Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV, FRA:YBB) earlier this week reported a fresh set of bonanza-grade gold results from infill reverse circulation and diamond drilling at the Kookynie Gold Project in Western Australia, with the work reinforcing confidence in the continuity of high-grade mineralisation ahead of a bankable feasibility study due in early Q3 2026.
Chief executive Humphrey Hale said the latest results from the Swiftsure and Tiptoe deposits were important because they supported both grade and continuity within the proposed pit shells. He said standout intercepts at Swiftsure included 7 metres at 28.3 g/t gold from 71 metres, 6 metres at 27.7 g/t from 97 metres, 5.4 metres at 29.5 g/t from 106 metres, 5 metres at 24.0 g/t from 61 metres and 3 metres at 37.2 g/t from 74 metres, while diamond drilling returned 1.63 metres at 53.8 g/t gold from 73.8 metres.
Hale said the company regarded these as substantial grades and argued they were likely to be significant for project profitability. He added that the latest drilling was giving the company “great confidence in the continuity” of the high-grade zones, addressing one of the key questions often associated with coarse or high-grade mineralisation.
He said detailed drilling had also enabled Carnavale to refine its wireframes, which should help support a resource update. In turn, that work could potentially move parts of the current indicated resource into the measured category, a step that Hale said may help the project advance to mining more quickly.
A key catalyst from here is the completion of the BFS in early Q3 2026. Hale said much of the groundwork had already been completed, including the grant of a mining lease as well as heritage and environmental survey work. Another important catalyst will be the finalisation of a toll treatment arrangement, which is central to Carnavale’s development strategy.
Rather than pursue a standalone processing plant, the company is assessing a contract mining and toll treatment model. Hale said this approach could materially reduce upfront capital requirements and simplify the development pathway, because Carnavale would not need to fund, build or permit its own mill. He also said the project’s location within trucking distance of multiple Goldfields processing plants strengthened that option, although he cautioned that not all mills are suited to high-grade ore.
Hale further pointed to exploration upside below the current drilling, noting that high-grade shoots in the Kookynie district have historically extended to depth. That suggests the present resource growth and development work could be accompanied by a deeper exploration opportunity as the company continues advancing the project.
Interview highlights
- Carnavale Resources reported a fresh round of bonanza-grade gold results from infill RC and diamond drilling at the Kookynie Gold Project.
- The latest drilling further supported continuity of high-grade mineralisation at the Swiftsure and Tiptoe deposits.
- Key Swiftsure intercepts included 7m at 28.3 g/t gold, 6m at 27.7 g/t, 5.4m at 29.5 g/t, 5m at 24.0 g/t and 3m at 37.2 g/t.
- Diamond drilling also returned 1.63m at 53.8 g/t gold.
- Humphrey Hale said the drilling gave the company greater confidence in the continuity of the high-grade zones.
- Detailed drilling has helped refine wireframes and support a resource update aimed at moving indicated resources into measured resources.
- The company is advancing a development strategy based on contract mining and toll treatment rather than constructing its own mill.
- Hale said this approach could reduce capital requirements and shorten the timeline to mining.
- Carnavale already has a granted mining lease and has completed heritage and environmental survey work.
- The bankable feasibility study remains on track for completion in early Q3 2026.
- The company also sees exploration upside at depth, based on the nature of high-grade shoots in the district.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. I’m your host, Kerry Stevenson, and Humphrey Hale, CEO of Carnavale Resources, has come back to have a chat with us. The ASX code is CAV. The company has come out with an announcement today, and the announcement says bonanza-grade gold confirmed with feasibility firmly on track. So talk to us about this bonanza-grade gold, Humphrey.
Humphrey Hale: People do throw that word around quite freely, but it does apply to the project here at Kookynie. The company has very high-grade shoot mineralisation that sits within the pit and continues underground, running at almost an ounce grade. The recent results include 7 metres at about 28 g/t, 6 metres at about 28 g/t, 5.5 metres at 29 g/t, 5 metres at 24 g/t, 8 metres at 15 g/t, 3 metres at 37 g/t and 1.5 metres at 54 g/t. There are some substantial numbers, and the company thinks that is really important for the profitability of the project.
At Swiftsure and Tiptoe, another pit around 200 metres away, there were also strong results including 3 metres at 26 g/t, 10 metres at 4 g/t and 2 metres at 16 g/t. Again, there are superior grades in those pits and they start just below the alluvial material, around 20 metres down.
Proactive: Do these numbers surprise you to the upside? They are staggering, in my opinion.
Humphrey Hale: They are staggering. The issue with measuring high grade like this is understanding how far it goes and how continuous the mineralisation is. This work is giving the company great confidence in the continuity of the modelling and in the continuity of these high grades, which provide strong cash flow for what the company calls a niche deposit.
The company has also had the opportunity with the detailed drilling to fill in the wireframes. That allows more ounces to be added into the resource at a high level of confidence. The wireframes, surfaces and drilling database have now been provided for a new resource update. That should bring what are now indicated resources into measured resources and allow the project to move to mining very quickly.
Proactive: When you say “very quickly”, give us some time frames.
Humphrey Hale: That is fair. Any project can have delays and hurdles, but the fewer hurdles there are, the easier it is to get into production. At Kookynie, the company is looking at a contract mining and toll treatment operation. It plans to dig up the material, transport it and toll treat it somewhere in the Goldfields. Because it is high grade, it can be trucked a long way. The project is about 60 kilometres from Leonora and 180 kilometres from Kalgoorlie, which is well within trucking distance, and there are many processing plants in that area.
That means the company does not need to raise the capital to build a mill, manage the timetable to build a mill, or obtain the permitting for a mill. Instead, the key permitting is around the pit, crushing and waste dump. Much of the work has already been done. The company already has its mining lease granted, has completed heritage surveys to determine layout options, and has undertaken environmental surveys for water flow and plant species.
The company is now putting together the bankable feasibility study, which should be delivered on time somewhere around early Q3 2026 as all the information comes together.
Proactive: On the toll treatment side, are there already conversations underway with groups in the area? It is appealing that the company does not need to build a mill because that is capital intensive.
Humphrey Hale: Absolutely. The company will be paying to truck material down the road, but that is far less capital intensive than building a mill. However, it is not as simple as having mills line up automatically. Some mills cannot take high-grade ore. Carnavale has the assistance of JT Metallurgical Consultants to help manage the process and determine which processing plants are most appropriate. That is an ongoing process and will fit together with the final bankable feasibility study. To make the study bankable, the company needs to define that toll treatment arrangement.
Proactive: My final question: with these bonanza grades, do you think there is a source for this? If the company drills deeper, could there be something bigger?
Humphrey Hale: That is probably fair to say. In this part of Kookynie, it is known that high-grade shoots can go deep. Nearby deposits have gone down much deeper, and examples in the district show that these systems can continue to depth. So the company sees substantial upside in the exploration and is planning to build on that as soon as it can.
Proactive: They are getting on with the job and there is lots of news flow to come, with the BFS due in early Q3 2026. Humphrey Hale, CEO of Carnavale Resources, great to see you and we look forward to chatting again soon.
Humphrey Hale: Thanks, Kerry.