Catalina Resources Ltd (ASX:CTN) has finished an aircore drilling program at its Laverton Project in the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia, where it was testing gold and REE targets.
The program at E38/3697 comprised 25 holes for 1,593 metres.
Assays will be available in approximately eight weeks.
Figure 1: E38/3697 location plan.
About the program
The company drilled 20 holes across four traverses to explore gold mineralisation within the Barnicoat Shear Zone, spanning the area between the Lily Pond Well and Pendergast gold prospects.
Additionally, five further drills aimed to investigate rare earth element (REE) mineralisation, targeting anomalies identified by Southern Geoscience Consultants through magnetic modelling.
The sampling process involved collecting 4-metre composite samples downhole, which have been dispatched to the Bureau Veritas Laboratory in Perth to be analysed for traces of gold, nickel, and REE using methods AR001 and AR102 – an Aqua Regia digest with ICP-MS finish.
A 1-metre split from each sample was stored for potential further analysis.
Location of drill collars (LVAC001-25) within E38/3697.
Sitting among world-class deposits
Located 20 kilometres southeast of Laverton, within the prolific Laverton Gold Province of Western Australia, the E38/3697 tenement spans approximately 45 square kilometres, encompassing 15 sub-blocks.
This region is renowned for its rich mineralisation, hosting several world-class deposits including gold, nickel, and rare earth elements (REE).
Notable among these are the Sunrise Dam and Wallaby gold deposits, with over 10 and 8 million ounces of gold respectively, the Windara Nickel project, and the globally significant Mt Weld REE deposit, boasting one of the highest-grade rare-earth resources worldwide.
Recent Aircore drilling initiatives have targeted strategic areas along the strike from the Lily Pond Well Mineral Resource (340,000 tonnes at 1.4 g/t gold). This resource is situated within the north-south trending Barnicoat Shear Zone, a geological feature that traverses the southwest corner of the E38/3697 tenement.
The drilling program aims to explore the connection between the Lily Pond Well resource and the northern Mon Ami (1.56 million tonnes at 1.1g/t gold) and Ida (630,000 tonnes at 1.4 g/t gold) Mineral Resources, in addition to investigating REE targets linked to magnetic anomalies.