Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) has intersected more than 800 metres of potentially continuous gold mineralisation at the Arrakis Prospect, part of the broader Caladan target area at the company’s Ironstone Well-Barwidgee Gold Project in Western Australia, following the first round of assays from a large-scale air-core (AC) drilling program.
Initial results from the 12,500-metre campaign — now 80% complete — include high-grade intercepts of 11 metres at 2.1 g/t gold from 90 metres and 12 metres at 1.1 g/t gold from 45 metres, suggesting a coherent mineralised structure within a 3-kilometre regolith anomaly.
A collar plan over the Arrakis Prospect within the Caladan target area, showing simplified bedrock geology interpretation. The location of effective historic drilling (>20m depth and excluding all Eagle Mining and Hunter Resources RAB drilling from 1995) and all Yandal drilling is plotted. Collars are thematically coloured by max Au (g/t) in the hole. Collars coloured black represent holes that have been drilled with assays yet to be received.
“These results significantly de-risk the Arrakis Prospect and broader Caladan target area from a geological perspective,” said Yandal Resources managing director Chris Oorschot. “To intercept mineralisation of this tenure within a first-pass air-core drilling across three consecutive 400-metre spaced lines is a significant early-stage success, which should not be understated.”
Strong early assays from shallow drilling
The first 16 holes drilled — out of 125 planned — have returned multiple gold intercepts, including:
- 11 metres @ 2.1 g/t gold from 90m in hole 25IWBAC023, including 7 metres @ 3.1 g/t gold from 92 metres
- 12 metres @ 1.1 g/t gold from 45 metres in 25IWBAC032, including 2 metres @ 3.2 g/t gold from 45 metres and 1 metres @ 2.5 g/t gold from 53 metres
- An additional 12 metres @ 0.5 g/t gold from 70 metres to end-of-hole, including 1 metre @ 2.0 g/t gold from 74 metres.
Cross-section showing all AC drilling results from 25IWBAC023, with a simple preliminary interpretation of geology. The section shows all drilling within +/- 50m of the section plane. The red line represents a potential future drill target, based on geological observation from intercepts 400m and 800m to the southeast.
Cross-section showing all AC drilling results from 25IWBAC032, with a simple preliminary interpretation of geology.
The mineralisation appears to be hosted in a northwest-striking shear zone cutting through altered dolerite, with consistent geology observed across all three drill lines — spaced 400 metres apart — bolstering the case for a single continuous gold-bearing structure.
Arrakis shows signs of a major system
Yandal believes these intercepts confirm the continuity of mineralisation identified in late 2024, where drilling hit 11 metres at 1.7 g/t gold and 11 metres at 0.5 g/t gold in earlier programs.
The drilling to date aligns with a low-level regolith gold anomaly that stretches over 3 kilometres, further supporting the idea that this near-surface feature reflects a deeper, primary mineralised system.
Notably, the mineralised shear remains open to the southeast and northwest, with further assay results expected in coming weeks.
Exploration momentum building
The Caladan air-core program has now completed 100 of the planned 125 holes, with the remaining 25 scheduled for completion within two weeks. Samples from the remaining 84 drilled holes have been dispatched to the lab.
The company is also preparing to mobilise drilling equipment to the nearby New England Granite Prospect once the Caladan program wraps up.
With a strong cash position and active exploration underway, Yandal plans to build on these early results and prioritise Caladan in its broader strategy across the Yandal Greenstone Belt.
Caladan is located 60 kilometres south of Northern Star’s Jundee mining complex and 18 kilometres north of the recent Siona discovery, in one of Western Australia’s most richly endowed gold regions.