Caeneus Minerals’ maiden aircore program underway at Roberts Hill as gold exploration heats up in prolific Mallina Basin
Results from Caeneus’ maiden 20,000m aircore drilling program at Roberts Hill are expected in October.
Caeneus Minerals (ASX: CAD) has started the maiden drilling program for its Roberts Hill gold project in the Mallina Basin near Port Hedland in Western Australia’s north.
The company is completing a 20,000m aircore program across the 170 square kilometre project, with several holes already finished on the eastern portion of the exploration licence.
Caeneus noted visual inspection of drill cuttings has identified at least three holes terminated with sulphides present.
Deeper drilling and a more powerful reverse circulation rig will be needed to test this mineralisation further.
“Whilst the occurrence is not unexpected in this part of the Mallina Basin, the company is encouraged by their presence, which justifies the geophysical and geological modelling carried out by the company over the past eight months,” Caeneus noted.
All up the drilling program will comprise 150 holes of up to 120m depths.
Quarterly activities
Caeneus spent the June 2021 quarter gearing up for the maiden program to begin at Roberts Hill.
Preparations were made during the period and involved establishing new drill lines for heritage clearance and refining existing drill tracks.
Other work included mapping and prospecting.
Caeneus’ other Pilbara projects comprise Mt Berghaus, Yule River and Pardoo.
Mallina Basin
Adjacent to Roberts Hill, Mt Berghaus is also located in the Mallina Basin and covers 179sq km.
During the June quarter, Caeneus continued to expedite the grant of the Mt Berghaus tenements which it describes as “highly prospective”.
A program of works for Mt Berghaus is being planned with exploration at the project anticipated to begin later this year.
The Mallina Basin has enjoyed a renewed rush of gold exploration in recent months following De Grey Mining’s (ASX: DEG) 6.8 million ounce Hemi discovery in the region.
Pardoo
During the June quarter, Caeneus also advanced exploration at the Pardoo project, which lies within the boundaries of the Great Sandy Desert.
Caeneus believes Pardoo poses an “excellent opportunity” for gold and base metal mineralisation.
A soil sampling program is underway at the project.