Avira Resources Ltd (ASX:AVW) has started its inaugural 4,500-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Mt Cattlin Gold Project in Western Australia, targeting extensions to known high-grade gold mineralisation and testing two additional prospects.
The program is focused on the Sirdar and Maori Queen deposits, where previous drilling has returned high-grade intersections including 1 metre at 131.24 g/t gold, 6 metres at 50.07 g/t and 2 metres at 31.65 g/t.
Drilling will also test the Ellendale and Plantagenet prospects, which sit within the wider Mt Cattlin project area near Ravensthorpe in the Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt of the Yilgarn Craton.
Plan of Mt Cattlin Gold Project showing prospect locations and significant gram-metre pierce points. Cross Section & Long Section positions displayed.. Inset shows project extents within the tenement.
Program targets four prospects
The approved 4,500-metre RC program covers Sirdar, Maori Queen, Ellendale and Plantagenet, with all regulatory, environmental and heritage approvals in place.
Avira has designed the program in two phases: first, to define shallow extensions at the more advanced Sirdar and Maori Queen deposits; and second, to systematically drill-test Ellendale and Plantagenet to assess their resource potential.
At Sirdar, drilling will test shallow extensions above and adjacent to the current mineralisation envelope. The deposit has been defined over 115 metres of strike and to more than 100 metres depth, with mineralisation hosted in altered, stockwork quartz-veined dolerite.
Sirdar Long Section showing gram-metre pierce points, current mineralisation interpretation outline (red) and pegmatite sill (pink). Planned RC drill holes shown as blue points.
At Maori Queen, the company is targeting extensions below historical workings and further down-plunge. The deposit has been defined over 150 metres of strike and 100 metres down-dip and remains open at depth and along strike.
Maori Queen Cross Section A–A’ showing mineralisation interpretation outline (red) on interpreted geological model. Planned RC drill holes shown as blue traces.
Ellendale, 500 metres northwest of Sirdar, has returned historical results including 10 metres at 2.70 g/t gold and 13 metres at 1.51 g/t. Plantagenet, 600 metres west-southwest of Sirdar, has produced high-grade near-surface results including 4 metres at 18.52 g/t and 3 metres at 19.98 g/t.
“The arrival of the RC rig at Mt Cattlin marks the transition from preparation to active exploration,” Avira executive director James Robinson said.
“Our 4,500-metre program has been carefully designed: at Sirdar, we are targeting shallow extensions to a high-grade system that has already returned 131 g/t Au and 50 g/t Au, and at Maori Queen we are following the main and subsidiary lodes below the historical mining floor.
“Ellendale and Plantagenet are early-stage targets with highly encouraging historical results that warrant systematic drill-testing for the first time.”
Avira expects to release assay results progressively as they are received and interpreted during Q2 and Q3 2026.
The company is targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate for Mt Cattlin in Q3-Q4 2026.