Clara Resources Australia (ASX:C7A) has reported rock chip assays of up to 27.3 grams per tonne gold (Au) from its Mareeba Gold Project in Far North Queensland.
The field program tested five historical gold workings on exploration permit EPM 13944 identified through a light detection and ranging survey (LiDAR) completed in March 2026. Clara collected 12 rock chip samples from mine spoil and outcrop, with results reported for 11 samples after one was withheld pending confirmation of its collection location.
Clara says gold was returned from each working sampled, with six of the 11 reported samples grading above 3g/t Au.
“This program achieved its objective of validating targets generated from the company’s LiDAR survey. All five historic workings sampled returned gold, including a high-grade rock chip result of 27.3g/t Au from Lady Burdett Coutts,” Executive Director Duncan Gordon says.
A sample of historical mine spoil from Lady Burdett Coutts returned 27.3g/t Au and 12.6g/t silver, alongside elevated lead and zinc values. Clara says the results indicate polymetallic mineralisation within the quartz-vein system.
Mine spoil samples from the BB and Victory prospects returned 10.45g/t Au and 5.91g/t Au, respectively. The company says neither area has been drill tested.
At Rebo, outcropping quartz veining up to 1m thick returned up to 4.46g/t Au.
Clara also confirmed the collar locations of 12 historical drill holes at Lady Burdett Coutts, identifying differences of up to about 80m from previously reported positions.
Sampling of metasedimentary wall rock adjacent to the quartz veins returned 0.46g/t Au with elevated arsenic. Clara says the result indicates mineralisation may extend beyond individual veins within a corridor up to 60m wide.
Mineralised samples returned arsenic values ranging from 1,055 to 8,300 parts per million (ppm), compared with 46ppm from the single sample described as non-mineralised.
Historical drilling at Lady Burdett Coutts tested from 20–59m below surface. Clara says the mineralised system remains untested at depth.
The company has begun permitting for its maiden drilling program at EPM 13944 and plans further rock chip and channel sampling at Victory, BB, and Rebo.
Clara will also sample additional historical workings and review previous soil geochemistry to identify arsenic anomalies along the mineralised corridors.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Clara Resources Australia
