Torque Leads Resources Top Five Amid Gallium Boom
Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) saw its shares jump more than 20% after the company announced a striking gold intercept at the Ritz project’s HHH deposit in Western Australia, a result that could reshape the resource’s near‑term outlook.
Visible gold and record‑grade assay
The standout result came from drill hole 26HRC135, which returned an 11‑metre interval averaging 456 g/t gold starting at 122 metres depth. Within the first three metres of the core, miners even recovered visible gold nuggets, a rarity for reverse‑circulation (RC) samples.
Managing director and CEO Craig Jones said the visible nuggets “reinforce the high‑grade growth potential we see across the Ritz gold project.” He added that the find highlights the “scope to rapidly grow the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the main HHH deposit.”
Related: Nanosonics investors raise concerns before product launch
The existing MRE lists roughly 73,000 oz of gold contained in 1.15 Mt of material at an average grade of 2.0 g/t. The new intercept suggests the deposit could host significantly higher grades than previously modelled.
Exploration manager Monty Graham described the experience of sieving the RC drill spoil: “I’ve seen the odd ‘VG’ in RC drill chips before, but that metre (123‑124 m) in hole 26HRC135 is the most visible gold I’ve ever seen from a drill sample.”
Implications for the Ritz project and market response
Following the announcement, Torque’s stock surged 20.5% in early trading, reflecting investor optimism about the potential to expand the HHH resource. The rally came as gold prices hovered above US$4,700 per ounce, a three‑month high that has buoyed other “goldies” in the market.
RC and diamond drilling at HHH continues to target extensions of the known resource in the South Kalgoorlie mining district, as well as possible additional lodes that were not previously included in the model.
Related: Fed Does Not Control Mortgage Rates
Nonetheless, the visible gold and assay results provide a tangible data point that could streamline future economic assessments.
Torque’s next steps are expected to involve infill drilling around the 26HRC135 intercept, alongside metallurgical testing to confirm that the high gold grades can be processed efficiently.
For investors seeking more context on gold’s market trends, the Wikipedia entry on gold offers a concise overview of price drivers and historical trends.
