Latest news with #CapriceResources
West Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Big Hits: Caprice, Stavely and Patriot Battery Metals
Bulls N' Bears Big Hits looks at notable drill intercepts recently reported to the ASX. Caprice Resources' Island gold project south of Cue in Western Australia hit 11 metres grading 17.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 9m at 21g/t gold from 170m. Other interesting drill hits were reported at Stavely Minerals' Fairview prospect in Victoria, while Patriot Battery Metals made a big caesium discovery in Quebec, Canada. Caprice Resources (ASX: CRS) Project: Island gold project, WA's Mid West region Hit: 11m at 17.3g/t gold, including 9m at 21g/t from 170m Caprice Resources struck gold with its standout 11m at 17.3g/t gold intercept, including 9m at 21g/t from 170m downhole at the company's Vadrian's target within its Island gold project in the Meekatharra–Cue–Mt Magnet greenstone belt in WA's Murchison region. The high-grade hit from the company's first batch of samples from its phase three reverse circulation (RC) drilling program confirms the Evening Star lode as a significant discovery, doubling its strike length to 350m and extending mineralisation at depth, where it remains open. Supporting this top result, additional high-grade gold intercepts from the final batch of phase three assays at Vadrian's include 9m at 14.8g/t from 154m, including 1m at 33.1g/t from 159m; 5m at 18.3g/t from 180m, including 1m at 62.6g/t; and 10m at 10.9g/t from 123m, including 1m at 63.9g/t. Earlier phase three gold results also romped home with 10m at 11.7g/t from 175m, including 8m assaying 14.4g/t from 176m downhole and 9m at 8.3g/t from 94m. Further potential is shown at the company's New Orient prospect, 1 kilometre south, in a notable intercept of 21m at 1.3g/t from 29m, including 2m going 9.2g/t gold from 46m. The mineralisation remains open to the north and down dip. Caprice holds more than 1800 square kilometres of prospective WA ground, with 240 square kilometres across its Murchison gold projects, including the Island, New Orient and Cuddingwarra. Island spans a 5km-long, 700m–1000m-wide corridor, which hosts gold in units of banded iron formation up to 30m thick, a key host rock in the Murchison Goldfields. High-grade gold is associated with north-northwest / south-southeast trending en echelon vein sets and major crosscutting structures, mirroring the region's more-than-15-million-ounce total gold endowment in deposits. The company has also discovered two new mineralised zones - West Star, with 2m at 3.2g/t gold from 132m and at Condenser, with 2m at 1.1g/t from 90m which reinforce the potential for other stacked lodes across the corridor. Drilling to date has been limited to 170m below surface, leaving significant depth potential unexplored. The company's phase three drilling program comprised 43 RC holes for 7024m and was completed in June. All assays have been received and the results confirm increasing gold grades at depth, satisfyingly validating the geological model. Additionally, laboratory analysis confirms free gold in the intercepts, which will facilitate processing and refining. Island's structural and geological setting, with banded iron formation units and crosscutting structures, is in keeping with other high-grade deposits in the Murchison. Caprice is steadily moving towards a maiden mineral resource estimate with a fully funded phase four program of 20,000m of air core, RC and diamond drilling planned for September. The company anticipates the work will extend high-grade zones and provide structural data. An air core program slated for the last quarter of the year will target an undrilled 1000m-long banded iron formation trending beneath Lake Austin's sediment cover, between New Orient and Vadrian's, as well as high-titanium basalt stratigraphy on Island's western edge, which is similar to the Break of Day deposits. The Island project contains many of the historic mines in the Lake Austin gold mining centre and comprises two granted mining leases and one exploration licence. It sits between Ramelius Resources and Westgold Resources' processing infrastructure in the heart of the Murchison gold district. Meanwhile, Caprice's 1500-square-kilometre West Arunta project, targeting gold, copper and niobium/rare earths, is capitalising on its multiple high-priority targets. These include analogues of WA1's Luni discovery and its 200Mt at 1 per cent niobium pentoxide mineral resource. With high-grade hits at Vadrian's, new zones at West Star and Condenser, and a strategic mix of RC, diamond and air core drilling planned, Caprice is well-positioned to unlock further value at its Island project, potentially defining a significant gold resource in the Murchison. Stavely Minerals (ASX: SVY) Project: Fairview North and South prospects in the Stavely copper-gold project , Western Victoria Hit: 1m at 49.2g/t gold from 10m Stavely Minerals has uncovered high-grade gold at its Stavely copper-gold project in western Victoria, with significant results from RC drilling at its Fairview North and South prospects. The standout assay from Fairview South revealed 1m at 49.2g/t gold from 10m within a broader 40m at 1.96g/t from surface, including 17m at 4.18g/t from 9m and 9m at 7.15g/t from 9m. Other Fairview South results include 42m at 1.14g/t from a previous RC hole, with 9m at 3g/t, and an air core hole assaying 29m at 1.42g/t from surface. Geological mapping and rock-chip sampling at Fairview South extended the mineralised zone 600m south, with high-grade assays from brecciated, quartz-veined and gossanous samples yielding up to 25.6g/t, 8.79g/t, and 4.49g/t gold. Eight float samples showed anomalous gold above 0.1g/t, including 0.41g/t in massive gossan with quartz crystals. The prospect features intermediate and felsic intrusive dykes near a gravity low tied to rhyolite intrusions at the intersection of a north-south gold trend and a west-northwest structure. At Fairview North, 4.3km north, RC drilling yielded 59m at 1.31g/t from surface, including 27m at 2.33g/t with 3m at 10.81g/t from 19m, alongside 42m at 1.57g/t from 23m, including 8m at 4.76g/t, and 29m at 0.96g/t from surface, with 6m at 3.46g/t gold. Fairview North's RC drilling confirmed well-developed, shallow, potentially heap-leachable gold mineralisation. Bottle-roll cyanide leach tests from 2017 indicate 72.6 per cent to 98.4 per cent gold recovery after 120 hours, and column leach tests showing 81.9 per cent to 95.8 per cent recovery. The mineralisation aligns within a northwest-trending corridor with three sinusoidal structural zones, guiding further RC drilling to expand the footprint. The Fairview prospects suggest a significant mineralised structure potentially spans 10km. Stavely's forward program includes additional RC drilling to test structural geometries and composite metallurgical testwork to assess low-cost heap leach recovery options. The company's high-grade gold hits and promising leach test results at both of its Fairview prospects signal a growing mineralised system, with ongoing drilling poised to unlock further potential in this emerging gold-copper play. P atriot Battery Minerals (ASX: PMT) Project: Shaakichiuwaanaan, Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec, Canada. Hits: 156.9m at 2.12 per cent lithium oxide; 1.1m at 26.61 per cent caesium oxide Patriot Battery Metals has confirmed the world's largest pollucite-hosted caesium resource at its Shaakichiuwaanaan project in Quebec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, complementing its globally significant lithium and tantalum pegmatites. The project, featuring CV5 and CV13 pegmatites, ranks as the largest lithium resource in the Americas and a top-tier critical minerals hub. The standout lithium intercept is 156.9m at 2.12 per cent lithium oxide, including 25m at 5.04 per cent lithium oxide and 5m at 6.36 per cent lithium oxide from the CV5 pegmatite. CV5 hosts the bulk of the project's lithium, with an indicated resource of 108 million tonnes at 1.40 per cent lithium oxide and 166 parts per million (ppm) tantalum pentoxide, plus an inferred 33.4Mt at 1.33 per cent lithium oxide and 155ppm tantalum pentoxide. The top tantalum pentoxide intercept is 5.4m at 356ppm within 31.6m at 0.95 per cent lithium oxide. The caesium discovery shines in the Rigel and Vega zones in the CV13 pegmatite. The top caesium intercept is 1.1m at 26.61 per cent caesium oxide from the Rigel zone, with another notable hit of 5m at 13.2 per cent caesium oxide, including 2m at 22.9 per cent caesium oxide. CV13's resource includes Rigel's indicated 163,000t at 10.25 per cent caesium oxide and 1.78 per cent lithium oxide, and Vega's indicated 530,000t at 2.61 per cent caesium oxide and 2.23 per cent lithium oxide. It has an inferred 1,698,000t at 2.40 per cent caesium oxide and 1.81 per cent lithium oxide for a total 30,599t indicated and 40,800t inferred caesium oxide. Caesium is exclusive to CV13, with no significant occurrences in CV5. Caesium is supply constrained and is used in drilling fluids, optical glass and atomic clocks for internet and mobile networks. Historically, only a few mines have produced caesium, often as a lithium by-product, including Sinomine's Tanco mine in Canada, the Bikita mine in Zimbabwe and Pioneer Resources' Sinclair mine in the WA Goldfields. Power Metals' Case Lake project in Ontario recently reported a 13,000t inferred resource at 2.4 per cent caesium oxide, but Shaakichiuwaanaan's scale – with 30,599t indicated and 40,800t inferred caesium oxide - positions it as the global leader. The project's lithium resource, the eighth largest globally, as well as a potential further tantalum resource enhance its strategic value. Patriot is advancing a scoping metallurgical program using X-ray ore sorting to optimise pollucite recovery from the Vega zone drill core, alongside lithium and tantalum co-recovery. Further drilling aims to upgrade inferred resources and support geo-mechanical studies and the company is planning a lithium-focused feasibility study this quarter. Shaakichiuwaanaan's world-class caesium, lithium and tantalum resources position Patriot as a key player in North American and European critical mineral supply chains, with ongoing work set to unlock its multi-commodity potential. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
The Australian
07-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Caprice results deliver strongest grades yet
Caprice intercepts gold in new zones across the Vadrian's system 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.
The Australian
05-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Long Shortz with Caprice Resources: Vadrian's drilling shows widespread gold potential
Tylah Tully chats with Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) CEO Luke Cox about the company's latest assay results from Phase 3 drilling at the Vadrian's prospect, located within the company's Island gold project in Western Australia. These latest results are some of the best to date for Caprice, with intercepts deeper than anything seen so far during Vadrian's drilling. They also remain open showing potential at depth. Watch the video to learn more. This video was developed in collaboration with Caprice Resources, a Stockhead client at the time of publishing. The interviews and discussions in this video are opinions only and not financial or investment advice. Viewers should obtain independent advice based on their own circumstances before making any financial decisions. Sponsored Drilling by Albion Resources at Yandal West's Collavilla prospect has returned high-grade results such as 4m at 19.2g/t gold within 8m at 9.7g/t with further potential at depth. Sponsored Compumedics secures lucrative multiple Somfit sales as East Coast Research sees an almost 140pc upside to its current target price.
News.com.au
19-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
The Murchison goldfields could be the best place in WA to find a new gold mine
The Murchison is one of the best places in WA to explore for gold Competitive tension between major players Westgold and Ramelius puts toll treatment and takeovers on the agenda for juniors Caprice Resources is in the sweet spot, wedged between the fiefdoms of WGX and RMS In one of Australia's longest running gold fields, its infrastructure literally shaped by the historic mines the run like arteries through its landscape, two great fiefdoms have emerged. To the north of the Murchison, centred around the historic gold rush towns of Cue and Meekatharra, is the territory of Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX), which mills over 200,000oz of the precious metal every year through plants at Tuckabianna, Bluebird and Fortnum. To the south is Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS), the king of the town of Mt Magnet, which has a similar production footprint out of its Checkers Mill and is charting a path to 500,000ozpa by incorporating Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) and its Dalgaranga gold project. The competitive tension is palpable, highlighted in 2023 by the battle between the warring parties for Musgrave Minerals and its Cue gold project – RMS won the bidding there. Westgold ended up merging with TSX-listed Karora to take on its Beta Hunt mine further south near Kambalda, but was at one point a suitor for Spartan forerunner Gascoyne before its fateful Never Never gold discovery. 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. And new players are emerging that makes it even more exciting, especially with gold prices running above $5200/oz. Meeka Metals (ASX:MEK) raised $60m this week for its Meekatharra gold project, where it is mulling the expansion of the project's 600,000tpa mill. Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU) is chasing life extensions for the Deflector gold and copper mine, TSX-listed Monument Mining is looking to revive the mothballed Burnakura plant and Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) has hit a $1.5bn valuation with its revival of the Plutonic gold mine further afield beyond Meekatharra. For Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) managing director Luke Cox, there's no better place to be looking for a fresh gold deposit in the context of an all-time boom for the precious metal, revealed by the WA Government to be contributing a record $739 million in royalties for the resource rich State alone in 2024-2025 and heading for higher climes of close to $1bn in each of 2026 and 2027. Caprice's New Orient and Island gold projects sit at the nexus of the two big players, wedged literally between the domains of Westgold and Ramelius. "You have two major players butted up against each other in the Murchison goldfields," Cox said. "They have mills they need to feed and all of a sudden you've got the explorers, which are like the incubators for future resources within the area that will feed their mills." Fill the mills It's known Westgold is chasing additional feed for its processing plants, especially shallow open pit gold that can supplement the underground mines under its control like Big Bell and Great Fingall. The $2.8bn gold miner has already inked a deal with New Murchison Gold (ASX:NMG) to process ore containing around 140,000oz over 2.5 years through its Bluebird plant near Meekatharra from the junior's Crown Prince gold deposit. Ramelius, meanwhile, has been acquisitive in recent years, bolting on higher quality but short live resources like the Penny gold mine and Break of Day, the latter literally located next door to Caprice's ground. CRS has a headstart on permitting. Its New Orient and Island projects sit on separate granted mining leases, removing a critical hurdle to get any gold project up and running given the time it takes to secure Aboriginal heritage clearances and State Government approval to have a mining lease granted. Now the aim is to drill out something worthy of getting the mid-tiers intrigued. The Vadrians Hill prospect at Island has already shown its wares – a headline strike of 28m at 6.4g/t in February proved the catalyst for the $37m capped explorer's 160% YTD share price rise. A 7000m program recently wrapped up, with 2000m added to an initial 5000m campaign as gold continued to show. Work is also ongoing to prove up the tighter drilled New Orient, where a historic resource was once reported. In the more than two decades since drilling has gotten denser, deeper and expanded the known strike of gold mineralisation, Cox says. At Vadrians, the aim is to outline a potential open pit with drilling continuing to find more gold. "Initially we're looking at open pit material because that'll be the material that's of more interest to potential players in the area," he said. "When you look at (Ramelius') Break of Day, we'll be chasing one of these to depth, either Baxter or Vadrians, North Vadrians, South Vadrians, we've just got a new discovery down here. " There's always things that we can start to chase. " At the moment, we're doing the shallower drilling, and then we'll start following up with deeper drilling. That's where you start getting some significant ounces." The critical thing for companies like Ramelius and Westgold is to keep their mills fed to the optimum level. Cox, who was once mine manager at the Edna May gold mine in WA, pointed out they need to run at a critical mass or the ball mills – rotating barrels that grind down and liberate gold from mineralised ore before it is leached with cyanide – literally "eat themselves". The steel balls which act as the grinding media can erode against each other without the right amount of ore to act as a buffer. Filling the mills isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. Handily, work completed by previous owners has shown the ore at Island is similar to that which has been processed at Ramelius' Checkers mill for decades. Caprice will be taking its own samples for metallurgical testwork in upcoming diamond drilling. The golden radius Forget the golden ratio, the golden radius has become the key equation for mill operators in WA's hot gold scene. Back in his Edna May days, Cox recalls drawing a 100km circle around the Westonia mine's processing plant. Everything inside was fair game for M&A or toll treatment deals. With gold prices at record highs, that circle is expanding. Mines now located between 100-200km from a processing plant can be comfortably trucked and milled at a profit. Where Caprice thinks its ground position stands out is that if the gold price were to collapse, that radius could shrink to 50km. "If the gold price goes down to US$1500/oz, what are you going to do? If the gold price goes up to US$5000/oz, how are you going to bang for as much material as possible to make like hay while the sun shines?" Cox said. "So you need all of these juniors to prove up resources that become potential feed sources for there mills." For CRS, Cox said the key thing was it knows the gold is there in the ground, it just needs to do the work to prove up deposits of significance, and recently raised a cool $7m in quick time from investors to do just that. Who else is aiming to join the Murchison empire? There are plenty of other gold explorers looking to outline and mine resources across the historic Murchison Goldfields. Aforementioned New Murchison Gold is an obvious one, given their processing tie-up with Westgold and denied media speculation of a takeover approach from WGX last last month. NMG is planning to develop Crown Prince at a cost of just $5.4m in the second half of this year, with its ore reserve running at 890,000t at 4.8g/t for 140,000oz. Odyssey Gold (ASX:ODY) owns the Tuckanarra project where it boasts a significant resource of 407,000oz at 2.5g/t, as well as an access and collaboration agreement to potentially process the ore with its joint venture partner Monument Mining at the Burnakura mill. Monument is currently looking into the reopening of the plant and its expansion from 260,000tpa to 750,000tpa. Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) owns the Side Well gold project, containing over 500,000oz on Meekatharra's doorstep and is regularly touted as a potential takeover prospect for Westgold. Further afield Strata Minerals (ASX:SMX) is looking to see if the mineralisation hosting Ramelius' ultra high grade Penny gold mine continues to the south. Initial drill results returned some low grade gold hits, but provided encouragement to plan another round of drilling. Closer to Wiluna on the cusp of the Murchison and Northern Goldfields, Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) is planning FID on its Gold Duke utilising a processing deal with the operators of the Wiluna gold mine. The site would deliver 447,000t at 2.55g/t Au for 34,000oz according to a scoping study, generating an estimated undiscounted accumulated cash surplus of $38.10 million against a capital bill of just $2.1-2.5m. Star Minerals (ASX:SMS) is also aiming to become a small-scale gold producer at its Tumblegum South project, with India's Bain Global Resources on board as a strategic investor. With the Indian mining contractor's help it wants to bring Tumblegum South into production in early 2026. A scoping study suggested at gold prices from A$3000 to A$3800/oz – well below current levels – the updated production target for the Tumblegum South Gold Project ranges from approximately 167,000t at 2.43g/t producing 11,800oz gold, to 255,000t at 2.16g/t producing 15,900oz gold. That would generate an undiscounted accumulated cash surplus after payment of all working capital costs, but excluding pre-mining capital requirements, of approximately A$9.4m to A$19.6m. Tumblegum South contains a total resource of 45,000oz.
Herald Sun
16-06-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Long Shortz with Caprice Resources: $7M to fund gold exploration in the Murchison
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Tylah Tully chats with Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) CEO Luke Cox after the company raised $7 million dollars to advance exploration at its Murchison gold projects. Plans include RC, aircore and diamond drilling at the Island Gold Project and aircore drilling at the Cuddingwarra Project. A 7,000m drilling program was just completed at Island, with assays expected shortly. Watch the video to learn more. This video was developed in collaboration with Caprice Resources, a Stockhead client at the time of publishing. The interviews and discussions in this video are opinions only and not financial or investment advice. Viewers should obtain independent advice based on their own circumstances before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Long Shortz with Caprice Resources: $7M to fund gold exploration in the Murchison Stockhead Verity Resources is aiming to upgrade and boost resources at its Monument gold project as nearby M&A shines a light on its value. Stockhead Control Bionics is on track for record revenue in FY25 driven by strong performance in the US and growth in Australia.
