Cannindah Drills 42m at 0.65% CuEq as Grades Point to Buried Porphyry Core
Key Takeaways
- Reconnaissance drilling at Cannindah Resources' Appletree Prospect has confirmed a high-priority Southern Porphyry Target with anomalous mineralisation across a 400-metre east-west strike length.
- Hole 26CRD047 returned 42m at 0.65% CuEq from 196m depth — more than three times the grade of the shallower intercept in the same hole — establishing a clear southward grade vector toward a potential buried porphyry centre.
- The broader mineralised footprint at the Southern Porphyry Target extends over 1,800 metres, with intrusive dykes and skarn providing additional geological support for the pencil porphyry targeting model.
- Diamond core tail assays from holes 26CRD047 and 26CRD048, plus three additional diamond holes, remain pending and represent the next material catalyst for the Appletree programme.
- Two drill rigs remain active at the Cannindah Breccia — which hosts a 14.5Mt at 1.0% CuEq resource — maintaining drilling momentum while the Southern Porphyry data set is completed.
Southern porphyry target confirmed at Appletree as copper, gold and silver grades point south
Reconnaissance drilling at Cannindah Resources (ASX: CAE) has confirmed a high-priority porphyry copper-gold-silver target at the company’s Appletree Prospect, with results defining strongly anomalous mineralisation over an east-west strike length of approximately 400 metres. The results provide clear vectors toward the south, with increasing copper, gold, and silver grades supporting the potential for a buried mineralised pencil porphyry centre. Two drill rigs remain active at the Cannindah Breccia while assays from three additional diamond holes are still pending.
The broader mineralised footprint at the Southern Porphyry Target extends over 1,800 metres, with intrusive dykes and skarn adding further geological support to the targeting model.
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What the latest drill results show
The 2026 RC pre-collar program at the Southern Porphyry Target returned the following anomalous results, with assays from the diamond core tails still outstanding:
- 72m @ 0.18% CuEq (0.12% Cu, 0.06g/t Au, 1.21g/t Ag) from 0m — hole 26CRD047
- 42m @ 0.65% CuEq (0.33% Cu, 0.37g/t Au, 3.52g/t Ag) from 196m — hole 26CRD047 (including 4m @ 2.02% CuEq from 196m)
- 54m @ 0.25% CuEq (0.02% Cu, 0.30g/t Au, 0.64g/t Ag) from 88m — hole 26CRD048
The grade escalation between the shallower and deeper intercepts in hole 26CRD047 is a key data point. The deeper interval at 0.65% CuEq returned a higher grade than the upper zone, reinforcing the southward vector toward a higher-grade core.
2025 diamond drilling adds strike continuity
Results from the 2025 diamond drilling program along strike support the same southward grade trend. The table below consolidates the material intercepts from both programmes.
The 2025 high-grade copper-gold discovery at Mt Cannindah established the grade continuity that the 2026 programme is now building on, with southern vectors already visible in last year’s diamond results.
| Hole ID | Year | From (m) | Interval (m) | CuEq% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25CRC013 | 2025 | 18 | 46 | 0.28% |
| 25CRC013 | 2025 | 184 | 90 | 0.33% |
| 25CRD015 | 2025 | 112 | 148 | 0.27% |
| 25CRD020 | 2025 | 118 | 172 | 0.18% |
| 26CRD047 | 2026 | 0 | 72 | 0.18% |
| 26CRD047 | 2026 | 196 | 42 | 0.65% |
| 26CRD048 | 2026 | 88 | 54 | 0.25% |
Cannindah has noted that all drill holes within this area show the same pattern: increasing CuEq grade toward the south. Diamond core tail assays from holes 26CRD047 and 26CRD048 remain outstanding.
What is a pencil porphyry — and why does it matter for investors?
The geological interpretation at Appletree centres on a specific type of target. Here is what the terminology means in plain terms:
- Porphyry copper systems are among the world’s largest sources of copper, gold, and silver. They are the deposit style behind many of the world’s major producing mines and are therefore a high-value exploration target.
- A “pencil porphyry” refers to a cylindrical or elongated intrusive body — essentially a column of mineralised rock that can host concentrated, high-grade mineralisation at depth.
- Halo mineralisation describes the broader, lower-grade zones that typically surround the core of a porphyry system. Drillers use these halos to track and vector toward the higher-grade centre, much like following a signal to its source.
- Intrusive dykes and skarn, both of which are present at Appletree, are geological indicators consistent with proximity to a porphyry centre and strengthen the targeting model.
- Identifying the vector — the direction in which grades are increasing — is a critical step before committing to deeper, more expensive drilling campaigns.
The investment relevance is significant. If Cannindah successfully locates the buried porphyry centre at Appletree, it could represent a meaningful resource growth opportunity beyond the existing Cannindah Breccia Mineral Resource Estimate of 14.5Mt @ 1.0% CuEq.
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What comes next for Cannindah
The near-term newsflow is clearly sequenced. Investors watching the story develop should note the following milestones:
- Assays from three diamond holes remain pending and will be incorporated into the targeting model before the next drill phase is determined
- The next phase of drilling at the Southern Porphyry Target will be assessed after a full review of all outstanding results
- Appletree has been confirmed as a key area for follow-up diamond drilling
- Two drill rigs remain focused on resource growth at the Cannindah Breccia, maintaining drilling momentum while the team awaits the remaining Southern Porphyry data
The Mt Cannindah project expansion strategy has kept two drill rigs active at the Cannindah Breccia while the Southern Porphyry data set builds, a deliberate sequencing that limits idle time between programmes.
Cameron Switzer, Managing Director and CEO, Cannindah Resources
“We are now seeing a higher-tenor zone developing over approximately 400 metres at Appletree, with increasing copper, gold and silver grades providing a clear vector towards the south… these higher-grade results sit within a much larger mineralised footprint and are associated with intrusive dykes and skarn, providing further support for our geological model and the potential for a buried pencil porphyry centre at Appletree.”
The dual-focus strategy reflects disciplined capital deployment. Active Breccia drilling keeps the programme moving and resource growth on track, while the team builds out the full data set needed to make a high-conviction targeting decision at the Southern Porphyry. The pending assays will be the next material catalyst at Appletree.
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