Austral Resources Australia (ASX: AR1) has confirmed associated gold and silver mineralisation within a previously reported high-grade copper intersection at the Snow Queen prospect in Queensland.
Final gold and silver assays from drill hole 26SQRC001 have upgraded the reported result to 10 metres at 7.52% copper, 9.28 grams per tonne silver, and 0.25g/t gold from 35m.
The interval includes a higher-grade zone of 4m at 15.98% copper, 16.22g/t silver, and 0.48g/t gold from 38m.
The Snow Queen prospect forms part of Austral’s Cameron River project, and sits within the company’s broader regional copper exploration strategy around the Rocklands Processing Facility.
Copper-Gold-Silver System
The updated assays add precious metal credits to the initial copper result reported from 26SQRC001 earlier this month.
Austral classified the intercept as sulphide mineralisation and calculated the significant interval using a 0.4% copper cut-off with no internal or external dilution.
The result strengthens the interpretation of a polymetallic copper-gold-silver system at Snow Queen, where the company has completed first-pass exploration drilling.
Snow Queen is located within exploration permit EPM 17634, which lies along the contact zone between the Hardway Granite and Corella Formation.
Mineralisation intersected in 26SQRC001 is hosted within brecciated Hardway Granite with extensive actinolite-albite alteration and minor hematite, along with the chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and possible bornite the company identified within the mineral assemblage.
Regional Growth Strategy
“The addition of meaningful gold and silver values to an already high-grade copper intersection further strengthens our confidence in the Snow Queen system,” chief operating officer Shane O’Connell said.
“Importantly, these results continue to support our strategy of systematically advancing regional copper opportunities around the Rocklands Processing Facility, [and] we look forward to further assay results and follow-up drilling as exploration activities continue across the Cameron River Project.”
Assays for drill hole 26SQRC002 remain pending and are expected within the next four weeks, while follow-up drilling is in the design stage and regional exploration drilling expected to resume in the third quarter of 2026.
The next phase of work will target priority prospects across the Cameron River project and include ongoing near-mine drilling results from satellite copper targets.
Austral owns two processing facilities and 2,101 square kilometres of exploration tenure in the Mt Isa district, alongside a copper inventory that includes the Lady Annie and Rocklands projects.
