Koonenberry Gold (ASX:KNB) is significantly expanding its Lachlan Fold Belt presence with the acquisition of the high-grade Gundagai Gold-Copper Project in NSW.
Koonenberry has entered a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Gilmore Minerals, which owns Gundagai, increasing the company's Lachlan Fold Belt to 2,065km².
The Gundagai project comprises four contiguous exploration licences: EL8061, EL8586, EL8889, EL8998.
The project boasts multiple high-grade rock chip results, with gold reported up to 386g/t Au and copper up to 27.05% Cu.
Historical shallow drilling has also indicated significant gold intersections, including 20m @ 1.78g/t Au (incl. 1m @ 23g/t Au), and copper drill intersections up to 7.6m @ 1.08% Cu.
Strategic Value and Consideration
The Gundagai project tenure is interpreted to be contiguous with KNB’s existing Prince of Wales, Brungle, and nearby Junee Newmont JV projects.
This proximity supports the integration of exploration programmes, aiming for efficiency and synergy across the region.
Acquisition consideration for the Gundagai project includes 12,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares issued at completion, which will be subject to a 12-month voluntary escrow.
Additionally, 33,000,000 performance rights are split across A$0.050 and A$0.075 10-day VWAP vesting hurdles, while cash components include $31,500 for tenement bond reimbursement and an $150,000 option exercise fee paid to Godolphin.
Koonenberry Gold plans to commence title-transfer dependent surface geochemistry and possible geophysics aiming to rapidly define drill targets and accelerate exploration at Gundagai once the acquisition is complete.
Managing Director Transition Announced
In a separate announcement, Koonenberry Gold confirmed that managing director Dan Power will step down from his role at the end of August 2026 after serving for more than four years.
The board acknowledged Mr Power’s leadership, highlighting the transformational acquisition of the Enmore and Lachlan projects and the emerging gold discovery at Sunnyside.
Managing Director responsibilities will transition to a joint leadership model, assumed by executive chair Paul Harris and executive technical director Darren Glover.
Mr Harris will lead corporate, capital markets, strategic functions, governance, and stakeholder engagement, while Mr Glover will take the lead on exploration and asset development across the Lachlan Fold Belt and broader NSW.
This transition is planned to ensure continuity of exploration and corporate programmes, leveraging the distinct strengths of Mr Harris’s and Mr Glover’s expertise.
Ongoing Exploration Success
Koonenberry Gold has recently reported ongoing success at its Enmore Project, extending gold mineralisation at the Sunnyside Prospect, with assays still pending for other targets such as Postman's Gully and Hand in Hand.
This provides a solid foundation to support its continued exploration activities across its growing portfolio.
Previous drilling at Sunnyside has demonstrated broad gold intervals and high-grade zones.
Mineralisation has been defined from surface to an average depth of 370m (maximum of 415m), over a strike length of more than 200m, and remains open at depth and along strike.
The company maintains a healthy financial position, reporting a cash balance of $4.45 million as at 31 March 2026, with no debt.
