Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) expands Island Gold exploration footprint with new Vadrians-style targets
March 5, 2026Gold exploration stories in Western Australia’s Murchison region often hinge on structural interpretation as much as assay numbers. For Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS), the latest round of drilling at its Island Gold Project suggests the geological architecture that hosts the company’s Vadrians deposit may extend further along strike than previously defined.
Early results from a systematic air core drilling programme have identified several new targets south of the existing discovery, potentially broadening the scale of the mineralised corridor.
Highlights
- 161 air core drill holes completed testing the banded iron formation corridor north and south of the Vadrians deposit.
- First assays from 71 holes confirm anomalous gold across four southern target areas.
- First Light target: 8m at 1.27 g/t gold from 56m in hole 25IGAC048.
- Evening Star target: 4m at 1.41 g/t gold from 44m and 4m at 1.01 g/t gold from 16m.
- Eureka target: 4m at 1.78 g/t gold from 28m.
- Chicago target: 4m at 0.85 g/t gold from 28m with the hole ending in mineralisation.
- Reverse circulation drilling planned to test strike extensions and depth continuity at Vadrians and the newly defined targets.
The Island Gold Project sits within the Murchison Greenstone Belt, about 60km north of Mt Magnet and 20km south of Cue, an area with a long history of gold mining and processing infrastructure.
The project includes Mining Tenements M21/66 and M21/140 along with Exploration Tenement E21/186, all held by Goldview Metals Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caprice Resources.
Caprice’s current drilling programme is designed to test the broader geological corridor hosting mineralisation at the project.
The company completed 161 air core holes on nominal 200m line spacing with 40m to 80m on line spacing, targeting shallow regolith geochemistry along the easterly banded iron formation corridor north and south of the Vadrians deposit.
Results received so far relate to the southern half of the project area, where drilling tested a structural corridor containing numerous historical gold workings with geological settings analogous to the Vadrians system.
Four targets have emerged from the initial batch of assays, including the First Light prospect, located at the junction of a northeast trending fault and a northwest cross cutting structure that correlates with a ground gravity anomaly.
The structure has been modelled to a depth of at least 400m below surface and extends for about 200m along strike.
Immediately south of the Vadrians deposit lies the Evening Star prospect, where drilling has outlined about 250m of anomalous strike, while further south the Chicago target extends for approximately 300m along the same banded iron formation trend and hosts historical gold workings at surface.
The Eureka target lies directly south of the Baxter area and extends for about 250m along strike.
Managing Director Luke Cox said the programme was designed to test whether Vadrians style mineralisation continues along the structural corridor.
“The objective of this recent air core drilling programme was to test for gold anomalism associated with analogue Vadrians style targets along strike. Results so far have successfully delineated new RC drill targets with meaningful strike extents.”
One aspect highlighted by the company is the near surface weathering profile at Vadrians, where gold depletion in the oxidised zone has been observed.
The company notes that broad scale low amplitude gold anomalism in the weathered profile can indicate the potential for higher grade mineralisation in fresh rock beneath.
Caprice is now moving to test that possibility with deeper drilling.
Reverse circulation drilling is underway targeting northern strike extensions and depth continuity at Vadrians, while follow up drilling is also being planned for the newly defined targets including First Light, Evening Star, Chicago and Eureka.
Assays are still pending for 5 diamond holes including reverse circulation pre collars and the remaining 90 air core holes from the programme, with results expected to be released progressively during March 2026.
Within the context of the Murchison goldfields, where structurally controlled mineralisation within banded iron formations has historically supported multiple deposits, the emerging targets at the Island Gold Project add further exploration vectors along the Vadrians corridor.
The next phase of drilling will determine whether the newly defined anomalies translate into broader zones of mineralisation along strike and at depth.
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