Right Resources has begun a fully funded 2,000-metre aircore program at its Blue Prospect near Tumbarumba, testing six tungsten and five gold anomalies for the first time below surface. Assay results are expected progressively during the December Quarter, but the campaign is exploratory and is not designed to define a Mineral Resource.
- Approximately 2,000 metres across 60 aircore holes on EL9028
- First subsurface test of six tungsten and five gold anomalies
- Surface rock chips returned up to 4.3% WO₃ and 5.26 g/t Au
- Second-stage drilling at EL9889 remains subject to approvals
- Assay results expected progressively during the December Quarter 2026
Blue Prospect Drilling Gets Underway
Right Resources Limited (ASX:RRE) has moved its Blue Prospect from surface exploration to the more consequential business of testing what lies beneath it. The company has commenced a fully funded first-stage aircore campaign near Tumbarumba in New South Wales, with approximately 2,000 metres planned across 60 holes.
The initial work will focus on accessible targets within exploration licence EL9028. It follows approvals received in August that allow up to 120 aircore holes, as well as deeper reverse circulation and diamond drilling if the results justify a more substantial campaign.
Eleven Surface Anomalies Face Their First Test
Blue has produced a sizeable surface exploration footprint, measuring about 4.7 kilometres by 3.4 kilometres, within a northwest-trending tungsten-bismuth-gold corridor that extends roughly 5 kilometres along strike and up to 1.5 kilometres wide. The current program will test selected parts of six primary tungsten anomalies and five gold target areas identified through mapping, rock-chip sampling, soil geochemistry and structural interpretation.
Those surface results provide an attractive starting point, but they are not drilling results. Rock-chip samples have returned tungsten grades of up to 4.3% WO₃ and gold grades of up to 5.26 g/t Au, while road-cutting observations have identified quartz veining, low levels of pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite, scheelite and previously reported gold mineralisation. The aircore holes are expected to reach roughly 30 to 50 metres, testing whether those surface expressions continue below the weathered zone.
Exploration Campaign Designed to Rank Targets
Right Resources says the first-stage campaign is intended to establish the initial subsurface geological and geochemical picture, assess the continuity, geometry and grade tenor of mineralisation, and decide which targets merit deeper work. It is explicitly not designed to define a Mineral Resource.
That distinction matters. The immediate value of the program lies in narrowing a broad target field into a smaller set of drill-ready priorities. Results are expected to be released progressively during the December Quarter 2026, subject to drilling progress and laboratory turnaround. A second-stage program on adjacent EL9889 is proposed for later in the quarter, but remains subject to approvals and refinement using the first-stage results.
Metallurgy Adds a Second Thread to the Story
Drilling is running alongside metallurgical work on Blue. A composite surface sample with a reported head grade of approximately 0.48% WO₃ delivered 87.3% tungsten recovery in initial flotation sighter testing, with the recovered tungsten reporting to 1.6% of the original feed mass. Earlier heavy liquid separation work also indicated potential to concentrate the tungsten, although both results relate to surface sampling and do not establish the scale or economic viability of a deposit.
The next inflection point is therefore not a resource statement but evidence from below ground. If the aircore results confirm continuity across the strongest anomalies, the case for RC or diamond drilling will become more defined. If they do not, the company will have to decide how much of Blue's large surface footprint deserves further capital.
Bottom Line?
The campaign has removed the first major exploration hurdle at Blue. The December Quarter assays will show whether impressive surface chemistry translates into coherent mineralisation below ground.
Questions in the middle?
- Will aircore drilling confirm continuity between the strongest surface tungsten, bismuth and gold anomalies?
- Which targets, if any, will warrant deeper RC or diamond drilling after the first-stage results?
- Can Right Resources secure the approvals needed to extend the campaign into EL9889 later in the December Quarter?