CGN Resources is approaching the top of the target zone in its deep drilling program at the Tantor iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) target in Western Australia.
The company kicked off the maiden drill hole at the Tantor target in mid-October and the hole is currently at a depth of approximately 175m.
This initial drill hole is designed to test a high-quality gravity anomaly which the company believes has the potential to be a large IOCG magmatic system and the drill bit is now on its way to a planned total depth of 520m.
Significant target unearthed
Geophysical modelling studies undertaken prior to the commencement of drilling has suggested the target extends over 2km by 1km at Tantor with model target depths of 250m to 600m.
Managing director Stan Wholley said the Tantor hole will provide critical information on the geology, geochemistry, and alteration at the high priority target and enable CGN to refine its drilling strategy ahead of a major drilling campaign in 2024.
“It is great to see the rig turning and getting some high-quality core from our first diamond drill hole into our Tantor target,” Mr Wholley said.
“As of yesterday, the hole was at 175m and we are making good progress with the top of the target zone looming large at 250m-600m plus. With this kind of true exploration drilling each core run is something new and the tension mounts for discovery with each new run.”
“Our focus is on uncovering evidence of a large magmatic system indicative of an iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) system, supporting our ongoing exploration of this significant target,” he added.
CGN is planning to deploy core samples from the hole to Perth for analysis as soon as they are obtained and the company is aiming to report assay results from the submitted samples in early Q1 2024.
Surus hole next on the agenda
In the meantime, CGN is preparing to test the Surus hole, the second hole in the program. It will to commence on completion of the Tantor hole.
Tantor and Surus, the first two targets to be tested in the current first pass program, have been assessed to have the potential to be large magmatic systems given the scale of the gravity anomalies at each location.
“These first holes will provide invaluable data on the nature and scale of the anomaly and how best to explore these targets in more detail over the next year,” Mr Wholley said.
CGN received $400,000 in exploration incentive scheme grant funding from the WA government to drill the two 600m deep diamond drill holes.
Heritage clearance work successfully completed
In parallel to the drilling activities, CGN is working closely with its stakeholder communities and has recently renegotiated its land access agreement with native title holders.
“This milestone enables the company to bring all its tenure and recent applications under the same long-term agreement. Providing a clear path forward for exploration over the coming years,” Mr Wholley said.
CGN’s heritage clearance team conducted a comprehensive heritage survey to establish access routes and clear the sites for ground-based geophysics programs and drilling in 2024.
Mr Wholley said the native title holders were provided with valuable insights into their traditional lands during the survey with all proposed drill sites and access routes successfully visited.
CGN anticipates it will receive the final clearance survey report within the next month.
“I spent a week on site working with native title holders and Tjamu Tjamu registered native title bodies corporate to complete a heritage clearance program for our substantial exploration programs in 2024,” Mr Wholley revealed.
“I can’t thank them enough for their hard work over the course of the week. We all put in a week of hot dusty work to get all of our proposed programs cleared. Everyone remained in high spirits and we were able to clear all our new access tracks, drill sites for 2024/25 drill programs, and areas for ground geophysical survey.”
