$2.5 million raised as Reedy Lagoon plans two Burracoppin drilling programs

Reedy Lagoon Corporation Limited (ASX:RLC) has secured a financial bridge to its next exploration campaign, but the immediate record is one of preparation rather than discovery. The company raised $1.8 million through an underwritten placement approved by shareholders after the quarter, then placed a further $700,000 in shares, as it prepared drilling programs at its Burracoppin gold and iron projects in Western Australia.

Capital raising resets the exploration timetable

The $1.8 million placement issued 1.44 billion shares at $0.00125 each. Reedy Lagoon followed that with a 560 million-share placement at the same price, although $415,625 was due for settlement on 30 October and the remaining $284,375 remains subject to shareholder approval at the 30 November annual meeting. No fees, costs or options apply to the second placement.

The funding arrives after a quarter in which Reedy Lagoon spent only $10,338 on exploration and reported $90,000 of cash at 30 September. Its Appendix 5B estimated 1.7 quarters of funding on that cash balance and said operating outflows are expected to increase as exploration, staff and corporate costs rise. The company says the post-quarter raisings provide enough resources to meet non-discretionary operating costs for the next four quarters, but the planned drilling will need to convert that capital into field activity.

Lady Janet drilling moves through approvals

At the 100%-owned Burracoppin Gold project, the next campaign is designed as “proof of concept” drilling. Reedy Lagoon wants to test whether fine-fraction soil geochemistry can help identify prospective bedrock structures beneath the surface. The work will initially target the Lady Janet prospect, where preparations continued during the quarter and a Program of Work approval was obtained.

The company plans infill and follow-up soil sampling around the Lady Janet south target, alongside wider-spaced sampling elsewhere across the project. Drilling is currently expected in late 2026 before harvest or early 2027 after harvest, subject to landowner and crop-grower coordination. A flora and fauna assessment may be required for drilling within remnant vegetation, although the company says the southern target can be tested without entering that area. This is the next step in the Burracoppin drilling plans, which earlier coverage described as being at the preparation stage.

Access remains a constraint elsewhere in the gold project: ground work at the Windmills, Shear Luck and Zebra prospects is still on hold because of limited access. The project’s 30-kilometre section of the Yandina Shear Zone has seen little exploration, but the company has yet to produce drilling results that would establish whether the interpreted structures host gold mineralisation.

Magnetite program targets shallow extensions

At Burracoppin Iron, Reedy Lagoon is seeking a joint venture partner for resource drilling at the magnetite deposit while planning a separate reverse-circulation program. The shallow drilling would test material within the top 80 metres of the surface above magnetite panels modelled using the CSIRO MagResource method, with follow-up core drilling contemplated if results are positive.

The initial program is being narrowed to cleared farmland and existing tracks because remnant vegetation may contain habitat for threatened and priority species. A Program of Work for those areas was approved on 5 October, after the quarter ended. Heritage requirements, environmental surveys, land access and crop timing could still determine how quickly the rigs arrive. Reedy Lagoon also disclosed a cumulative expenditure shortfall on tenement E70/4941 and expects an $11,482 fine, with the current year’s minimum commitment rising to $121,817.