Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN) targets high-grade gold and rare earths across Central Yilgarn and Laverton Projects

Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN) is progressing a dual front exploration strategy across two highly prospective projects in Western Australia.

The Central Yilgarn and Laverton Projects offer exposure to proven mineral belts that have seen limited modern exploration.

Recent results include high grade gold intersections, a new rare earth discovery, and a pipeline of walk up drill targets generated through a review of extensive historical data.

In this Q&A, Catalina’s Executive Director Ross Cotton provides a detailed update on why these projects matter, what has been discovered so far, and what is coming next as the company prepares for a major drilling campaign in the second half of 2025.

What makes the Central Yilgarn Project so compelling, and which targets are being prioritised?

The Central Yilgarn Project gives us control over more than 650 square kilometres of tenure across two underexplored greenstone belts, Yerilgee and Evanston.

These belts sit within the Yilgarn Craton, which is one of the most prolific gold producing regions globally.

What excites us most is that the project hosts multiple camp scale gold targets that have demonstrated high grade mineralisation but have not yet been systematically followed up.

Our immediate focus is the T6 Gold Camp, which includes the Chicken Little, Megatron and Snowflake prospects, each of these targets has delivered compelling results from historic drilling.

At Chicken Little, we saw 17 metres at 4.1 grams per tonne gold and 28 grams per tonne silver, including 4 metres at 14.9 grams per tonne gold. These results came from shallow drilling and clearly warrant deeper follow up work.

“These are walk up targets with proven mineralisation, and our upcoming RC drilling program will aim to test for down dip and plunge extensions.”

In addition to T6, we are also prioritising targets within the T8 and T11 camps, which show strong geophysical and geochemical signatures that align with known mineral systems in the region.

Can you elaborate on the significance of the aircore drilling results at the Laverton Gold Project?

The Laverton Project sits within the Laverton Gold Province, an area that hosts world class deposits like Granny Smith and Wallaby.

Our work has focused on testing the Barnicoat Shear Zone, which is a major regional structure known for its mineral endowment.

In late 2024, our aircore program intersected 28 metres at 1.09 grams per tonne gold from 57 metres in hole LVAC049, including a high grade interval of 1 metre at 9.69 grams per tonne.

This broad intercept is interpreted as supergene mineralisation developed within the weathered profile, and it occurs directly above a zone of alteration and veining seen at the bottom of hole LVAC012 nearby.

“This mineralisation sits in the lower saprolite, suggesting it’s supergene in nature but sitting just above a potential bedrock source.”

These results have given us confidence that we are near a primary hydrothermal system, and we are now preparing an RC program to test beneath these intersections.

What potential does Catalina see in the rare earth results also reported at Laverton?

One of the more exciting developments from our Laverton work has been the unexpected discovery of rare earth element mineralisation.

Hole LVAC037 returned 4 metres at 1.34 percent total rare earth oxides within a broader 9 metre interval grading 7,565 parts per million.

These are strong grades and include up to 0.3 percent neodymium and praseodymium, which are critical metals used in permanent magnets for electric motors and renewable energy technologies.

“What is especially encouraging is the high NdPr to TREO ratio, which is comparable to the nearby Mt Weld deposit, one of the world’s highest grade rare earth mines.”

While the source of the mineralisation is still unclear due to deep weathering, we believe it may be linked to carbonatite intrusions similar to Mt Weld.

Follow up drilling will aim to better understand the geology and evaluate the scale potential of this discovery.

How is Catalina using soil geochemistry to generate future drill targets?

Soil sampling is a cornerstone of our exploration strategy.

The terrain across both Central Yilgarn and Laverton is ideal for geochemical work because there is minimal transported cover, which means soil samples are a good indicator of the underlying bedrock.

We have access to more than 20,000 historical soil samples and 700 rock chip samples, which gives us a significant head start in target generation.

At the T8 Gold Camp, for example, soil sampling defined a 1.7 kilometre by 400 metre gold anomaly on the edge of a major magnetic and gravity dome.

That anomaly led to initial drilling which intersected broad zones of mineralised banded iron formation.

We have also identified two additional high tenor gold in soil anomalies around the same dome that remain open along strike.

“Our plan is to infill and extend sampling in these areas to refine our targeting ahead of the next drilling phase.”

This approach allows us to prioritise the most prospective areas efficiently and cost effectively.

What are the next exploration steps Catalina is taking across both project areas?

We are gearing up for an active second half of 2025, at Central Yilgarn, our immediate focus is on launching an RC drilling campaign targeting the seven walk up gold prospects identified in our technical review.

The program will begin at the T6 Gold Camp and expand as results come in and alongside drilling, we will continue soil sampling and structural interpretation to refine new targets.

At Laverton, our immediate focus is follow up RC drilling at two locations, the first is beneath the gold intersection at LVAC049 to test for bedrock hosted mineralisation.

The second is at the rare earth zone identified in LVAC037, where we want to trace the mineralisation into fresh rock and investigate its potential link to a deeper intrusive source.

Together, these activities are aimed at delivering the data needed to support resource definition work in the future.

Our goal is to establish both Central Yilgarn and Laverton as key exploration hubs with multiple pathways to discovery.

Looking Ahead: Laying the Foundations for Discovery

Catalina Resources is entering a pivotal phase as it transitions from target generation to drill testing across both of its Western Australian projects.

With high grade gold hits, a rare earth discovery, and a large dataset to guide exploration, the company is well positioned for sustained news flow and potential discovery success.

RC drilling programs are being finalised, soil sampling will continue to refine new targets, and the team is focused on building momentum through disciplined and systematic exploration.

Investors can expect a steady stream of activity as Catalina works to unlock the full potential of its Central Yilgarn and Laverton tenements.

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