Canterbury Finds Broad Copper at Briggs as John Hill Extends North
Canterbury Resources has reported a broad copper-molybdenum intercept at Briggs while early core observations suggest its John Hill deposit may extend beyond the current resource boundary. The results support ongoing resource upgrades and feasibility work, but John Hill assays are still pending.
- 383.8m at 0.25% copper from 10.2m at Briggs
- Higher-grade 76.7m zone grading 0.34% copper
- More than 3,600m completed across 10 Briggs holes
- John Hill hole indicates northern mineralisation extension
- John Hill assays expected in November
Briggs Hole Delivers Long Copper Intercept
Canterbury Resources Limited (ASX:CBY) has produced the kind of drilling result that keeps a feasibility study moving: hole 26BRD0042 intersected 383.8m at 0.25% copper, 26ppm molybdenum and 0.7g/t silver from just 10.2m at the Briggs Copper Project in central Queensland.
The interval included 76.7m at 0.34% copper, 23ppm molybdenum and 0.8g/t silver from 146.3m, as well as a 14m zone grading 0.38% copper, 35ppm molybdenum and 1.13g/t silver. These are downhole lengths, however, and the company cautions that they may not represent true widths. The hole also ended in moderate-grade copper mineralisation at its planned depth.
Infill Drilling Targets Briggs Resource Upgrade
The result comes from the northern side of Briggs’ central porphyry, an area Canterbury says has been lightly drilled. Similar copper grades in two nearby holes support continuity along about 200m of strike, while the latest hole shows the strongest grades around the contact between the porphyritic intrusive and surrounding volcanic sediments.
Ten holes totalling more than 3,600m have now been completed in the broader 80-hole 2026-2027 program. The work is designed to tighten drilling to a nominal 80m spacing across the existing Mineral Resource Estimate and convert much of the Inferred Resource to Indicated or Measured categories for the Preliminary Feasibility Study. Briggs’ stated resource at a 0.15% copper cut-off contains 2.0 million tonnes of copper, alongside 73 million pounds of molybdenum and 16.5 million ounces of silver.
Alma Metals (ASX:ALM) is funding and managing the Briggs activity under its earn-in agreement with Canterbury. Alongside drilling, the partners are progressing metallurgy, environmental baseline studies and early engineering, including work on coarse-particle flotation and the possible addition of a molybdenum recovery circuit.
John Hill Core Points Beyond Existing Resource
At Canterbury’s wholly owned Monto Project, 80km south of Briggs, the company has completed the first hole of its first meaningful drilling campaign at John Hill since 2013. Hole 26JHD01 reached 278m, and preliminary core observations indicate that the mineralisation system continues north beyond the current MRE boundary.
That is an encouraging geological observation, not yet an assay result. Core cutting and detailed logging are underway, with assays expected in November. The second hole, 26JHD02, is testing western continuity from the same pad as a historical hole that returned 171m at 0.31% copper, 115ppm molybdenum and 1.5g/t silver from 85m.
Two Resource Updates Are Now in View
John Hill drilling is scheduled to continue through 2026 and much of 2027, with an interim MRE update planned for early 2027. Briggs drilling will run through the end of this year before resuming after a seasonal break, with further drilling planned in 2027 to support the PFS and a later resource update.
The near-term test is whether the long Briggs intercept is repeated across the infill grid and whether John Hill’s apparent northern extension survives laboratory assays. Until then, the release strengthens the geological case for more work, rather than establishing an economic reserve or a mine timetable.
Bottom Line?
Briggs has supplied a substantial infill result, while John Hill offers a second resource-growth opportunity; the next decisive data points are the remaining Briggs assays and November’s John Hill results.
Questions in the middle?
- Will further Briggs drilling confirm the continuity and grade distribution implied by 26BRD0042?
- Do John Hill assays validate the preliminary indication of mineralisation beyond the current MRE?
- Can the planned resource upgrades and metallurgical work materially improve the Briggs PFS case?
