Austral Resources has confirmed significant high-grade copper and gold mineralisation following a reconnaissance drilling campaign across six targets at its Cameron River project in North West Queensland.
The campaign comprised 32 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes situated roughly 40 kilometres from the company’s Rocklands Processing Facility in the Mount Isa Copper Province. Of the holes drilled, 25 returned significant copper intersections across targets that largely received their first modern drill testing.
The Waterhole prospect yielded the campaign’s standout results. Drillhole 26WHRC004 intersected 15 metres at 4.59 per cent copper and 1.16 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a depth of 40 metres, including a higher-grade zone of 13 metres at 5.21 per cent copper and 1.24 g/t gold from 41 metres.
Additional notable intercepts included 17 metres at 1.27 per cent copper at Waterhole, five metres at 2.79 per cent copper at Playboy, and seven metres at 1 per cent copper at Dawn Marie.
Austral Resources Chairman David Newling said the campaign delivered high-grade copper alongside meaningful gold, establishing clear priorities for follow-up exploration.
“These results, alongside previous results like Enterprise and Snow Queen, start to demonstrate the prospectivity of our tenure across north west Queensland,” Newling said.
“With an increased exploration programme scheduled for 2027, our belief is that our copper resources will grow substantially as we continue to prosecute our strategy to become Australia’s next mid-tier copper powerhouse.”
Most intersected zones remain open at depth and along strike. Austral plans systematic follow-up campaigns to test continuity at Waterhole, Playboy-Dawn Marie, and the Trumby Line.
In the immediate term, drilling operations are shifting to the company’s Miranda Project for resource definition and potential expansion work at the Enterprise Copper Resource as Austral builds toward an expanded 2027 exploration drive.
