CGN Resources secures key contractors for 2024 West Arunta drilling program

CGN Resources (ASX: CGR) has finalised a number of key contracts as it prepares for a significant 2024 exploration campaign at its Webb project in the West Arunta region of Western Australia.

The company has awarded the geophysical contracts and has commenced the selection process for drill contractors, with geophysical field work planned to commence in February and drilling to follow in early Q2 2024.

The geophysical side of the new round of exploration is set to commence at Webb in February and will include gravity, induced polarisation (IP) and electromagnetic (EM) surveys over the project area.

CGN has elected to conduct the gravity and IP surveys over the Surus, Tantor, Snorky and Horton targets, while the Shep target will be further assessed by the EM survey.

The company’s technical team will then utilise the data from the various surveys to help refine final drill locations at each of the targets.

The company has sent out a request for quotations for future reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling (DD) programs.

These will form the second phase of exploration to follow up the ground geophysical surveys.

Key 2024 exploration programs

Managing director Stan Wholley said the survey and drilling activities will be CGN’s main programs for the 2024 season.

“It is great to be kicking off the new year with a series of positive steps to realise our wide-ranging exploration programs for 2024. Locking in our main contractors for the geophysics provides a clear first step in a path towards discovery.”

“With our highly successful IPO in October raising $10 million we are now strongly positioned to push hard on the exploration front and try and emulate the success of some of our neighbours in the West Arunta,” he added.

Strong initial results

CGN’s confidence in the area has been boosted by a positive drilling campaign completed in November at the at the WA government co-funded Tantor target, where a maiden drill hole intersected multiple newly discovered ultramafic sills.

The company has now received an initial batch of analytical results from the upper half of the Tantor hole which have confirmed the presence of the ultramafic sills containing elevated levels of nickel, vanadium, chromium and titanium.

Mr Wholley said these previously unknown rocks will be the subject of further exploration to assess if they have economic potential.

“The results from recent drilling are encouraging, confirming the presence of previously unknown ultramafic rocks within the project.”

“This provides an additional target type at the Tantor prospect and, perhaps more importantly, provides strong support for our conceptual model at the Shep nickel target,” he said.

Drilling plans unveiled

CGN has revealed that its upcoming RC drilling program at Webb will initially focus on the previously-identified significant nickel mineralisation grading of up to 1.18%, with a series of drill holes planned over this target based on known mineralisation and magnetic data.

The company will select the final hole locations after incorporating the results of the ground EM survey.

The aim is to test if similar ultramafic rocks as those intersected at Tantor are also present at Shep with a higher tenor of mineralisation.

Rare earth target

The company also aims to follow up previously-identified rare earth element (REE) mineralisation at the Hathi target with RC drilling.

A series of holes are planned to test the 37-metre 0.38% REE intercept grading announced in November.

The DD program will initially focus on the Surus iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) targeting a major gravity anomaly in the western part of the project.

This hole is planned to a depth of 650m and has $220,000 of government-backed funding from an Exploration Incentive Scheme grant attached.

When Surus is completed, the rig will transition to the Snorky and Horton IOCG targets.