Patronus Resources (ASX:PTN) has identified depth potential from final assay results for the remaining three holes in its four-hole diamond drilling program at the Tally Ho deposit, part of the Pine Creek project in the Northern Territory.

The results confirm that high-grade gold mineralisation extends below the historical open pit and outside the current mineral resource. They included a further 21 significant gold intersections, highlighted by an intercept of 3.17 metres at 3.32 grams per tonne (g/t) from 324.83 metres.

Patronus managing director John Ingram said the latest results, together with previously reported assays that included 2.61m at 6.38 g/t from 454m, demonstrate the potential for additional mineralisation at depth and have also identified new structural targets for follow-up drilling.

"With all four drill holes now assayed, we have confirmed the presence of gold mineralisation well below the historical Tally Ho pit and outside the current Mineral Resource, further increasing our confidence that the system remains open at depth.

"Importantly, the programme has also identified an additional mineralised structural target that was not recognised prior to drilling, providing another opportunity to expand the Tally Ho and Fountain Head mineralised systems," Mr Ingram said.

"With the Northern Territory field season now in full swing, our focus has shifted to executing an extensive drilling and sampling programme across Pine Creek."

"In addition to follow-up drilling at Tally Ho, we will be testing a number of high-priority brownfields and greenfields targets generated from our 2025 exploration programme, and we look forward to updating shareholders as results are received."

The main purpose of the recent program was to test for a previously unrecognised mineralised zone in the footwall to the Tally Ho lodes. Patronus’ 3D modelling of historical gold intercepts indicates the potential for a new mineralised zone outside the existing resource, referred to as the "Tally Ho Extension".

The program also tested an alternative north-east to south-east mineralisation trend based on 3D observations, core photo interpretations and a field mapping study.

Mr Ingram said the results build on the previously reported high-grade intersections from historical drilling, reinforcing the continuity and scale of the mineralised system.

Follow-up RC drilling is planned to test the newly identified linking structures between Fountain Head and Tally Ho, while deeper diamond drilling will be considered to further evaluate the Tally Ho Extension target.

PTN was steady at 4.3¢, with a market capitalisation of $63.93 million, before the market opened.