By James Pearson
ASX-listed Javelin Minerals has zeroed in on a suite of highly prospective, undercover gold and copper targets at its Coogee West project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, setting the stage for high-impact drilling in the September quarter.
The company’s latest geophysical review, run by Core Geophysics, has peeled back the layers at Coogee West to reveal a compelling treasure map of high-priority anomalies lurking beneath shallow alluvial cover.
Historical, wide-spaced air core drilling in parts of the Coogee West barely scratched the surface, only reaching depths of up to 30 metres. The new drilling campaign will be designed to dive deeper and get below the cover that is currently masking the potential treasures lurking beneath.
Javelin says two of the five targets stretch 2 to 3 kilometres in strike length and have never been touched by a drill bit.
Javelin Resources executive chairman Brett Mitchell said: “We know that Coogee hosts a significant gold system in a world-class location, situated on the edge of the renowned St Ives goldfield. Despite these outstanding credentials, large areas of the project remain undrilled.”
Leading the charge for priority drilling is a standout “bullseye” anomaly 1.5km west of the Coogee pit. The high-contrast magnetic hotspot starts 300m below surface and plunges to a depth of 1km. As yet, it remains completely untested.
A similar, though smaller, anomaly just southwest of the main target is also on the company’s radar. This target shares the same rock structure as the Coogee pit and was first tested in 2015 by Ramelius Resources, which picked up broad gold hits with minor copper from two diamond holes.
Wide-spaced air core drilling later followed before Ramelius walked away, leaving much of the area underexplored.
A few kilometres west of the bullseye, two additional magnetic targets stretching across a combined 4.8km of strike have also been identified. The company believes these may be magnetite-pyrite-rich structural corridors, often associated with high-grade gold and could hold significant mineralisation.
A fifth prospect unearthed by the geophysics sits 5km northwest of Coogee and appears to be a magnetic halo surrounding a volcanic intrusion. The target also appears to have a gravity signature and has only seen shallow drilling by early explorers chasing surface gold, leaving it wide open for deeper exploration.
Javelin says the structure is particularly exciting as it mirrors the geological setting of Lefroy Minerals’ nearby Burns copper-gold discovery, which hosts a resource of 497,000 ounces of gold, 58,000 tonnes of copper and 489,000 ounces of silver.
Adding to the buzz, Coogee West sits on the doorstep of the world-class St Ives goldfield, known for its multi-million-ounce deposits and major infrastructure.
With the drill rigs ready to roll in September, Javelin is positioning itself for a potentially game-changing campaign that could uncover the next chapter of gold and copper riches at Coogee West.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
