Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) Lateron IP survey underway at shallow Cu-Au targets
Buxton Resources has commenced a ground Induced Polarisation, or IP, gradient array survey at its 100% owned Lateron Cu-Au Project, E80/5545, on the western margin of the Tanami Province, 150km south of Halls Creek.
The survey directly follows the definition of high priority, intrusion related Cu-Au drill targets announced on 10 November 2025.
Highlights
Buxton is targeting a cluster of shallow magnetic anomalies considered prospective for intrusion related copper gold mineralisation beneath thin cover.
The gradient array program is being carried out by geophysical contractor Moombarriga Geophysics and is expected to take approximately 4 to 5 field days.
IP chargeability results will be combined with existing gravity and magnetic data to rank targets and refine drill hole planning.
Buxton has secured up to $180,000, excluding GST, in Western Australian Government co funding under the Exploration Incentive Scheme toward the Lateron drilling program.
The Lateron Project sits under shallow cover at the western margin of the Tanami Province, targeting magnetic anomalies first identified by historic AFMECO uranium drilling in the early 1980s.
That work intersected sulphide bearing intrusive rocks at shallow basement depth in drillhole S-19 but was never assayed or followed up.
Historic logs record the presence of sulphide bearing mafic and ultramafic intrusions, while airborne magnetic surveys indicate that this suite of intrusive rocks occurs across an area of approximately 7km².
In November 2025, Buxton defined 3 high priority drill targets from 3D geophysical inversion modelling of newly acquired detailed ground gravity and high resolution open file magnetics, constrained by reconnaissance passive seismic.
The modelling resolved a central, fault bounded block of highly anomalous density with 4 discrete, highly magnetic features arranged around its margin, at depths as shallow as 77.5m below surface.
The 2025 gravity survey comprised 515 newly acquired ground gravity survey stations, using a mix of 200m by 200m and 400m by 400m spacings.
The gravity survey imagery defines the central block as having highly anomalous density of approximately 5 mGal, with three drillholes planned to test the magnetic features for copper gold mineralisation.
Petrographic analysis of intrusive core fragments recovered from the historic S-19 site classified the rock as a hornblende quartz diorite and confirmed magmatic amphibole and titanite alongside pyrite and chalcopyrite.
The announcement states that this assemblage indicates a hydrous magma with high sulphur solubility, a signature commonly associated with magmatic hydrothermal copper gold systems and a key reason the magnetic features are considered prospective.
Buxton Managing Director Marty Moloney said:
“This IP survey is a logical, low-cost step that lets us look directly for the sulphides we're chasing and rank our targets before we drill, so we make the most of every metre of the co-funded program.”
The gradient array efficiently maps chargeability across the priority target area and is well suited to the shallow to moderate depths at which the strongest targets sit.
Some features within the broader target cluster lie beyond the effective depth of investigation of the gradient array method and are not covered by the survey.
Should the results warrant it, Moombarriga’s scope includes the option to acquire a pole dipole line over a selected target, producing a 2D chargeability depth model with greater depth penetration.
Drilling is supported by the Western Australian Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme Co funded Exploration Drilling program, with the award covering up to 50% of direct drilling costs toward a Lateron program to be completed by 31 May 2027.
The current IP survey adds a direct sulphide detection method over priority targets within the effective depth range of the gradient array method to help sharpen the ranking of holes ahead of drilling.
Buxton states that prioritising the strongest targets ahead of the drilling program will allow for best use of the co funded allocation, and the company will provide further updates on the Lateron Project in due course.