- 01Maiden Island resource: 522,000oz at 2.6g/t.
- 02340,000oz at 5.8g/t; 52% Indicated.
- 0350,000m drilling underway; 500,000–900,000oz target.
Caprice Resources (ASX: CRS) has established a maiden mineral resource estimate of 6.16 million tonnes at 2.6 grams per tonne gold for 522,000 ounces at its Island gold project in Western Australia.
The resource includes a higher-grade component of 340,000oz at 5.8g/t, predominantly associated with the Vadrians deposit in the Murchison goldfields.
About 52% of contained gold is classified as Indicated, providing an initial level of geological confidence while extensive drilling continues beyond the resource boundaries.
Caprice has separately identified a conceptual exploration target of 500,000oz to 900,000oz, with the company pursuing further resource growth through its ongoing 50,000-metre drilling campaign.
Higher-Grade Resource
Central Island accounts for 498,000oz of the MRE, comprising 5.90Mt at 2.6g/t, while New Orient contributes 24,000oz at 2.8g/t and is entirely classified as Inferred.
The 340,000oz higher-grade component comprises 1.8Mt at 5.8g/t using a 3.0g/t reporting cut-off, and is a subset of the total resource rather than additional ounces.
Within the Central Island open-pit reporting shells, the Vadrians mineralised domain contains 252,000oz at 3.3g/t, with higher-grade mineralisation continuing into fresh rock.
Initial metallurgical test work at Vadrians returned recoveries of up to 94% using conventional gravity and carbon-in-leach processing, supporting its free-milling characteristics.
Extended Exploration Scope
The additional exploration target covers a conceptual 8Mt to 12Mt at 2.0g/t to 2.5g/t across prospective ground excluded from the reported MRE.
Target areas include extensions of banded iron formation (BIF) horizons along North and South Island, largely undrilled Western Island ground and mineralisation concealed beneath Southern Lake sediments.
At the Gap Zone between Vadrians and New Orient, assays remain outstanding from 5,376m of drilling, offering another immediate source of information for geological interpretation.
The company intends to test the broader conceptual target in stages over approximately 24 months, subject to drilling results, access and funding.
Drilling Targets Further Growth
The 50,000m program includes reverse circulation, air core, and diamond drilling designed to test mineralisation along strike and at depth, with two rigs working on extensions, infill definition, and additional discovery prospects.
"When we started exploration at the Island in December 2024, it had only ever been tested by small clusters of shallow drill holes—fast-forward to today and it's a half-million-ounce mineral resource at 2.6 grams per tonne gold, with a high-grade core running almost six grams per tonne,” managing director Luke Cox said.
“As our technical understanding expands, the company remains firmly focused on our next goal of +1moz.”
“We are just over halfway through our current 50,000m drill campaign and this maiden MRE is essentially a line in the sand—we're working hard to build on it quickly."
Caprice reported $9.5 million in cash at 30 September and an initial discovery cost of approximately $25/oz for the maiden resource.
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