- 01Second parallel Cu-Au lode ~300m south of Snow Queen.
- 02Second drill rig mobilised for 2026 regional campaign.
- 0315m @1.2% Cu; incl 5m @3.04% Cu.
Drilling by Austral Resources Australia (ASX: AR1) has identified a potential second parallel copper-gold lode approximately 300 metres south of the Snow Queen prospect within its Cameron River project in Queensland.
A second drill rig was recently mobilised at the project to accelerate a broader 2026 regional exploration campaign and test multiple high-priority prospects across Cameron River.
The project is located 60 kilometres from Austral’s Rocklands processing facility, which is currently in the process of being refurbished.
The company drilled a series of follow-up holes to an earlier Snow Queen campaign, intersecting 15m at 1.2% copper and 0.24 grams per tonne gold including 5m at 3.04% copper and 0.6g/t gold along the Santa Maria Trend.
Austral suggested further drilling would be required to confirm the lode’s continuity and geometry.
Parallel System Trend
Drilling intersected geology closely comparable to that encountered at Snow Queen, supporting the interpretation that Santa Maria represents a parallel trend within the same mineral system.
Austral has mobilised a second drill rig to accelerate its regional exploration campaign, with Snow Queen just one of more than 35 historical copper workings the company plans to conduct systematic drill testing on over the next 12-18 months.
The prospect has previously returned best surface sampling results of 2.7% copper, 0.13g/t gold, and 2.3g/t silver.
In May, Austral delivered copper grades of up to 15.98% from drilling at Snow Queen and confirmed the presence of high-grade mineralisation associated with a breccia system at the contact between the Hardway Granite and Corella Formation.
Additional Copper Mineralisation
Chair David Newling said the new discovery proved that Cameron River had potential to provide additional sources of high-grade copper mineralisation to leverage the Rocklands infrastructure.
“This result is a clear demonstration of our ability to generate and drill high-quality copper targets within our tenure,” he said.
“Snow Queen sits within a broader portfolio of satellite opportunities that underpin our strategy of building regional scale around Rocklands."
“We see significant value in testing these targets with the aim of identifying additional sources of copper mineralisation that could complement our existing operations.”
“Follow-up drilling is underway, and we look forward to updating shareholders as results are received.”
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