Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) sharpens Lammerlaw focus as desktop study defines priority Otago gold targets

Critical Resources has completed a detailed desktop study over its Lammerlaw Gold Project in New Zealand’s Central Otago Goldfields, outlining three priority exploration targets and providing a structured pathway for staged, low cost field programs ahead of anticipated permit transfer approval by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals.

Highlights

• Desktop study completed at Lammerlaw ahead of NZP&M permit transfer approval.

• Three priority targets defined: Devils Creek, Stony Creek and the TZ3–TZ4 Structural Boundary.

• Lammerlaw sits within a regionally developed structural corridor with documented historical gold production and limited modern exploration.

• Historical alluvial workings report gold grades up to 2.72 g/t Au, with tungsten values up to 710 ppm W in rock chips and stream sediment anomalies up to 340 ppm W.

• Lammerlaw complements the company’s Cap Burn Gold Project, adding portfolio depth through staged, ground based evaluation.

• Assay results from the Cap Burn RC drilling program are expected in early March, subject to laboratory turnaround times.

The Lammerlaw Project covers approximately 410 km² and lies about 50 kilometres south south west of Critical Resources’ Cap Burn Gold Project, with both assets positioned within the broader Central Otago gold province.

The area sits on the southwestern flank of the Central Otago Antiform, a geological setting that also hosts OceanaGold’s Macraes operation, which exceeds 10 Moz Au, providing an established regional framework for shear controlled orogenic gold systems.

The desktop review integrated historic mining records, aerial imagery, LiDAR, regional geochemistry and airborne geophysics to refine the geological model and generate priority targets.

Host rocks comprise Textural Zone 3 and 4 schists, which are known to host low angle, shear zone controlled mineralisation elsewhere in Otago.

The study also references published structural work identifying a potential mirror image of the Hyde Macraes Shear Zone coincident with the Lammerlaw permit, supporting the conceptual potential for structurally focused gold mineralisation pending field validation.

Three target areas now anchor the exploration strategy, led by Devils Creek as the most advanced historic hard rock prospect, where two small adits alongside numerous pits and trenches have been confirmed through modern datasets.

Stony Creek is defined by historic antimony workings, elevated tungsten geochemistry and a coherent electromagnetic response, while the TZ3–TZ4 Structural Boundary is interpreted as a regionally significant corridor prospective for shear hosted orogenic gold.

Legacy data adds further context, including rock chip samples grading 2.72 and 2.58 g/t Au, tungsten anomalies in stream catchments up to 340 ppm W, and historical alluvial workings indicating widespread gold dispersion across multiple drainage systems.

Outside the permit, the Otago Pioneer Quartz Mine demonstrates the fertility of the broader structural corridor, with historic records citing mining over more than 1,200 metres of strike at reported average grades of approximately 13 to 15 g/t Au.

Managing Director Tim Wither said the study had delivered clear technical outcomes, noting that

“the work confirms well defined shear corridors and, importantly, multiple structurally coherent target areas consistent with orogenic gold systems in the Otago Schist Belt. These refined targets provide a clear foundation for systematic, low cost field programs designed to test the structural interpretations and advance our understanding of the permit area.”

Near term activities, subject to permit transfer, will focus on Devils Creek and Stony Creek, beginning with ground reconnaissance, mapping, targeted surface sampling and geophysical ground truthing.

These programs are designed to rapidly screen targets before committing capital to more intensive exploration, aligning with the company’s staged, capital disciplined approach across its Otago portfolio.

For investors, Lammerlaw represents an incremental but structured addition to Critical Resources’ New Zealand gold strategy, complementing Cap Burn while offering optionality through multiple target styles in a proven geological province.

With field programs poised to commence following regulatory approval and Cap Burn assays pending, the coming months should provide further clarity on how this emerging Otago portfolio may evolve within the company’s broader multi asset footprint.

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