Leeuwin digs in at Marda with shallow hits, gold upside and a no-nonsense plan to turn pits, veins and BIFs into serious investor attention

Leeuwin Metals has hit the ground running at its newly acquired Marda Gold Project in Western Australia, unveiling a high-impact exploration strategy during its recent presentation at the RIU Sydney Resources Round-up 2025. For mining professionals and practitioners in the METS space, Marda represents a compelling case study in brownfields revitalisation, with banded iron formation-hosted gold intercepts, shallow historical workings, and infrastructure synergies that hint at near-term development opportunities.

“Marda gives us a real, meaty cornerstone asset,” said managing director Chris Piggott. “We’re motivated by discovery, and this project ticks the boxes—existing pits, historical production, granted mining leases, and multiple walk-up drill targets.”

Fast-Moving Fieldwork, Assays Pending

Since completing the acquisition from Ramelius Resources in March 2025, Leeuwin has moved quickly. The company wrapped up a 2,000-metre RC program in April, drilling 12 holes across four historical pits at Marda Central—Dolly Pot, Python, Dugite, and Goldstream. Assays are pending, but the company is already planning another 2,000 metres in the coming weeks.

The targets are hosted in quartz-veined BIF units, with mineralisation dipping beneath shallow pits that historically only reached depths of 50 to 80 metres. “We’re still testing the top 150 metres,” said Piggott, who noted that the deepest hole in the campaign only reached 250 metres. “That’s shallow for Archean gold systems. There’s room to move, both down-dip and along strike.”

Notable historic intercepts at Marda Central include:

• 62m at 1.94 g/t Au from 102m (Dolly Pot)

• 46m at 2.2 g/t Au from 69m (Python)

• 20m at 3.14 g/t Au from 75m (Dugite)

• 12m at 3.48 g/t Au from 24m (Goldstream)

A Cluster of Near-Mine Targets

But it’s not just about one pit cluster. Leeuwin’s 500 km² landholding also includes the Evanston, Golden Orb, and King Brown prospects—each with shallow mineralisation, historic high-grade hits, and underexplored extensions.

At Evanston, 50 kilometres north of the central project area, the company is seeing stacked vein systems dipping northwest—confirmed through recent sampling, mapping, and data review. Rock chips have returned up to 28 g/t Au, with historical intercepts including:

• 2m at 16.75 g/t Au from 12m

• 3.6m at 16.4 g/t Au from 1m

Golden Orb and King Brown, meanwhile, offer walk-up follow-up drilling opportunities, with hits like:

• 2m at 13.13 g/t Au (Golden Orb)

• 1m at 26.8 g/t Au (King Brown)

These zones remain open at depth and along strike, and much of the surrounding ground has only seen shallow RAB drilling—if any.

Infrastructure Advantage

For METS professionals, one of Marda’s most interesting attributes is its location. The project sits about 150 km north of Southern Cross, on granted mining leases and within haulage distance of several operating gold mills—including Edna May, Marvel Loch, Paddington, and Coolgardie.

“You’re standing on a gold mine,” said Piggott. “There’s road access, phone reception, and mills within 150 to 200 kilometres. That kind of optionality gives us a potential fast track to commercialisation, if the drill bit delivers.”

Capital Discipline, Exploration Focus

Leeuwin’s capital structure remains tight, with just over 100 million shares on issue and an enterprise value of approximately $14 million. The recent $3.25 million capital raise was completed at a premium, and Ramelius Resources now holds a strategic stake.

Piggott highlighted the company’s hands-on approach: “We picked the project up in December, completed the deal in March, drilled in April, and now we’re preparing for the next phase. We’re not sitting on our hands. We’re out there putting money in the ground.”

What to Watch

Over the next quarter, Leeuwin will report assay results, expand field mapping, complete geophysical surveys, and begin follow-up drilling across multiple prospects. Resource modelling is planned for the second half of 2025, with a view to building a coherent development case.

For those working in resource definition, structural geology, or mine planning, Marda offers a textbook scenario: a shallow gold system in a proven belt, wrapped in permitted tenure, and being aggressively tested in a lean corporate framework.

As Piggott summed it up: “Any success here will be met with the tailwinds of the current gold price. And we’re in the right place, with the right rocks, and the right momentum.”