Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) has confirmed a new gold discovery at the Arrakis Prospect within its Ironstone Well–Barwidgee Project in Western Australia, with fresh drill results pointing to the scale and strength of the mineralised system.
The company reported a standout intercept of 54 metres at 1.2 g/t gold from 108 metres to end-of-hole (EOH) in drill hole 25IWBRC0040, including 24 metres at 2.1 g/t and a higher-grade core of 8 metres at 4.7 g/t from 154 metres. A second hole, 25IWBRC0041, returned 6 metres at 1.1 g/t from 180 metres to EOH.
Cross-section showing all RC drilling results from 25IWBRC0040, with a simple preliminary interpretation of geology. The section location is shown in Figure 2. The section shows all drilling within +/- 50m of the section plane.
These are the first assays from a 1,374-metre reverse circulation (RC) program designed to test below earlier air-core intercepts that outlined a 2.2-kilometre mineralised structure at Arrakis.
Fresh rock breakthrough
Yandal said the RC results demonstrate significant primary mineralisation within fresh rock, confirming continuity beneath weathered intercepts and showing potential for broad mineralised zones with sub-vertical geometry.
Example of rock chips obtained from 25IWBRC0040 between 155m and 160m downhole. RC chips from this interval display intense alteration, including silica-albite-carbonate alteration (+/- biotite, chlorite and sericite) with disseminated fine to medium-grained pyrite and arsenopyrite up to 5% within some chips, or as stringers parallel to fine veins or the dominant foliation.
Managing director Chris Oorschot described the outcome as a “significant milestone” for the project.
“In a region where gold remobilisation within the regolith profile is common and complex, fresh rock tests represent a significant milestone in de-risking and progressing exploration targets,” Oorschot said.
“These first results demonstrate significant primary fresh rock mineralisation, confirming the discovery of a new mineralised system at Arrakis and the capacity for this system to be large in scale."
“Well done to the Yandal team, whose resolve and focus on executing the long-term exploration strategy have been paramount to this success.”
Oorschot added that the Arrakis trend has been defined over more than 2.2 kilometres on widely spaced air-core lines, giving the discovery “substantial” growth potential as drilling tightens up.
A collar plan over the Arrakis Prospect within the Caladan target area, showing simplified bedrock geology interpretation. The locations of effective historic drilling (>20m depth, excluding all Eagle Mining and Hunter Resources RAB drilling from 1995) and all Yandal drilling are plotted. Collars are thematically coloured by max Au (g/t) in the hole. The red line represents the approximate position of the interpreted Arrakis mineralised structure. Dashed yellow polygons represent air-core regolith anomalies (Results include ~4m @ 0.1 g/t Au or greater, with the upper profile or the bottom-of-hole sample is 0.1g/t Au or greater).
Next steps
Yandal is awaiting assays from another five RC holes completed across the Arrakis trend, with results expected in the coming weeks. A diamond rig will be mobilised in October to extend hole 25IWBRC0041, while follow-up RC drilling is also planned along strike.
Two heritage surveys — one completed earlier this month and another scheduled for late September — will clear additional drill positions to allow systematic step-out drilling across the prospect.
Project context
Arrakis sits within the Caladan target area of the Ironstone Well–Barwidgee Gold Project, about 60 kilometres south of Northern Star’s Jundee operations and 18 kilometres north of the Siona discovery in the Yandal Greenstone Belt.
Yandal Resource exploration Project locations within the Yandal Greenstone Belt. The Arrakis Prospect is located within the Caladan target area.
Yandal said its exploration team remains well-funded and is pursuing an active work program for the rest of 2025, including further Arrakis drilling, initial results from air-core work at the New England Granite target area, and completion of the Gordons Gold Project sale to Horizon Minerals.