Corazon Mining Drills 50 Holes Targeting 600Koz+ Gold Upside at Chalice
Key Takeaways
- Corazon Mining has commenced its maiden 50-hole, ~7,500m RC drill program at the 100%-owned Chalice Gold Project near Higginsville, Western Australia — the first drilling at the asset since acquisition.
- The program targets an exploration target of 9.7–12.3Mt at 1.9–2.1 g/t Au, representing up to 830,000oz of contained gold inclusive of the existing 191,000oz JORC resource.
- Historical gold intersections already sit beyond the current resource boundary, with the program specifically testing whether those intercepts connect into a larger, continuous mineralised system up to 1,000m south of the pit.
- First assay results are expected within weeks and will be released progressively, creating a sustained news flow catalyst through to the program's November 2026 completion date.
- Westgold Resources holds a 19.9% strategic cornerstone interest in Corazon, providing institutional validation from a mid-tier gold producer with direct regional operating experience in Western Australia.
Drilling underway as Corazon targets major resource growth at Chalice
Drilling has commenced at Corazon Mining’s 100%-owned Chalice Gold Project near Higginsville, Western Australia, marking the company’s first drill program at Chalice since acquisition. The maiden 50-hole, ~7,500m RC (Reverse Circulation) program is now active on site, directly targeting extensions to the existing JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 191,000oz at 2.7 g/t Au.
The program tests an Exploration Target of 9.7–12.3Mt at 1.9–2.1 g/t Au, representing approximately 600,000–830,000oz of contained gold inclusive of the existing MRE. First assay results are expected within weeks, to be released progressively as interpreted, with the full program due for completion by November 2026.
It is important to note that the potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource for the additional mineralisation included in the Exploration Target, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimate of a Mineral Resource.
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What the drill program is designed to test
The 7,500m program is designed to test the continuity, geometry, and extent of gold mineralisation immediately south of the historical Chalice open pit. Specifically, it targets extensions up to ~1,000m south and along strike of the pit and to a vertical depth of approximately 200m below surface.
Historical gold intersections already sit beyond the current resource boundary, within areas of limited historical drill density. The program’s central question is whether those intersections connect into a larger, continuous mineralised system, which would materially expand the resource footprint.
The design deliberately prioritises shallow, near-surface targets as the most capital- and time-efficient pathway to resource growth. Deeper targets have already been identified for subsequent phases, including the down-dip extension of the underground resource and the potential for parallel lodes. Drilling commenced following the successful completion of a heritage survey with the Ngadju Native Title Group.
Plan views and 3D oblique views of drill collar locations (Figures 2 and 3 in the announcement) illustrate the spatial relationship between planned holes and the existing open pit, with collars fanning southward along the strike corridor being tested.
Managing Director Simon Coyle framed the program’s ambition clearly:
Simon Coyle, Managing Director
“The historical mineral resource is our starting point, not the limit of our ambition for Chalice. We’re now putting 50 holes into the ground to test gold extensions up to a kilometre south of the pit and to a depth of ~200 metres and deliberately prioritising the near-surface targets, for the most capital and time efficient pathway to resource growth. Historical gold intersections already sit beyond the current resource and this program will tell us whether they connect into a larger, continuous system…”
Understanding mineral resource growth — why this drill program matters to investors
RC drilling, short for Reverse Circulation drilling, is the standard first-pass tool for testing resource extensions in gold exploration. It works by circulating compressed air through a drill string to bring rock chips to surface, allowing geologists to rapidly sample and log geology across large intervals. It is fast, cost-effective, and well-suited to shallow to medium-depth targets, making it the logical choice for a program prioritising near-surface mineralisation.
Understanding the difference between a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate and an Exploration Target is important context here. A Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is a classified, quantified estimate of mineralisation with sufficient geological confidence to be reported publicly under the JORC Code, with defined categories of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred. An Exploration Target, by contrast, is a conceptual range of potential mineralisation identified from geological modelling and historical data. It represents upside that drilling has yet to confirm, and carries inherent uncertainty — as the regulatory disclaimer explicitly states.
For a junior gold developer, growing the MRE is a foundational step. A larger, higher-confidence resource underpins economic studies, project financing, and ultimately the pathway to a development decision. Without resource growth, the investment case plateaus. Corazon’s stated goal is a development-ready open pit gold mine at Chalice, and this drilling program is the first practical test of whether the scale required to support that ambition is achievable.
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Mineral resources at a glance and what comes next
The current Chalice Gold Project MRE, reported as at 11 April 2026 at a 1.3 g/t Au cut-off, is summarised below.
| Classification | Tonnes (kt) | Grade (g/t Au) | Contained (koz Au) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 406 | 3.19 | 42 |
| Indicated | 1,120 | 2.6 | 94 |
| Inferred | 655 | 2.64 | 55 |
| Total | 2,181 | 2.74 | 191 |
As disclosed in the announcement, the company’s near-term pathway from here involves a clear sequence of steps:
- Complete the 7,500m Chalice RC drilling program by November 2026
- Receive assay results progressively through the drill program
- Assess a potential Mineral Resource update once results have been evaluated
- Phase 2 drilling to target deeper mineralised extensions, including down-dip extensions of the underground resource and potential parallel lodes
- Advance exploration targeting across the broader Chalice Gold Project
Chalice is Corazon’s most advanced asset, but the company holds two additional Western Australian gold projects: Two Pools in the Plutonic-Marymia Greenstone Belt and Feather Cap in the Bryah-Padbury Basin. Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) holds a 19.9% strategic interest in Corazon, a position established as part of the Chalice acquisition. Together, the portfolio offers a defined resource base at Chalice, near-term drilling catalysts, and district-scale discovery potential across all three project areas.
The Chalice acquisition brought Westgold Resources on as a 19.9% strategic cornerstone investor alongside the project itself, a structure that gave Corazon both a defined resource base and an institutional vote of confidence from a mid-tier gold producer with regional operating experience.
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