Western Australian exploration companies Corazon Mining, Javelin Minerals and Neometals have unveiled fresh programs spanning resource growth, deep target testing and high-grade gold follow-up.
The latest updates put drilling at the centre of each company’s near-term plans, with Corazon outlining a sizeable conceptual target around its historic Chalice operation, Javelin testing two previously undrilled magnetic bodies at Coogee, and Neometals returning broad gold intersections from Ironclad ahead of further work at depth.
Together, the announcements demonstrate a sharpening focus on established mining districts, where historic data, existing resources and nearby infrastructure can help accelerate the path from target to development study.
Corazon maps bigger footprint at Chalice
Corazon Mining has defined a maiden exploration target of 9.7–12.3 million tonnes at 1.9–2.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at its wholly-owned Chalice gold project near Higginsville.
The target equates to about 600,000–830,000 ounces of contained gold and is inclusive of Chalice’s existing 191,000oz mineral resource; it is not additional to that estimate. Corazon stressed the target is conceptual, with further exploration required before any additional mineral resource can be estimated.
The target is underpinned by about 370 historical drill holes, along with underground face and sludge sampling. The interpreted mineralised system extends approximately 1.7km along strike and 700m vertically, while also capturing near-surface mineralisation excluded from the underground-focused resource.
Corazon managing director Simon Coyle said the work indicated “a considerably larger system than the resource we acquired”, with mineralisation interpreted beyond the current resource near surface and at depth.
“There is genuine potential for a substantial high-grade open pit cutback at Chalice,” Coyle said.
He also added that drilling would be needed to test whether that concept could support a low-cost operation.
The company is planning at least 7500m of reverse-circulation drilling over the next six months, subject to funding, access and approvals, with the program to test strike and down-dip extensions, infill wider-spaced areas and assess geological and grade continuity.
Chalice sits on a granted mining lease and has produced 645,000oz historically at about 5.4g/t, and Corazon said seven processing plants lie within 130km, including Westgold Resources’ Higginsville plant about 22km away.
Javelin drills beneath Coogee
Javelin Minerals has begun a two-hole diamond drilling program targeting large magnetic anomalies at the Coogee North and Coogee West prospects, 55km south-east of Kalgoorlie.
The five-to-six-week campaign will drill each hole to a planned depth of 800–1000m, and the first hole is testing Coogee North before the rig moves to Coogee West.
Both anomalies are associated with nearby gold-copper and gold anomalies identified in shallow historical drilling, but their deeper sources have not previously been tested. At Coogee North, the magnetic body sits directly below much of the existing gold-copper resource.
Javelin general manager of resources and exploration Mark Cossom described the holes as “ambitious” and said their magnetic response was consistent with alteration minerals associated with gold-copper mineralisation previously observed at Coogee North.
“Javelin has been building these targets up and awaiting the ability to test them with diamond drilling,” Cossom said.
The WA Government is co-funding the holes through its Exploration Incentive Scheme, with Westralian Diamond Drilling carrying out the work.
The Coogee project is held on a granted mining lease and contains a JORC resource of 3.6Mt at 1.08g/t gold for 127,000oz, as well as 1Mt at 0.41 per cent copper for 4122 tonnes.
Neometals follows high-grade Ironclad hits
Neometals has reported broad gold intersections from reverse-circulation drilling at the Ironclad deposit within its wholly-owned Barrambie gold project in the Murchison.
The standout result was 12m at 5.99g/t gold from 116m, including 4m at 10.13g/t. A second hole returned 11m at 5.50g/t from 94m, including 3m at 15.10g/t, while other results included 18m at 2.14g/t from 89m and 15m at 1.12g/t from 69m.
Five holes were drilled at Ironclad for 662m, with all four holes that reached their target depth returning significant gold mineralisation over widths exceeding 10m. The deepest hole was stopped early due to water ingress.
Managing director Chris Reed said the deepest drilling had delivered “some of the best grade-width intersections we have seen to date”, strengthening the company’s view of a higher-grade plunging corridor that may improve at depth.
“The results are strengthening our view that Ironclad hosts a higher-grade plunging corridor that may improve at depth,” he said.
Neometals is planning to extend the incomplete hole with a diamond tail and drill another hole about 50m farther down plunge towards a potential feeder structure interpreted from gravity data. The work is scheduled for September, subject to operational conditions and approvals.
The company is also targeting execution of a native title agreement in October, with a subsequent mining lease grant intended to support approvals and grade-control drilling in the December quarter.
