Deccan Gold model indicates over 4Mt Bhalukona ore

Deccan Gold Mines Limited said preliminary modelling indicates that Bhalukona contains more than 4 million tonnes (Mt) of potentially economic ore at about 0.24% nickel-equivalent, representing over 10,000 tonnes of nickel-equivalent metal. The 1 November 2026 disclosure stresses that this is an exploration-stage interpretation, not a mineral resource or reserve.

What does Deccan Gold's Bhalukona model show?

Deccan Gold's model indicates more than 4Mt of potentially economic near-surface ore, grading around 0.24% nickel-equivalent. Nickel-equivalent is the company's weighted sum of nickel, copper, platinum and palladium grades, intended to express the combined metal content in a single percentage. On the company's stated basis, the model contains more than 10,000 tonnes of nickel-equivalent metal.

The estimate is based on preliminary geological modelling of exploration drilling data at the Bhalukona nickel-copper-platinum-group-elements, or Ni-Cu-PGE, deposit in Chhattisgarh. Deccan Gold reported a layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion containing sulphide mineralisation ranging from disseminated sulphides to heavy or massive sulphide lenses. It identified pyrrhotite and pentlandite as nickel-bearing minerals and chalcopyrite as a copper-bearing mineral.

How much of the Bhalukona corridor does the estimate cover?

The preliminary estimate covers barely 25% of the 1.3-kilometre mineralised corridor identified at Bhalukona, or roughly 300 metres to 350 metres. Deccan Gold said the model includes only near-surface mineralisation, while drilling has delineated a corridor more than 100 metres wide and extending to depths of over 200 metres.

The remaining identified corridor is not included in the more-than-4Mt estimate, so the announcement distinguishes the modelled area from the wider exploration target. Magnetic and induced-polarisation, or IP, survey results also suggest potential repetitions of the mineralised sequence under soil cover in the eastern part of the licence, including to the south-east. The company did not quantify tonnes or grades for these possible repetitions.

The Bhalukona-Jamnidih Composite Licence covers a 30-square-kilometre nickel block in Basana Tehsil, Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chhattisgarh executed the licence in Deccan Gold's favour on 1 April 2025. The company said it has forestry approvals for non-destructive exploration, including drilling, in specified areas of the block.

What drilling results support Deccan Gold's preliminary model?

Deccan Gold's preliminary model is supported by 15 diamond-core drill holes totalling 2,773 metres since March 2026, although Table 1 in the filing reports mineralised intersections from BJD-01 to BJD-11. The reported intervals show variation in both width and nickel-equivalent grade, consistent with the company's description of multiple mineralised zones rather than a uniform body.

The longest listed interval is 54.00 metres in BJD-03, from 215.0 metres to 269.0 metres, grading 0.21% nickel-equivalent. By comparison, BJD-11 returned 0.36% nickel-equivalent over 4.00 metres from 39.0 metres to 43.0 metres, while BJD-04 returned the same 0.36% over 6.00 metres from 29.0 metres to 35.0 metres. These are drill intersections reported by the company, not a declared resource estimate.

In the table, Ni means nickel, Cu means copper, Pd means palladium, Pt means platinum and Ni-Eq means nickel-equivalent. The unit g/t means grams per tonne. The selected intersections compare longer intervals with higher-grade but narrower intervals reported in Deccan Gold's filing.

Among the listed results, BJD-11's 4.00-metre interval carried the highest reported palladium grade, at 0.42g/t, and the highest platinum grade, at 0.23g/t. BJD-04's 6.00-metre interval contained the highest copper grade in the table, at 0.200%. The 54.00-metre BJD-03 interval was the longest, but its 0.21% nickel-equivalent grade was below the 0.36% reported in BJD-04 and BJD-11.

What exploration work has Deccan Gold completed?

Deccan Gold said it has conducted a staged programme across the full 30-square-kilometre licence over the 19 months since the April 2025 licence execution. The work includes drone magnetic and Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, surveying, deep IP surveying, two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography, geological mapping at 1:5,000 and 1:2,000 scales, rock-chip and channel geochemistry, bulk sampling for beneficiation studies, and drilling.

The survey and drilling programme established the approximately 1.3-kilometre zone and indicated possible repeated zones beneath eastern soil cover. Deccan Gold's Managing Director, Dr Hanuma Prasad Modali, said management's focus is to advance Bhalukona through science-led exploration, technical rigour and long-term commitment. That statement is a plan for further work, rather than a timetable for defining a mineral resource.

Conclusion

Deccan Gold's disclosure provides an early quantified view of Bhalukona: more than 4Mt at around 0.24% nickel-equivalent and over 10,000 tonnes of nickel-equivalent metal. The evidence includes 15 holes for 2,773 metres, with reported intersections ranging from 0.12% to 0.36% nickel-equivalent, but the company explicitly says the result remains a preliminary exploration-stage interpretation rather than a resource or reserve.

The next point to watch is whether Deccan Gold's stated science-led exploration focus tests the unmodelled part of the 1.3-kilometre corridor and the possible eastern repetitions indicated by magnetic and IP surveys. Because the current model covers only about 300 metres to 350 metres, or barely 25% of the corridor, further drilling and geological work would be needed before any defined mineral resource could be reported.