Caprice results deliver strongest grades yet
Results suggest gold grades increase with depth
Planning underway for phase 4 drilling program to begin in September
Special report: The final batch of assays from Caprice Resources' phase 3 RC campaign at Vadrian's prospect within the Island project in WA has returned high-grade gold in newly identified zones.
Results of up to two ounces per tonne were returned from a broad 5km by 1km target area across the Vadrian's system.
Assays for all 43 holes for 7,024m have been returned, with high-grade results extending Vadrian's strike to 350m and uncovering new mineralised zones at the Island project in the +15Moz Murchison goldfields.
As well as increasing confidence in Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) geological model, the results provide strong evidence that gold grades increase with depth.
Results include 10m at 10.9g/t Au from 123m, including 1m at 63.9g/t from 126m, and 9m at 14.8g/t from 154m as well as 1m at 33.1g/t from 159m.
At newly discovered lodes, results included 2m at 3.2g/t Au from 132m and 2m at 1.1g/t from 90m.
The Island target corridor remains open along its 5km in length and 1km in width, with drilling to date constrained to depths of less than 170 vertical metres below surface.
This leaves ample scope for additional discoveries of high-grade lodes.
Caprice believes the newly identified 'Condenser' target reinforces the fertility of the corridor, with early-stage results comparable to initial shallow hits at Vadrian's.
Drilling to rapidly define gold resource
Caprice CEO Luke Cox said the results not only reinforced the high-grade nature of the mineralised zones, but also the potential for scale, with gold mineralisation open in all directions.
'The identification of new gold lodes across the broader project area is also exciting, with results supporting the presence of stacked lodes and a large-scale mineralised corridor that continues to grow,' he said.
'These outcomes reinforce our strategic objective to rapidly define a high-grade, project-scale gold resource at the Island gold project, ideally located between two major regional processing hubs in the heart of the Murchison Goldfields.'
The Murchison is one of Australia's longest running goldfields, with infrastructure shaped by the historical mines scattered across the landscape.
Caprice's Island gold asset sits at the nexus of two big players, wedged between the domains of Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) and Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) who have mills they need to feed.
Any player with a decent find in the district will become a takeover target for the hungry titans of the 133-year-old gold field, with new players emerging at a time of record gold prices (~$5200/oz).
Caprice is already fast-tracking the planning of a Phase 4 program to build on previous drilling results as it moves towards delivering a maiden resource at Island.
Watch: Open intercepts show more deep potential
Phase 4 campaign
'This upcoming campaign will focus on extending known zones of high-grade gold mineralisation and further enhancing our geological understanding of the system,' Cox said.
'The combination of RC and diamond drilling is expected to provide the drill density required to support a robust resource model, while air core drilling will continue to test the broader IGP system for new discoveries.
Planning is well advanced for the Phase 4 drill program, which is fully funded and currently scheduled to kick off in September.
A new air core program will target prospective high-titanium basalt stratigraphy on the Western edge of the IGP.
A separate Q4 CY2025 air core programme is also planned to test the concealed BIF gold trend beneath the shallow Lake Austin sedimentary cover between New Orient and Vadrian's.
This article was developed in collaboration with Caprice Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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