Cannindah finds stronger copper trend at Appletree porphyry target
Cannindah Resources has identified a higher-tenor copper, gold and silver zone at its Appletree Prospect, with grades increasing southward toward a potential buried porphyry centre. Three diamond-hole assays remain outstanding before the company commits to the next phase of drilling.
- 42m at 0.65% CuEq within Southern Porphyry Target
- Higher-grade mineralisation defined across approximately 400m
- Broader mineralised footprint exceeds 1,800m
- Three diamond-hole assays remain pending
- Two rigs continue drilling at Cannindah Breccia
Appletree grades point south
A 42-metre interval grading 0.65% copper equivalent has given Cannindah Resources Limited (ASX:CAE) its clearest exploration vector yet at the Appletree Prospect, where copper, gold and silver grades are increasing toward the south. The interval in hole 26CRD047 included 0.33% copper, 0.37 grams per tonne gold and 3.52 grams per tonne silver from 196 metres.
The result came from reconnaissance drilling at the Southern Porphyry Target and sits alongside a broader 72-metre interval grading 0.18% CuEq from surface in the same hole. A separate hole, 26CRD048, returned 54 metres at 0.25% CuEq from 88 metres, including two metres at 3.49% CuEq. These are RC pre-collar results, with assays from the diamond tails still to come.
Higher-grade zone sits inside 1,800m footprint
Cannindah says the anomalous copper, gold and silver mineralisation extends over an east-west strike of about 400 metres at Appletree. The company interprets that higher-tenor zone as a possible guide toward a buried “pencil” porphyry centre, rather than as confirmation that such a centre has already been located.
The target sits within a much larger mineralised footprint exceeding 1,800 metres. Earlier drilling along the trend produced several broad, lower-grade intervals, including 148 metres at 0.27% CuEq and 90 metres at 0.33% CuEq. Intrusive dykes and skarn associated with the mineralisation provide geological support for the company's targeting model, although the reported intersections are downhole lengths and apparent widths, not true widths.
Pending assays will determine the next drill phase
Results from three additional diamond holes are now the immediate catalyst. Cannindah plans to combine those assays with the existing data before reviewing and reprioritising further diamond drilling at the Southern Porphyry Target. The company describes Appletree as a key area for follow-up work, but the target remains at the exploration stage and has not produced a revised resource estimate or economic assessment.
For now, both drill rigs are allocated to resource-growth drilling at the Cannindah Breccia. That keeps field activity moving while the Southern Porphyry results arrive, but it also means the timing and scope of the next Appletree campaign will depend on the pending data and the updated geological model.
Bottom Line?
The Appletree model is becoming more focused, but the next three diamond assays must confirm whether the southward grade trend leads to a meaningful porphyry centre.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the three pending diamond tails confirm the southward increase in copper, gold and silver grades?
- How much of the reported mineralisation represents true width rather than downhole or apparent width?
- When will Cannindah commit rigs and capital to follow-up drilling at Appletree?
