Dreadnought Resources Completes Extensive Drilling at Mangaroon Gold Project
Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) has wrapped up a wide-ranging drilling campaign at its Mangaroon gold and critical metals project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.
The 77-hole program spanned 6,715 metres across four key gold prospects and included diamond drilling (DD) to collect samples from the Stinger niobium deposit at the Gifford Creek Carbonatite complex.
Dreadnought expects assay results to flow through August to October, and has already planned its next round of drilling for September.
Gold Prospects Deliver Momentum
Dreadnought drilled 68 reverse circulation holes and five DD holes across the Star of Mangaroon, Steve’s Reward, Popeye and Lesgo targets.
The first-ever drilling at Steve’s Reward proved encouraging, returning shallow gold intersections such as 4m at 4.1 grams per tonne from 6m, including 2m at 6.8g/t.
Other intercepts included 3m at 2.9g/t from 7m and 1m at 4.5g/t from 6m, demonstrating the presence of multiple gold-bearing veins extending to surface.
‘Multifaceted Drilling Program’
Managing director Dean Tuck said the campaign had delivered both infill and exploration success.
“Dreadnought has completed a significant and multifaceted drilling program delivering final infill grade control drilling at the Star of Mangaroon, exploration drilling at Steve’s Reward, Inevitable, Popeye and at a new target called Lesgo with significant results already delivered from Steve’s Reward,” Mr Tuck said.
He noted that Dreadnought had sent all samples for analysis, with the team now focused on preparing the next major phase of drilling at Mangaroon in September.
Star of Mangaroon Development
The company has positioned the Star of Mangaroon for development by completing grade control drilling down to 10m by 10m spacing within the existing resource.
Every hole intersected the target lode horizon, supporting the company’s aim to commence open-pit mining in 2025.
Meanwhile, drilling at Popeye tested soil anomalies and possible shear-parallel structures, while at Lesgo, three early-stage holes probed a 2.6km shear zone to assess alteration and mineralisation.
Critical Metals at Stinger Prospect
Four DD holes at the Stinger prospect tested both shallow oxide and deeper fresh carbonatite zones to provide material for metallurgical studies.
Previous drilling confirmed high-grade niobium and associated rare earths, including 130m at 0.7% niobium pentoxide from 71m and 90m at 1.1% total rare earth oxides from 48m.
Specialist review of the latest drill core is underway, with results due in October, and Dreadnought flagged growing commercial interest in the Gifford Creek Carbonatite complex.
Busy Pathway Ahead
The September quarter will see assays released from Star of Mangaroon, Popeye and Lesgo, while grade control data from Star of Mangaroon is expected in September.
October will bring updates on both gold exploration and the metallurgical test work from Stinger, with further mineralogy results scheduled for later in the year.
Dreadnought’s staged strategy aims to fund ongoing exploration through near-term gold mining, while continuing to unlock the critical metals potential of Mangaroon.