Lodestar maiden resource at Ned’s Creek: tonnage–grade and pit shells for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Lodestar Minerals has received final assays to complete a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Ned’s Creek gold project in Western Australia, targeting release in October. Recent drilling at the Gidgee Flat prospect returned 11m at 1.76g/t Au from 111m, including 5m at 3.53g/t Au from 113m in hole LNRC156, plus additional intercepts such as 7m mineralised intervals. The data will define initial tonnage–grade parameters for Ned’s Creek and guide follow-up drilling, pit shell optimisation and potential scoping studies.
Technical Brief
- Final assays allow 3D wireframing of mineralised envelopes and more robust variography for grade interpolation.
- Assay completion enables compositing to consistent downhole intervals, reducing grade smearing in block modelling.
- Lodestar can now refine follow-up drill targeting to convert near-surface ounces and test depth extensions.
Our Take
Ned’s Creek in Western Australia adds to the strong gold skew in our mining database, where gold is one of the most frequently tagged commodities across the 1250 Mining stories, signalling continued investor and explorer appetite for WA gold juniors like Lodestar Minerals.
The reported 11 m at 1.76 g/t Au including 5 m at 3.53 g/t Au at Gidgee Flat falls into the range typically considered viable for open-pit scenarios in WA if continuity and tonnage are demonstrated, so the October maiden resource will be critical in showing whether these intercepts translate into a mineable inventory.
With Australian mining bodies recently lobbying for extended CGT concessions for junior explorers, as covered in our 14 September 2026 piece, a defined maiden resource at Ned’s Creek could materially improve Lodestar Minerals’ ability to leverage any such fiscal incentives or attract farm-in capital.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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