QMines is doubling its ongoing drill campaign to 20,000m, saying the decision reflects exploration success across its Central Queensland projects and the growing pipeline of priority targets requiring follow-up drilling.

The company is advancing three significant drilling programs at the Mount Chalmers, Botos and Woods Shaft sites outside Rockhampton.

QMines expects the first assay results soon from diamond drilling being undertaken from a purpose-built barge (pictured above) to test the area directly beneath the historical Mount Chalmers mining pits.

Successful extension of the Mount Chalmers mineralisation at depth could potentially establish a new area for future resource growth. A 24-hole, 2500m program is planned there.

Drilling is also underway at Botos, where QMines has kicked off a 64-hole, 11,360m RC and diamond drilling program.

The program is designed to confirm the historical Botos deposit and test extensions to known mineralisation, with the objective of potentially establishing an additional mineral resource close to the proposed Mount Chalmers processing infrastructure.

Related: QMines land deal to unlock additional deposit

The company this month executed a $2.388 million land deal to unlock the core of the Botos deposit for systematic modern drilling.

QMines is also preparing to commence a 39-hole, 7000m RC and diamond drilling program at Woods Shaft, targeting extensions to the existing mineralisation along strike and at depth.

Woods Shaft already hosts a 0.54Mt copper-gold mineral resource and is located close to the proposed Mount Chalmers processing plant.

“The decision to double our current drilling campaign reflects the exploration success we are seeing and the number of compelling targets now in front of us,” QMines (ASX:QML) executive chairman Andrew Sparke said.

“Most immediately, shareholders can look forward to the first results from our highly anticipated Mount Chalmers barge drilling program.

“We are drilling directly beneath the historic pits for the first time since 1982, testing whether the Mount Chalmers copper-gold system continues at depth.

“These results are now imminent and represent the first of what we expect will be a sustained period of exploration news flow.

“At the same time, we have commenced a major 11,360m program at Botos and are preparing to commence a further 7000m of drilling at Woods Shaft.”

With the definitive feasibility study for Mount Chalmers advancing in parallel, the company believed the next several months had the potential to be an important period for QMines and its shareholders, he said.