Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV, FRA:YBB) has upgraded the mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its Kookynie Gold Project in Western Australia, increasing confidence in the shallow high-grade portions of the deposit as the company advances towards a bankable feasibility study (BFS).
The updated MRE now stands at 855,000 tonnes at 4.4 g/t gold for 120,000 ounces, representing a modest 2.5% increase on the July 2025 estimate but, more importantly for the company, a substantial improvement in resource classification and development confidence.
Measured resources now account for 30,000 ounces grading 5.1 g/t gold, while Indicated resources total 50,000 ounces at 5.6 g/t. Combined Measured and Indicated material now makes up 67% of the total resource.
MRE for Kookynie Gold Project including Swiftsure and Tiptoe lodes.
The revised estimate follows an intensive infill drilling campaign completed during the first quarter of 2026, with Carnavale focusing on tightening drill spacing across the proposed open pit areas at the Swiftsure and Tiptoe lodes.
Section through Swiftsure mineralisation with proposed pit outline from October 2025 Scoping Study. New drilling labelled orange.
Management believes the higher-confidence resource base significantly reduces operational and financial risk ahead of a planned open pit mining operation, particularly during the early payback phase of the project.
“We are very pleased with the revised MRE as it significantly enhances the shallow potential open pit resources that confirms the continuity and grade within the bonanza gold zone,” Carnavale managing director Humphrey Hale said.
Carnavale Resources tenements with area of MLA (yellow) showing area of proposed open pit.
High-grade core supports underground upside
The updated resource continues to highlight the unusually high-grade nature of the Swiftsure system, including what the company describes as a “bonanza” core zone extending beneath the proposed open pit.
Carnavale said the Swiftsure lode contains about 60,000 tonnes grading more than 29 g/t gold for 56,000 contained ounces within steeply plunging high-grade shoots that remain open at depth.
The project’s shallow open pit component — defined as material above the 320m reduced level — contains 409,000 tonnes at 3.9 g/t gold for 52,000 ounces. More than half of that shallow inventory now sits in the measured category.
MRE for Kookynie Gold Project including Swiftsure and Tiptoe lodes by location.
“The new drilling converts the shallow open pit resource to 58% Measured and an overall 81% in Measured and Indicated, which significantly derisks the project in terms of grade distribution, ore scheduling and is expected to strengthen the financial outcomes during the important initial two years of open pit mining," Hale said.
Below the proposed pit shell, the underground resource totals 446,000 tonnes at 4.8 g/t gold for 68,000 ounces.
Carnavale’s broader development strategy centres on establishing a relatively low-capex mining operation using contract miners and third-party toll treatment infrastructure already operating across the Leonora-Kalgoorlie region.
The company noted multiple operating mills lie within trucking distance of Kookynie, including facilities at Leonora, Davyhurst, Mt Morgans, Laverton and Kalgoorlie.
Plan of processing plants and operating gold mines within trucking distance.
BFS work advances towards Q3 completion
Carnavale said the BFS remains on schedule and budget, with updated pit optimisation work already under way incorporating revised geotechnical data, hydrology studies, metallurgical work and stronger gold price assumptions.
The company expects the BFS to be completed during the September quarter of 2026.
Initial metallurgical testing has also delivered encouraging results, with recoveries ranging between 97% and 99% from oxide and fresh rock samples.
Importantly for economics, Carnavale said the project’s cut-off grades remain robust despite rising processing and haulage costs, supported by the sharp increase in Australian dollar gold prices since the previous study work was completed.
Exploration upside still open
While the current MRE focuses only on the Swiftsure and Tiptoe lodes, Carnavale said significant exploration upside remains across the broader Kookynie tenure package.
Mineralisation at both deposits remains open at depth and along strike, while additional targets including McTavish North, Champion South and Valiant could add further ounces through future drilling campaigns.
Plan of Kookynie Gold Project with prospects and Swiftsure proposed.
The company also recently completed a gravity survey aimed at identifying further undercover mineralisation associated with the broader Kookynie shear system.
Carnavale originally discovered the Swiftsure mineralisation in 2022 before rapidly expanding the system through subsequent drilling campaigns.
The project sits within the historic Kookynie gold district near the former Cosmopolitan mine, which historically produced more than 331,000 ounces grading about 15g/t gold.