these historical holes was assayed for gold, leaving significant potential untested.

    Key Historical Intercepts (Silver Only):

    • 18.3m at 237g/t Ag from 3m, including 9.1m at 394g/t Ag (PDMS005A)
    • 9.1m at 112g/t Ag from surface (PDMS005)
    • 24.4m at 45g/t Ag from surface, including 3.0m at 245g/t Ag (PDMS001)

    Recent rock-chip sampling by Legacy Minerals has, furthermore, confirmed high-grade gold and silver mineralisation in low-sulphidation epithermal style veins:

    Sample ID Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Base Metals
    11233b 11.2 42.6 1.2% Zn
    11227b 7.2 26.2
    11242b 2.1 222 0.8% Cu

    The Phase 1 program, completed on 30 March 2026 across 1,841m, has already achieved its primary objective of testing beneath the historical workings. The maiden hole (MSDD001) returned significant gold intercepts:

    Mascotte Phase 1 Discovery Results:

    • 40m at 1.0g/t Au from 151m, including:
      • 9m at 2.7g/t Au from 180m
      • 1m at 5.6g/t Au from 157m

    According to the company, this represents a new gold discovery well below the shallow silver mineralisation, indicating the Mascotte system has vertical and lateral extensions that have never been properly tested. The Phase 2 program will consequently step directly out from and below these intercepts using drill pad sites already constructed under Phase 1.

    Emu Copper-Gold: First Modern Drill Test of Porphyry Targets

    The Emu Prospect, located approximately 8km north of Drake within EL6273, represents a fundamentally different exploration opportunity. The recently completed airborne Mobile Magnetotellurics (Mobile MT) survey has identified two discrete, untested targets:

    Emu Porphyry Core: A deep, low-resistivity feature interpreted as a potential porphyry-style intrusive body beneath the prospect.

    Emu Alteration Halo SE: A shallower zone of elevated resistivity interpreted as a silicified alteration halo adjacent to the porphyry core, consistent with porphyry-epithermal style veining at shallower levels.

    The approved program consists of eight diamond drillholes for 4,000m across five potential drill pad sites, with each hole permitted to 500m depth. This will be the first modern drill test of these targets — previous drilling in this area occurred approximately 50 years ago, predating current geological interpretation and geophysical tools.

    The prospect sits along the same caldera-margin trend that hosts the existing Mt Carrington Mineral Resource. Historical drilling elsewhere in the project has demonstrated notable copper potential, including intercepts of 18.9m at 5.8% Cu from 58m and 10.1m at 7.26% Cu from 88m in a single drill hole at the Mt Carrington Prospect.

    Understanding Porphyry-Epithermal Systems: The Geological Model

    For investors assessing the exploration potential at Mt Carrington, understanding the geological model is crucial to evaluating the scale of potential discoveries.

    Porphyry deposits are large-tonnage, disseminated copper-gold (and sometimes molybdenum) mineralisation systems associated with intrusive igneous bodies. These deposits tend to be lower grade but very high volume — many of the world's largest copper and gold mines operate porphyry systems.

    Epithermal deposits form at shallower levels, typically above or adjacent to a porphyry system, where hydrothermal fluids cool and deposit high-grade gold and silver in veins and fractures. These deposits tend to be lower tonnage but can carry spectacular grades, particularly in silver and gold.

    A porphyry-epithermal system combines both characteristics: a large, potentially bulk-tonnage copper-gold core at depth, overlain by potentially high-grade gold-silver veining closer to surface.

    The Mt Carrington caldera appears to represent this geological model. The Emu targets — displaying both deep porphyry-style geophysical signatures and shallower epithermal alteration — could potentially host both bulk-tonnage copper-gold mineralisation at depth and high-grade precious metal zones at shallower levels.

    Key Technical Terms

    Mobile MT (Magnetotellurics): A geophysical survey technique measuring variations in natural electromagnetic fields to image subsurface resistivity, helping identify conductive or resistive geological features associated with mineralisation.

    Low-sulphidation epithermal: A style of gold-silver deposit formed in shallow, near-neutral pH hydrothermal systems, often associated with caldera or volcanic environments.

    Caldera-margin trend: The structural zone around the edge of a collapsed volcanic caldera, often hosting significant mineralisation due to hydrothermal fluid flow along structural controls.

    Dual-Track Strategy: Discovery and Development in Parallel

    Legacy Minerals has articulated a clear dual-track approach at Mt Carrington — advancing the existing resource toward development whilst simultaneously drilling for new discoveries that could materially expand the project's scale.

    The Legacy Minerals Mt Carrington 8000m drilling program at Mascotte and Emu sits squarely on the discovery side of this strategy. Meanwhile, the company is optimising its Scoping Study to incorporate resources currently outside the study and revised processing pathways. According to management, the Scoping Study demonstrates "compelling financials" for Mt Carrington as a significant Australian gold and silver asset.

    The two workstreams are designed to be complementary. Successful new discoveries at Mascotte or Emu would, in turn, feed into future resource estimates and potentially into a revised Scoping Study with an expanded project footprint.

    Mt Carrington Resource Base: Foundation for Expansion

    The current JORC-compliant Mt Carrington Mineral Resource provides important context for the exploration work underway. The resource totals 1.2Moz AuEq (115Moz AgEq) distributed across multiple deposits within the caldera system.

    Mt Carrington Mineral Resource Summary:

    Deposit Classification Tonnes (Kt) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Au (Koz) Ag (Koz) AgEq (g/t)
    Strauss Indicated 2,818 1.1 3.1 98 281 149
    Strauss Inferred 2,026 1.0 2.0 63 129 130
    Kylo Indicated 2,842 1.1 2.1 103 191 101
    Kylo Inferred 2,081 0.6 0.6 40 251 83
    Guy Bell Inferred 2,512 0.6 117 58 188 117
    Lady Hampden Indicated 2,136 0.71 62 49 4,251 124
    Silver King Indicated 469 0.12 80 2 1,200 93
    White Rock Indicated 3,135 0.05 66 5 6,629 104
    Total Resource All Classes ~34,400 Various Various 653 114,756+ Various

    Note: Table shows selected deposits. Full resource includes additional deposits across the caldera system.

    The resource spans nine identified deposits — Strauss, Kylo, Guy Bell, Carrington, Lady Hampden, Silver King, Lead Block, White Rock, and White Rock North. The Mascotte and Emu Prospects are not included in this resource base, meaning any mineralisation confirmed from current drilling represents potential upside to the stated 1.2Moz AuEq resource.

    Exploration Timeline and Key Catalysts

    The next three months represent a concentrated period of potential news flow across the Mt Carrington system:

    Milestone Expected Timeline Significance
    Mascotte Phase 1 assays June 2026 Seven holes, 1,624m sampling completed
    Emu drilling commencement This month (May 2026) First modern test of porphyry targets
    Mascotte Phase 2 drilling Post Phase 1 assays Step-out from discovery intercepts
    Combined program completion Within 3 months 8,000m across both prospects
    Scoping Study optimisation Ongoing Incorporating broader resource base

    What Are the Most Immediate Catalysts?

    The most immediate catalyst is the receipt of Mascotte Phase 1 assays from seven holes representing 1,624m of sampling. These results will determine whether the maiden hole discovery (MSDD001) extends across the broader drilling program or represents an isolated intercept.

    Simultaneously, the Emu drilling program commencing this month will provide the first modern geological and geochemical data from targets identified through Mobile MT. Given the 50-year gap since previous drilling, contemporary techniques may reveal mineralisation styles not recognised in historical work.

    Regional Context and Geological Prospectivity

    Both prospects sit within the Mt Carrington caldera (~150km²), described by the company as having similar geological characteristics to major Pacific Rim low-sulphidation epithermal systems. Recent Mobile MT inversions have, moreover, identified deep-seated, conductive structures linking known deposits and untested prospects across the caldera trend.

    The Mt Carrington system has demonstrated its capacity to host economic mineralisation across multiple deposit types and metal assemblages. The existing resource base includes significant silver-dominant deposits (Lady Hampden with 4.2Moz Ag), gold-focused mineralisation (Strauss with 161Koz Au combined), and copper-bearing zones.

    Key Geological Features

    Caldera Setting: The ~150km² Mt Carrington caldera provides the structural and hydrothermal framework for multiple mineralised systems.

    Structural Controls: Regional-scale conductivity lineaments identified through Mobile MT suggest structural controls that may link surface mineralisation to deeper intrusive sources.

    Metal Zonation: The distribution of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc across different deposits suggests systematic metal zonation typical of large porphyry-epithermal systems.

    Investment Considerations and Risk Factors

    Several factors make the current exploration phase particularly relevant for investor assessment:

    Discovery Potential: Both Mascotte and Emu represent genuine discovery opportunities rather than resource confirmation drilling. The Mascotte Phase 1 program has already achieved a new gold discovery, whilst Emu targets have never been tested with modern techniques.

    Resource Expansion Upside: Any confirmed mineralisation from the 8,000m program would be additional to the existing 1.2Moz AuEq resource base, providing clear expansion potential.

    Technical Validation: The Mobile MT survey has provided geophysical validation of geological models, particularly at Emu where porphyry-style signatures align with surface alteration mapping.

    Development Optionality: The parallel Scoping Study optimisation work suggests the development case may strengthen as the resource base potentially expands.

    However, investors should note that exploration drilling carries inherent risks. Whilst geological models and historical data support targeting decisions, actual drilling may not confirm anticipated mineralisation grades, widths, or continuity. The Mascotte discovery, whilst encouraging, requires validation across additional holes before its full significance can be assessed.

    Broader Portfolio Context

    Beyond Mt Carrington, Legacy Minerals maintains a portfolio of NSW projects providing additional exploration optionality. These include joint venture arrangements with Rio Tinto at Thomson (copper-gold), Earth AI at Fontenoy (multi-commodity), and a memorandum of understanding at Nico Young (nickel-cobalt), alongside multiple standalone copper and gold targets.

    This portfolio depth provides strategic flexibility whilst Mt Carrington remains the flagship asset advancing through both exploration and development workstreams.

    Project Portfolio Summary:

    • Mt Carrington: 1.2Moz AuEq resource plus active exploration (8,000m program)
    • Thomson JV (Rio Tinto): Intrusion-related gold-copper exploration
    • Fontenoy JV (Earth AI): Multi-commodity exploration with significant historical intercepts
    • Nico Young MoU: One of Australia's larger nickel deposits (cobalt exposure)
    • Regional NSW Projects: Multiple copper-gold targets across proven geological belts

    The Legacy Minerals Mt Carrington 8000m drilling program at Mascotte and Emu represents a pivotal moment for the company. Legacy Minerals is positioned at an active exploration inflection point at Mt Carrington, with 8,000m of approved drilling targeting two high-priority prospects within a proven 1.2Moz AuEq mineralised system. The combination of recent discovery success at Mascotte, untested porphyry potential at Emu, and parallel Scoping Study optimisation provides multiple value creation pathways over the next three months.

    The next quarter will be crucial in determining whether Legacy Minerals can build upon its initial Mascotte discovery and validate the porphyry-epithermal model at Emu. For investors tracking the company, the convergence of pending assay results, active drilling, and development study optimisation represents a period of concentrated potential catalysts across Australia's emerging silver-gold sector.

    Ready to Learn More About Legacy Minerals' Mt Carrington Discovery Campaign?

    With an 8,000m drilling programme underway across two high-priority prospects, pending assay results from a maiden gold discovery at Mascotte, and the first modern drill test of porphyry targets at Emu in motion, Legacy Minerals (ASX: LGM) is entering a pivotal period of exploration news flow. To learn more about the company, the Mt Carrington Project, and what the next three months of drilling could mean for investors, visit www.legacyminerals.com.au.

    Stock Codes: ASX: LGM

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    Discovery Alert does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in its articles. The information does not constitute financial or investment advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own due diligence or speak to a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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