Oakajee’s Paynes Find Drilling Falls Short, Alluvial Cover Challenges Persist

Exploration Context and Objectives

Oakajee Corporation Limited (ASX: OKJ) recently reported on its auger drilling campaign at the Paynes Find Gold Project in Western Australia. The project targets gold mineralisation concealed beneath shallow alluvial cover, which has historically hindered conventional surface soil sampling methods. The company focused on two key target areas: Banks, located 3.5km northwest of Paynes Find, and Deep Well, approximately 9km northwest.

The drilling aimed to penetrate the alluvial cover to sample the interface with the underlying bedrock, a critical zone for detecting gold mineralisation. Auger holes were drilled to depths between 0.5 and 2.5 metres, with 224 samples collected and assayed for gold and a suite of base metals including copper.

Disappointing Assay Results and Geological Implications

Despite the thorough sampling effort, results were underwhelming. At the Banks south-west extension, assays revealed only minor gold anomalies and low copper values. The data suggest that the auger drilling did not sufficiently penetrate the alluvial cover, particularly where it thickens west of the main creek line, resulting in samples that may not be representative of the bedrock mineralisation.

Similarly, the Deep Well target, characterized by a regional fold closure and structural complexity analogous to Banks, returned universally low assay values. This further supports the interpretation that the alluvial cover remains a significant obstacle to effective sampling using the current auger drilling approach.

Technical and Methodological Considerations

The drilling was conducted using industry-standard auger rigs, with rigorous quality control measures including field duplicates and certified standards. Samples were processed at Bureau Veritas Minerals, employing Aqua Regia digestion and ICP spectrometry for multi-element analysis. Despite these robust protocols, the fundamental challenge remains the physical limitation imposed by the alluvial cover thickness, which varies across the project area.

The company acknowledges that the current drill depths may be insufficient to reach the insitu weathered bedrock, which is the primary target horizon for gold mineralisation. This recognition underscores the need for alternative or more aggressive drilling techniques to overcome the cover and obtain more representative samples.

Next Steps and Strategic Outlook

Oakajee Corporation has indicated that it will consider a range of exploration techniques moving forward, potentially including deeper drilling or geophysical methods to better delineate the bedrock geology beneath the alluvial cover. The company’s Managing Director, Mark Jones, remains engaged with the project’s progress, supported by technical oversight from Competent Person Reginald Beaton.

While the current results temper near-term optimism, they provide valuable insights into the geological setting and the challenges posed by the cover. These learnings will inform the design of future exploration campaigns aimed at unlocking the Paynes Find Project’s potential.