Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR) has confirmed a major gold–antimony soil anomaly extending for more than 2 kilometres at its Amoco Project in New South Wales, setting the stage for maiden drilling due to start in early October.
The systematic soil survey highlighted coherent gold, antimony and arsenic trends along a northeast–southwest structural corridor, consistent with known mineralisation controls in the New England Fold Belt. Assay results returned up to 21.0 parts per billion (ppb) gold, 14.65 parts per million (ppm) antimony and 351 ppm arsenic, with anomalies strongly coinciding with regional and local structures.
Amoco gold-in-soil geochemistry assay results with rock chip samples and major/minor interpreted fault structures (black dashed lines), gold-in-soil contours green (0.5-1 ppb Au) orange (1-2 ppb Au) red (2-3.5 ppb Au) and pink (3.5-21 ppb Au).
CEO Tim Wither said the results had generated several robust drill targets.
“The soil sampling results highlight mineralised trends over a +2km strike and encouragingly aligned with the interpreted structures, delivering several robust drill targets,” Wither said.
“Amoco represents a compelling drill target within the Armidale region’s rich antimony–gold production history, and recent exploration success at Koonenberry Gold’s Enmore Project highlights the discovery potential,” he added. “The maiden drill program will give us a significant amount of geological insight into the potential at Amoco given the early-staged exploration phase, and we look forward to updating shareholders once drilling has commenced.”
Soil survey results
The survey covered a 3-by-2-kilometre grid over the priority Amoco target, with 364 samples collected at 200-metre-by-50-metre spacing. Results defined overlapping gold–antimony–arsenic anomalies, with local silver highs also reinforcing the corridor’s potential.
- Gold: anomalous values peaking at 21.0 ppb, with corridors extending for up to 2 kilometres.
- Arsenic: pathfinder values up to 351 ppm, outlining broad halos associated with gold–antimony mineralisation.
- Antimony: anomalous values up to 14.65 ppm, spatially coincident with gold.
The soil results build on earlier rock chip sampling that returned up to 17.9 g/t gold, 0.7% antimony and 80 g/t silver, further validating the exploration model.
Amoco - arsenic-in-soils with rock samples and 1m contours lines.
Strategic location
Amoco lies about 19 kilometres southeast of Larvotto Resources’ Hillgrove antimony–gold operations and 14 kilometres east of Koonenberry Gold’s Enmore Project, both along the same regional structures. The New England Fold Belt hosts multiple antimony–gold systems, with structures extending for hundreds of metres both laterally and vertically.
Fieldwork at Amoco earlier this year produced 15 rock chip samples grading more than 0.8 g/t gold, including results up to 15.1 g/t, aligning closely with legacy assays that confirmed the project’s mineralisation footprint.
Next steps
A reverse circulation (RC) rig is scheduled to mobilise to site on 29 September, with first drilling expected in early October. The company has secured all required approvals from the NSW Resources Regulator.
In parallel, Critical Resources is advancing permitting for the nearby Mayview Antimony–Gold Project, which along with Amoco forms part of its Halls Peak portfolio in northern NSW.
Location Plan of Critical Resources - Halls Peak tenure and regionally significant Hillgrove and Enmore with regional structures.
The company’s broader portfolio includes the flagship Mavis Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada — where a maiden inferred resource of 8 million tonnes at 1.07% Li₂O has been defined — as well as gold–antimony projects in New Zealand.