Javelin’s Coogee Discovery Highlights Resource Upgrade Potential Amid Exploration Risks
Javelin Minerals has reported exceptional high-grade gold and copper assay results from its inaugural drilling campaign at the Coogee Project in Western Australia, highlighting new mineralised shoots that could significantly enhance the project's resource base.
- First drilling at Coogee Project reveals gold grades up to 65 g/t and copper up to 8.53%
- Multiple high-grade shoots identified over at least 1km strike length outside current resource
- Current resource stands at 126,685 oz gold and 4,133t copper with potential for upgrade
- Phase Two drilling planned for late Q1 2025 to further delineate mineralisation
- Coogee Project located near world-class St Ives gold camp, last mined in 2014
Exploration Breakthrough at Coogee
Javelin Minerals Limited (ASX: JAV) has delivered a promising start to its exploration efforts at the Coogee Gold-Copper Project near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The company's first reverse circulation (RC) drilling program, completed in late 2024, has intersected multiple high-grade gold and copper mineralised shoots beyond the boundaries of the existing resource.
Notably, assays have returned spectacular grades including 65 g/t gold and 8.53% copper in discrete shoots extending over a strike length of at least one kilometre. These results suggest the Coogee deposit hosts a more extensive and richer mineralised system than previously delineated.
Significant Intercepts and Geological Context
Key drillholes such as CORC163 and CORC170 have confirmed extensions of mineralisation beneath and along strike from the historic open pit mined by Ramelius Resources until 2014. For example, CORC163 returned 5m at 14.22 g/t Au including 1m at 65 g/t Au, alongside 4m at 1.91% Cu, while CORC170 intersected 10m at 4.55 g/t Au including a 1m high-grade interval of 38.1 g/t Au.
The mineralisation is hosted within a structurally complex shear zone dipping approximately 30 degrees west, with high-grade shoots plunging steeply. The geological setting is consistent with an Archaean lode gold deposit, enriched with copper sulphides, situated in a fertile greenstone belt adjacent to the prolific St Ives gold camp.
Resource Potential and Next Steps
Currently, the Coogee Project holds a JORC-compliant resource of 3.65 million tonnes at 1.08 g/t gold (126,685 ounces) and 1.01 million tonnes at 0.41% copper (4,133 tonnes of copper metal). The new drilling results provide a strong basis for a resource upgrade, with Javelin already undertaking a review process to incorporate these findings.
Looking ahead, the company plans to commence a second phase of drilling in the March quarter of 2025. This program aims to refine the controls on the high-grade shoots and explore high-priority targets at Coogee West, leveraging detailed geological, geochemical, and portable XRF data to optimise targeting.
Strategic Location and Historical Context
The Coogee Project is strategically located 55km south of Kalgoorlie and 20km northeast of Kambalda, within a region renowned for gold mineralisation. Despite its proximity to world-class operations, Coogee has not seen systematic exploration drilling since Ramelius mined the open pit in 2014, leaving significant upside potential for discovery and resource growth.
Javelin’s Executive Chairman, Brett Mitchell, emphasised the significance of these results, describing the project as a potential near-term brownfields success story in Western Australia. The combination of high-grade intercepts and a large mineralised system supports the company’s vision of establishing a substantial gold-copper resource on the edge of Kalgoorlie.
Bottom Line?
Javelin’s Coogee drilling breakthrough sets the stage for a resource upgrade and renewed exploration momentum in 2025.
Questions in the middle?
- How will the upcoming Phase Two drilling refine the understanding of high-grade shoot continuity?
- What impact could these high-grade results have on the economic viability and development timeline of Coogee?
- Could Javelin’s Coogee Project attract strategic partnerships or financing given its proximity to the St Ives gold camp?
