Golden State Mining Revamps Exploration Strategy at Yule Project Amid Northern Pilbara Regional Growth

Leadership Changes Propel Strategic Shift Toward Value Generation

Golden State Mining has implemented key leadership changes to reinforce its strategic focus and boost shareholder value. The appointment of Peter Williams as Chairman on 21 April 2026 brings a commercially successful geoscientist and entrepreneur to the helm. Williams’ extensive experience includes co-founding IGO and Elemental Royalties and involvement with African Gold and Boss Energy. His industry expertise and networks are expected to enhance the company’s ability to identify and assess mineral acquisition targets beyond its current portfolio.

Managing Director Keith Middleton, in the June 2026 quarterly update, emphasized the company’s return to core exploration and mineral project development activities. Middleton highlighted the board’s commitment to discovering exploration and mining opportunities that can operate profitably. Golden State has repositioned itself as a focused ASX-listed explorer with a solid shareholder base, with directors actively evaluating new prospects aligned with the company’s gold and base metals expertise. During the quarter, both Williams and Middleton conducted a site visit to potential gold mine acquisition targets, demonstrating active involvement in acquisition assessments.

Yule Project Near Northern Star’s Hemi Deposit Features Untested Gold Targets

The Yule Project, a foundational asset held since Golden State’s ASX listing in November 2018, is strategically located on the northern margin of the Mallina Basin within the northern Archean Pilbara District. It lies approximately 10 kilometres north of Northern Star Resources’ Hemi Gold Deposit, a significant regional resource containing 13.2 million ounces of gold, acquired from De Grey Mining. This proximity to a major discovery underscores the Mallina Basin’s prospectivity, especially following De Grey’s gold discoveries at Hemi and Antwerp Prospects in December 2019, just over a year after Golden State’s listing.

The project hosts intrusive-related gold targets that remain untested by drilling, presenting exploration upside. Golden State has engaged RSC Global Pty Ltd to consolidate all historical exploration data for the Yule Project. This compilation has identified multiple bedrock gold targets within the tenements that have yet to be drilled, largely due to access restrictions. The company currently holds six granted Exploration Licences and one pending application (E47/5318). Previous exploration efforts were limited by reliance on geophysical and soil geochemistry methods ineffective under the extensive alluvial soil cover deposited by the Yule and Peawah Rivers, which obscures bedrock mineralisation.

Updated Geological Insights Drive New Exploration Methodology

Golden State Mining is revising its exploration strategy at Yule based on emerging geological interpretations of the Mallina Basin. Academic studies describe the basin’s southern Mallina Shear, hosting the Hemi Gold Deposit, as a metal-rich "open" structural corridor, while the northern Sholl Shear is considered metal-poor and "tight." However, the company recognizes that the genesis of intrusive-related gold deposits like Hemi involves more complex structural controls beyond the Mallina Shear alone.

The company now identifies fold hinges of anticlines formed by basin inversion as key secondary structures facilitating the ascent of intrusive rocks and gold-bearing fluids. This refined geological framework is guiding a shift in exploration tactics aimed at achieving commercial discoveries with reduced targeting costs. Golden State is evaluating alternative exploration techniques suited to the terrain, including ground gravity and passive seismic surveys recently employed by Mantle Minerals Ltd in the area. Ongoing work includes reviewing bedrock and saprolite samples, assessing alteration patterns, conducting structural analyses, and compiling supracrustal succession data using volcanic activity ages.

Southern Cross East Project Secures Tenement Grants Post-Quarter

Following the June 2026 quarter, Golden State Mining obtained mining tenement grants for its Southern Cross East Project. Although the exact number and size of tenements were not disclosed, this development marks progress in expanding the company’s portfolio beyond Yule. The tenement approvals provide regulatory clearance and exploration rights that diversify Golden State’s Western Australian holdings.

The company’s strategy maintains fiscal discipline across Yule and Southern Cross East while leveraging the board’s industry connections to identify additional exploration and mining assets. This dual approach enables sustaining existing projects with minimal expenditure while dedicating resources to evaluating higher-potential opportunities.

Access Negotiations at Yule Project Continue Amid Pastoral Lease Disputes

Golden State Mining is actively negotiating access for the Yule Project pastoral lease, with progress on Exploration Licence Application E47/5318 delayed due to objections from the pastoralist. Lodged on 23 May 2025, the application covers the project’s western area. The pastoralist’s objection centers on terms within an Access Deed required under pastoral lease agreements, which Golden State deems unacceptable. This access issue poses a significant barrier to advancing exploration, as previous drilling targeting has been limited by access constraints.

Resolving access arrangements is essential for commencing drilling on the untested bedrock gold targets identified by RSC Global within the Yule tenements. The timeline for resolving the dispute remains undisclosed, leaving uncertainty about when drilling might resume.

Comprehensive Data Compilation and Sample Reviews Inform Strategic Reassessment

In October 2024, Golden State Mining engaged RSC Global Pty Ltd to centralize all historical exploration data for the Yule Project. This comprehensive data consolidation underpins the identification of untested bedrock gold targets. All prior exploration data, including aircore and RC drill samples, have been stored in Perth to facilitate detailed review and modern reinterpretation.

The company continues to analyze bedrock and saprolite samples, evaluate alteration patterns, and perform structural studies of the supracrustal succession based on volcanic chronology. This ongoing technical review enhances understanding of gold mineralization controls in the Mallina Basin. Exploration expenditure at Yule has been limited to minimum commitments, aligning with the company’s disciplined fiscal strategy while pursuing broader asset evaluation through board networks.

Regional Consolidation in Northern Pilbara Highlights District’s Prospectivity

The Northern Pilbara District surrounding Golden State’s Yule Project is experiencing significant corporate and exploration activity, emphasizing its mineral potential. Northern Star Resources’ acquisition of the Hemi intrusive-related Gold Project from De Grey Mining has been followed by extensive drilling across its regional tenements and seven Hemi deposits (Antwerp, Eagle, Diucon, Crow, Falcon, Aquila, and Brolga). After acquiring Mantle Minerals’ Mt Roe Project tenements in July 2025, Northern Star has solidified its position as a major regional explorer, reflecting confidence in the Northern Pilbara’s mineral endowment.

Additionally, the Gold Valley Group’s acquisition of the Balla Balla vanadium-titanium-magnetite-phosphate project from Todd Corporation introduces another key explorer to the district. These transactions demonstrate substantial capital inflows into Northern Pilbara for both gold and polymetallic exploration, validating the region’s prospectivity where Golden State operates. Notably, Mantle Minerals Ltd retained tenement E37/3857 north of Yule along the Yule River Shear Zone, indicating ongoing third-party confidence in structural corridors intersecting Golden State’s holdings.

Board Actively Pursues Early-Stage Mining Opportunities Beyond Current Assets

Golden State Mining’s board, equipped with technical and commercial expertise and strong industry networks, is actively assessing exploration and early-stage mining opportunities beyond the Yule and Southern Cross East projects. The company aims to acquire assets aligned with its gold and base metals capabilities, targeting opportunities with nearer-term development or commercial potential compared to the early-stage focus at existing projects.

During the June 2026 quarter, Chairman Peter Williams and Managing Director Keith Middleton conducted a site visit to potential gold mine acquisition assets, evidencing active deal sourcing and evaluation. The company’s objective is to identify exploration and mining ventures capable of operating as profitable businesses. This acquisition strategy, alongside ongoing exploration at Western Australian projects with experienced contractors, positions Golden State to capitalize on opportunities identified through board networks while maintaining core assets with disciplined spending.

Fiscal Discipline Underpins Sustainable Portfolio Growth

Golden State Mining maintains a conservative capital expenditure approach across its project portfolio, limiting exploration spending at Yule to minimum committed levels. This prudent financial management preserves flexibility to pursue acquisition and early-stage mining opportunities sourced via the board’s professional networks. By balancing minimal expenditure on current projects with active evaluation of new assets, the company aims to allocate capital efficiently toward ventures with stronger commercial prospects or development momentum.

The strategy acknowledges that early-stage exploration at Yule, despite geological promise, faces access challenges and extended timelines. The board’s dual focus on sustaining current exploration with experienced contractors while exploring external opportunities provides optionality for value creation. As a focused ASX-listed explorer with a solid shareholder base, Golden State prioritizes developing assets capable of delivering shareholder returns over indefinite early-stage exploration spending.