Artemis on 5000m Pilbara drill drive
Artemis Resources to launch 5000m drill program to expand Carlow gold project
Includes 3800m of wide-spaced diamond drilling to enhance 374,000oz gold and 64,000t copper Carlow deposits
Application for potential new IOCG prospect at Cassowary near Kalgoorlie
Special Report: Artemis Resources is about to embark on a key drilling program seeking to expand one of the most prominent gold and copper resources in WA's legendary Pilbara region.
While it doesn't have the scale (yet) of a Hemi or Karlawinda, Artemis (ASX:ARV) has used the gold price boom to refocus its attention on the 374,000oz gold and 64,000t copper Carlow gold project.
Its gold bounty is likely to be far more extensive than previously known, essentially proven in early drilling conducted under the watch of new managing director and ASX exploration legend Julian Hanna, which found a headline hit of 7m at 2.9g/t Au (including 1m at 15.3g/t) 600m from the existing resource.
A 3800m diamond drill program will chase extensions beyond the limit of current drilling, including to close the knowledge gap across that 600m divide.
The wide-spaced drill program will also follow up an historic intersection of 4m at 11.1g/t Au and 2% Cu some 120m below the limits of the Carlow resource shell, with drilling showing the mineralisation there remains open below 380m.
On top of that, a dedicated project manager has been appointed to oversee technical studies including metallurgical testwork, conceptual mining studies and a review of processing options.
'The next few months should be an exciting period for Artemis with drill programs aimed at growing the scale of the Carlow project and technical studies required to move Carlow towards possible feasibility and early development stages,' Hanna said.
'The first priority is widely spaced diamond drilling to scope out potential for significant extensions to the high-grade gold and copper lodes along strike and below the mineral resource announced in October 2022, and to provide core samples for metallurgical testwork.'
Golden opportunity
The Carlow extension drilling in the September quarter will use large diameter drill holes to collect samples for met testwork.
Wide-spaced drilling, which follows the March quarter program, detailed surface mapping and a hole by hole review of more than 400 historical holes will test a new interpretation of the geology at the site.
It will target two areas: the 600m-long zone along strike from Carlow East, which extends below the Andover Intrusion, and a 1500m-long zone below the Carlow West and East resources.
'5-6 diamond holes spaced 200m apart are initially planned to scope out potential for high grade lodes extending into the two target areas,' Artemis says.
'These areas are supported by high-grade gold intersected in two historic and recent holes (20CCDD003 and 25ARDD001) and by the new geological interpretation of low angle thrusting continuing below Carlow.'
But there's more on the agenda.
A 1200m drill program using low cost reverse circulation techniques will also kick off in the September quarter, zeroing in on the Titan geophysical anomalies, where high grade surface gold has been found just 2km west of Carlow.
'RC drilling at Titan will initially test a near-circular ~400m wide gravity anomaly (G1) with small outcrops of brecciated and sheared chert which returned assays up to 41.4g/t gold (sample ID: 24AR28-048 reported January 28, 2025) from surface samples of ferruginous chert,' Hanna said.
'RC drilling is also planned across the Titan thrust zone to test the wider potential of this unusual feature. A heritage survey to enable wider access for drilling at Titan is scheduled in July.'
The first target is G1, an anomaly 700m west of Artemis drilling which peaked at 1m at 16.4g/t in porphyry. Ten shallow RC holes are planned there after a heritage survey scheduled for mid-July.
Artemis will launch into a 5000m drill program at Carlow and Titan in the September quarter. Pic: ARV
Watch: Artemis joins forces with GreenTech Metals for lithium JV
Last but not least
Not content just with its Pilbara quarry, Artemis has gazed out further for early stage exploration opportunities, placing its foot on the Cassowary Intrusion.
There it hopes to uncover a potential iron oxide copper-gold discovery – the style responsible for the mammoth Aussie copper and gold deposits at Olympic Dam, Oak Dam, Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Ernest Henry – 450km east of Kalgoorlie.
An application has been made for an exploration licence at the project, where the target elucidated from regional magnetic data appears to sit below an estimated 250-300m of Eucla Basin sediments based on diamond drilling of other prospects in the region.
An interpretation of the magnetic data shows the Cassowary Intrusion is large, sitting over 5km wide, and occurs in a 'unique geological setting on the margin of the >500km long Madura Crustal Boundary at the intersection with a cross-cutting fault.'
The ground around Cassowary is hot property for mining majors. Pic: ARV
'The Company's other outstanding exploration project is the interpreted Cassowary Intrusion which occurs in a unique geological setting on the margin of a >500km long north-east trending crustal boundary, with surrounding geology disrupted over 10s of kms,' Hanna said.
'Cassowary is a rare opportunity to drill for possible IOCG type copper/gold mineralisation. Artemis's 330km2 EL application which covers Cassowary is expected to be granted in September Quarter and planning is underway for a gravity survey to assist drill targeting.
'We look forward to reporting progress on these three gold and copper opportunities as soon as possible.'
Nearby tenement applicants in the surrounding region include WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1) and Canadian giant Teck Resources, which has applied for seven ELs, showing the scale of the opportunity.
This article was developed in collaboration with Artemis 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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