Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) has obtained promising drilling results as it moves to participate in the Mankayan copper-gold project in the Philippines.

The company has identified visible gold in a recent diamond drill hole at Mankayan, which is currently part of a proposed merger between Blackstone and IDM International.

IDM achieved a significant milestone in December 2024, when it signed a historic memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the local indigenous people for Mankayan, the first such consent granted in the region.

Angled drill hole

The free gold was identified in a hole drilled at an angle of 70 degrees—unlike the historical vertical drill holes at Mankayan.

The company believes this angled orientation increases the likelihood of intersecting vertically oriented mineralisation and provides a valuable opportunity to collect additional metallurgical, geotechnical and structural data across the porphyry system.

Blackstone managing director Scott Williamson said the discovery of visible gold represents an important step forward in understanding Mankayan’s resource potential, opening up new exploration targets within the volcanic host rocks outside the existing copper-gold porphyry resource.

Priority project

Considered a priority project by the Philippines Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Mankayan is located 2.5 kilometres along strike of the Lepanto gold mine and Far Southeast project.

“Following the recent announcement of Blackstone’s proposed merger with IDM, our technical team has been collaborating closely with the Mankayan team to chart a path forward to unlocking the full potential of this exceptional project,” Mr Williamson said.

“It’s incredibly exciting to see new exploration opportunities emerging already, such as the discovery of visible gold in zones that have not been historically targeted for assay.”

Extensive expertise

Mr Williamson said the merged entity would leverage Blackstone’s extensive expertise, resources and relationships in base metals mine development and the energy transition metals market in South-East Asia.

“We eagerly anticipate finalising the merger with IDM so we can harness the collective expertise of our combined teams to drive forward the development of this world-class, high-grade copper-gold asset.”

“The future for Mankayan is bright and we are committed to realising its tremendous value.”