Arika Resources (ASX:ARI) is kicking off a 20,000m-plus reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling program across its fully-owned Yundamindra and Kookynie gold projects in Western Australia in the coming weeks.
The campaign will target multiple largely unexplored high-priority greenfield and brownfield prospects across the Leonora-Laverton region.
Arika says initial drilling will focus on the Cosmopolitan, Altona, and Ithaca prospects at Kookynie, aiming for high-grade extensions and new discovery opportunities identified through recent technical evaluation.
At Yundamindra, the company plans to resume drilling at the Pennyweight Point and Landed at Last prospects. This builds on 14,752m of RC drilling across 100 holes completed between January and June as Arika advances towards a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE).
Managing Director Justin Barton says Arika is entering the “most active” exploration period in its history.
“Over the coming months we will have multiple drilling programs operating across both Kookynie and Yundamindra, targeting extensions to existing high-grade discoveries while also testing several exciting new targets for the first time,” Barton says.
“Importantly, our technical work continues to generate new opportunities.
“Recent targeting work at Kookynie has identified several highly prospective drill targets, while soil geochemistry at Emerald City has now been completed and will guide what will be the first modern drilling ever undertaken across this highly prospective part of the Yundamindra Project.”
The Emerald City prospect covers roughly half of the Yundamindra project area, where geophysical interpretation has highlighted prospective structures linked to intrusive contacts and major fault intersections.
Arika says preliminary metallurgical leach testwork has commenced on mineralised material from Yundamindra to assess gold recovery characteristics for future development studies.
The Kookynie Gold Project covers approximately 150km² of tenure, which includes the historic Cosmopolitan Altona mines.
Meanwhile, the Yundamindra Gold Project is situated around 65km southeast of Leonora in the Eastern Goldfields.
Arika expects to provide updates through the remainder of 2026, including drill assays, soil geochemistry results, and maiden drilling at Emerald City.
Arika Resources is a gold explorer focused on delivering discoveries across its key tenements in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Arika Resources
