Arika Resources has identified a previously unrecognised gold lode at its Kookynie project after drilling returned 19 metres at 7.99g/t gold, including 6 metres at 15.87g/t. The early-stage discovery sits above the historic Champion Main Reef and opens several follow-up targets along a 3km mineralised trend.
- 19m at 7.99g/t gold from 111m, including 6m at 15.87g/t
- New lode interpreted 10-20m above Champion Main Reef
- Two RC holes tested the structure, 60m apart
- More than 8,500 samples remain pending assay
- Follow-up drilling planned across Champion and Kookynie
High-grade lode identified above Champion workings
Two reverse-circulation holes have revealed what Arika Resources Limited (ASX:ARI) describes as a previously unrecognised high-grade lode above the historic Champion Gold Mine in Western Australia. The standout result was 19 metres at 7.99 grams per tonne gold from 111 metres, including 6 metres at 15.87g/t and a further 6 metres at 8.89g/t.
A second hole returned 2 metres at 2.31g/t from 63 metres. The holes were drilled on sections about 60 metres apart and targeted an interpreted northeast-trending structure known as the Champion Fault, where it intersects the broader Champion lode.
Discovery adds a new target to a historic gold mine
Arika says the new mineralisation sits in a hangingwall position roughly 10 to 20 metres above the historically mined Champion Main Reef. The intersection occurs south of the main underground workings, at a point where historical mining stopped, and remains untested along strike, up-dip, down-dip and down-plunge.
The structural interpretation is notable because the northeast orientation parallels the corridor hosting Carnavale’s Swiftsure deposits. Arika’s review of detailed aeromagnetic data has also identified similar structures across the more than 3km Champion-Batavia Trend, potentially expanding the follow-up search beyond the two holes reported today. Historical drilling in the same interpreted structure included a 7-metre interval at 163.9g/t gold, although those results pre-date Arika’s drilling and are not a substitute for establishing continuity in the new zone.
Assays remain the immediate catalyst
The discovery arrives while Arika is still waiting on a substantial body of laboratory data. The company has completed about 100 RC holes totalling 12,000 metres at Kookynie, with more than 8,500 samples from over 60 holes still being processed. Arika said the results received so far have included several strong assays, but the full picture across Champion, Cosmopolitan, Cumberland, Altona, Champion South and Batavia is not yet available.
The reported intervals are down-hole lengths and, according to the company’s JORC commentary, are considered close to true thickness because the holes were designed to intersect the interpreted structure as close to perpendicular as possible. The discovery is nevertheless exploration-stage data: no Mineral Resource has been defined, continuity remains untested, and anomalous composite samples will be re-split and resubmitted on a 1-metre basis to refine the grade distribution.
Drilling shifts between Kookynie and Yundamindra
Arika plans further RC and diamond drilling at Kookynie to test extensions of known mineralisation and newly identified structures under cover. The broader campaign follows the company’s recent move to full ownership of its Kookynie and Yundamindra projects and the accompanying push to build a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate.
The rig is scheduled to move to Yundamindra next week for pre-collars ahead of deep diamond drilling at Pennyweight Point, backed by the $211,213 EIS drilling grant announced earlier this month. Two planned 600-metre holes will test a tonalite porphyry target about 400 metres below surface and 200 metres below the deepest previous drilling.
Bottom Line?
Champion has produced an eye-catching first result, but the investment case now turns on repeatability, strike continuity and the large backlog of pending assays rather than one intercept alone.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling confirm the new lode continues beyond the two initial sections?
- How will the pending assays change the geological interpretation across the Champion-Batavia Trend?
- Can Arika convert the high-grade exploration results into a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate without a further funding requirement?