CGN Resources has intersected gold at three of four targets in its maiden Christmas Well RC program, with Rocky Mountain Oyster returning the strongest result in fresh rock. The early-stage campaign supports follow-up drilling, but does not yet establish a mineral resource or confirm true widths.
- Gold intersected at Rocky Mountain Oyster, Lambs Fry and Sweetbread
- Rocky Mountain Oyster returned 5m at 2.67 g/t Au from 151m
- Lambs Fry emerged as a new gold-bearing structural target
- Ox Tongue produced no significant gold in first-pass drilling
- Approximately 2,000m of RC drilling planned at Panhandle's Pelican target
Three of Four Christmas Well Targets Hit Gold
CGN Resources Limited (ASX:CGR) has found gold across three of four targets in its first reverse-circulation drilling campaign at the Christmas Well project near Leonora, Western Australia. The 15-hole, 2,093-metre program intersected mineralisation at Rocky Mountain Oyster, Lambs Fry and Sweetbread, giving the company an early technical basis for expanding its structural exploration model.
The standout result came from Rocky Mountain Oyster, where hole XRC0010 returned 5 metres at 2.67 g/t Au from 151 metres, including a reported 1-metre interval at 10.94 g/t Au in the body of the announcement. The intersection was drilled into fresh rock and sits down dip and along strike from earlier, shallower mineralisation. CGN says it extended the system about 100 metres deeper and 80 metres north along strike from historical intersections.
Rocky Mountain Oyster Leads Follow-Up Targets
At Rocky Mountain Oyster, the mineralisation is associated with quartz veining and a chlorite-altered shear zone hosted by granite. Results from the four holes suggest two potentially parallel mineralised structures, although the company says the geometry and continuity still need to be defined. Another hole on the southern section returned 7 metres at 0.25 g/t Au from 57 metres, while drilling on the northern section produced a lower-grade 4-metre interval at 0.19 g/t Au.
Lambs Fry also produced an encouraging first-pass result for a largely greenfield target. Hole XRC0014 returned 8 metres at 0.27 g/t Au from 19 metres, including 1 metre at 1.17 g/t Au from 15 metres, within sheared granodiorite carrying quartz veining and minor pyrite. The prospect lies about 1.2 kilometres from the historical Jasper Flat open pit and beneath an area containing small-scale historical workings. CGN says the initial two-hole test points to a possible flat-lying orientation that may require drilling from a different direction.
Sweetbread and Ox Tongue Keep the Results Grounded
Sweetbread confirmed gold anomalism, but the result is less conclusive. Multiple intervals above 200 parts per billion gold were recorded, with a maximum assay of 0.58 g/t Au. However, transported cover proved much deeper than expected, in places extending to roughly 120 metres, and one hole was stopped early because of water ingress and puggy clay. The targeted basement structure was therefore not adequately tested, while the deeper cover reduces the target's immediate prospectivity.
Ox Tongue supplied the clearest negative result: six holes intersected deformation, granitic rocks and minor quartz veining, but not the interpreted mafic unit or any significant gold mineralisation. CGN plans to combine the drilling information with its high-resolution magnetic data before deciding whether the target warrants more work. The result narrows the geological model, but does not close out the broader concept.
Panhandle Drilling Becomes the Next Catalyst
CGN says follow-up work at Christmas Well will focus on the orientation and continuity of the mineralised structures, particularly at Rocky Mountain Oyster and Lambs Fry, and on finding thicker or higher-grade zones. The company has also reported that all Christmas Well tenure is now granted, while new Panhandle tenure has heritage approvals in place.
The next major campaign is expected to be approximately 2,000 metres of RC drilling at the Pelican target at Panhandle, with possible additional work at Rocky Mountain Oyster. For now, the Christmas Well results are proof of geological fertility rather than a resource statement: CGN explicitly says the drilling density is insufficient to establish grade or geological continuity, and the reported intercepts are downhole lengths with true widths still unknown.
Bottom Line?
Rocky Mountain Oyster and Lambs Fry have earned more drilling, but the investment case still depends on continuity, true widths and repeatable grades rather than a single encouraging intercept.
Questions in the middle?
- Can follow-up drilling demonstrate that the Rocky Mountain Oyster shear is continuous and contains wider or higher-grade zones?
- Will Lambs Fry's apparent flat-lying mineralisation produce a coherent target when tested from an alternative drilling direction?
- Can the planned Pelican program at Panhandle deliver a second meaningful exploration result before Christmas Well advances toward a resource-scale test?