Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) - Managing Director, Andrew Muir
Managing Director, Andrew Muir
Source: Supplied
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  • Caprice Resources (CRS) has slipped on the ASX today after announcing the latest drilling results from its Island Gold Project (IGP) in WA
  • The company says the results from the 35-hole reverse circulation (RC) program are “outstanding”
  • Caprice took on the drilling at six key prospects across the IGP project area, with all prospects except for one returning significant hits
  • Looking ahead, Caprice plans to explore the Lake Austin area of the IGP, which so far has been unexplored historically because it is under lake cover
  • Shares in Caprice Resources closed down 2.27 per cent at 21.5 cents each

Caprice Resources (CRS) shares closed down this afternoon despite a string of results from a major drilling campaign across its Island Gold Project (IGP) in WA.

The junior explorer completed the 4575-metre reverse circulation (RC) program at the project during the March quarter this year.

Caprice said the results from the campaign built on the maiden drilling program in the area in 2020, which the company took on soon after buying the project.

The recent drilling campaign was taken on across four key prospects at the IGP, which lies in WA’s Murchison region.

Caprice Managing Director Andrew Muir said the results from the latest bout of drilling highlighted the high-grade nature of gold mineralisation at the IGP, with several significant intercepts returned.

“This drilling has upgraded almost all the prospects by either extending the mineralisation down-dip or confirming grade continuity,” Mr Muir said.

“The Murchison region is highly prospective with multiple significant deposits, yet the vast majority of the IGP is under-explored due to being under lake cover.

“We look forward to more expansionary drill campaigns commencing next quarter which will focus on previous untested areas, as well as drilling to extend known mineralisation.”

“Outstanding” results

The results from the recent round of RC drilling come from the Baxters and Golconda, New Orient, Iron Clad, and Vadrians Hill prospects of the wider project area. One other — the Campers prospect — was also drilled as part of the program, but no significant hits were returned.

All 35 drill holes in the program were targeting banded iron formation (BIF) hosted mineralisation, which Caprice said was prominent in the IGP area.

The bulk of the exploration work came from the Baxters and Golconda prospects, at which Caprice drilled 16 holes for 2254 metres.

The best hits from these prospects include a five-metre intersection at 18 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold from 78 metres and a four-metre intersection at 4.3 g/t of gold from 74 metres.

At the New Orient prospect, Caprice drilled 12 holes for 1727 metres, though one hole had to be abandoned because of unstable ground conditions. The best results from this prospect include a nine-metre hit at 9.6 g/t of gold from 97 metres, which itself included a six-metre zone at 14 g/t of gold from 97 metres.

As for the other prospect, two holes were drilled at Iron Clad, two at Vadrians Hill and three at Campers.

What’s next?

Caprice said it planned to kick off another RC program early in the September quarter of 2021, with a large-scale aircore program scheduled for later in the quarter.

Interestingly, Caprice said all drilling — recent and historical — at the IGP had been limited to its island area, which accounts for only around 25 per cent of the project.

The rest is covered by Lake Austin.

As such, Caprice said it planned to make the unexplored lake a future focus for the company, and the upcoming RC and aircore programs would pave the way for discoveries in the Lake Austin area.

Shares in Caprice Resources closed down 2.27 per cent, trading at 21.5 cents.

CRS by the numbers
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