Small-cap explorer Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN) has launched a 25-hole aircore drilling program to test for gold and rare earths across its Laverton Project in Western Australia.
The company plans to drill for 1,500m across its gold and rare earth elements (REE) targets at tenement E38/3697 within the project area.
As part of the program, Catalina will drill 20 aircore holes along-strike from the Lily Pond Well mineral resource of 340,000 tonnes @ 1.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. This resource was first identified by Sons of Gwalia back in 1999.
Catalina, which has a $6.19 million market capitalisation, says the Lily Pond resource is hosted by the north-south-trending Barnicoat Shear Zone, which traverses the southwest corner of EL38/3697.
This shear zone is interpreted to link the Lily Pond Well resource with Great Southern Mining’s (ASX:GSN) Mon Ami resource of 1.56 million tonnes @ 1.1g/t Au and the Ida H resource of 630,000 tonnes @ 1.4g/t Au to the north, according to Catalina.
Catalina will also drill 5 holes to test selected magnetic anomalies in the area that it says potentially represent REE-bearing carbonatite intrusives.
The E38/3697 tenement spans roughly 45km-square and lies 20km southeast of Laverton in Western Australia.
This region, according to Catalina, is home to several ‘world-class’ gold, nickel, and REE deposits, and a compilation of historical exploration and aeromagnetic data has outlined a string of targets for the company to test.
Alongside its Laverton project, Catalina also owns the Kookynie West and Dundas projects in Western Australia, the Lachlan Fold Belt project in New South Wales, and the Nelson Bay River project in Tasmania.
Catalina Resources had about $3 million in cash and cash equivalents at hand at the end of December 2023, according to its latest quarterly report.
Images: Catalina Resources
