Loyal Metals Starts AI-Enhanced Drilling with $5.8M Backing at Highway Reward

AI Meets Mining at Highway Reward

Loyal Metals Ltd (ASX, LLM) has taken a bold step in mineral exploration by initiating AI-enhanced drilling at its Highway Reward Copper-Gold Mine in Queensland, Australia. This site, notable for its impressive past production of 3.65 million tonnes at 5.7% copper and 260,000 ounces at 4.5 grams per tonne gold, is now the testing ground for advanced technology aimed at unlocking further value.

The company is deploying VRIFY’s DORA platform, an AI-driven system that integrates vast datasets, from historical drilling and geochemistry to geophysics and structural data, to identify overlooked mineral zones. This approach promises to refine drill targeting and accelerate discovery, particularly focusing on near-surface gold and unmined copper-gold mineralisation around existing workings.

Building on a Strong Foundation

The current drilling campaign builds on a substantial base of approximately 122,000 metres of verified past drilling, which has already revealed significant high-grade intercepts such as 33 metres at 5.0% copper and 2 metres at an extraordinary 105.4 grams per tonne gold. These results underscore the exceptional quality of the Highway Reward deposit and hint at considerable exploration upside.

Managing Director Adam Ritchie expressed enthusiasm about the integration of AI in exploration, highlighting its potential to deliver superior geological insights and unlock the full value of this world-class asset. The company’s strong financial position, with $5.8 million in available funds, supports this technologically advanced exploration push.

The Future of Mineral Exploration

Loyal Metals’ adoption of AI is part of a broader strategy to modernise exploration workflows, from prospectivity modelling to investor engagement. The DORA platform’s machine learning capabilities, including vision-transformer models akin to those powering ChatGPT but trained on geoscience data, enable powerful pattern recognition across complex datasets. This positions Loyal Metals at the forefront of mineral discovery innovation, potentially setting a new standard for how high-grade deposits are explored and developed.

While the initial results of this AI-enhanced drilling program are eagerly awaited, the combination of cutting-edge technology, a high-grade asset, and solid funding creates a compelling narrative for investors and industry watchers alike.