Cullen sharpens Yardilla targets with gold, silver and copper results
Cullen Resources has confirmed shallow gold, silver and copper anomalies at its Lila and Cleanthes prospects in Western Australia, including a 1m result grading 2.42 g/t gold with 2,610 ppm copper. The reconnaissance results support deeper follow-up drilling, but stop well short of defining a mineral resource or economic discovery.
- 2.42 g/t gold, 2,610 ppm copper and 6.7 g/t silver over 1m
- 20m gold interval grading 0.11 g/t from 30m
- Approximately 2km targets identified at Lila and Cleanthes
- Follow-up air core and/or RC drilling proposed
- Reconnaissance drilling has not established true widths or continuity
A single metre carrying 2.42 g/t gold, 2,610 parts per million copper and 3.4 g/t silver has given Cullen Resources Limited (ASX:CUL) a sharper target at its Yardilla Gold Project in Western Australia. The result came from hole YAAC015 at the Cleanthes prospect, where the company also reported a broader 10m interval at 0.18 g/t gold from 25m.
The strongest multi-element hit was accompanied by a separate 1m sample at Cleanthes grading 0.203 g/t gold, 5.9 g/t silver and 2,610 ppm copper. At Lila, results included 5m at 0.14 g/t gold from 45m and 1m at 0.19 g/t from 50m, with the latter at the end of the hole. Cullen also reported 20m at 0.11 g/t gold from 30m, although the announcement’s headline results are based on selected 1m resamples rather than a resource-style drilling program.
Resampling sharpens shallow Lila and Cleanthes anomalies
The assays are follow-up work on 5m composite samples collected during 1,338m of reconnaissance air core drilling in May. Cullen resampled anomalous composites at 1m intervals to identify where the gold and associated elements were concentrated, with the new results confirming and extending historical shallow anomalies near the top of fresh rock.
At both prospects, the company has combined historical gold, copper and silver results to outline targets of roughly 2km in length. The geology is still being interpreted: Lila’s anomalies appear to track strata and thrusts along a northeast-southwest trend, while Cleanthes appears to follow a major northwest-southeast lithological contact. Cullen says the limited drilling suggests the anomalous zones may be flat-lying to gently dipping, but their geometry has not been established.
Deeper drilling is the next test
Cullen says deeper air core and/or reverse-circulation drilling is warranted at both prospects. That work would need to test whether the shallow geochemical responses continue into bedrock, improve the understanding of their orientation and determine whether the isolated higher-grade samples sit within coherent mineralised zones.
For now, the evidence is encouraging but early-stage. The drilling was reconnaissance-only, the reported intervals are downhole lengths with true widths unknown, and Cullen’s own JORC disclosure states that no significant mineralised intersection or significant discovery is being reported. Assaying was described as a partial technique considered adequate for this phase, while no field duplicates or independent verification by alternative personnel have yet been completed. The next drilling campaign, and the continuity and grades it produces, will decide whether Yardilla’s 2km anomalies become a geological story rather than merely a geochemical one.
Bottom Line?
The results improve the case for deeper drilling at Lila and Cleanthes, but continuity, true widths and bedrock grade remain untested.
Questions in the middle?
- Will deeper drilling show that the shallow gold, silver and copper anomalies continue with meaningful width and grade?
- Are the isolated higher-grade samples part of a coherent mineralised structure or local geochemical spikes?
- How quickly can Cullen define and fund the proposed follow-up air core or RC program?
