Catalina Resources Locks in RC Drill Targets at Kirkalocka Ahead of November Program

Drill targets locked in as Kirkalocka gold program moves to next phase

Catalina Resources (ASX: CTN) has completed target refinement across its Kirkalocka gold project, with approximately 1,500 soil assays defining three priority prospects ready for RC drilling. Rock chip results up to 3.64 g/t Au at Avis, alongside coherent gold-in-soil anomalism at Capra and Two Mile Bore, confirm that all three targets remain inadequately tested by historical drilling. RC drilling across the Kirkalocka prospects is scheduled for November 2026, following completion of heritage clearance. In parallel, work is progressing at the Santy tungsten-polymetallic prospect within the Tallering Project, where RC drilling is also planned for November, subject to heritage and tenement approvals.

Ross Cotton, Executive Director

“The work at Kirkalocka has done exactly what we wanted it to do – refine our targets and give us clear areas to drill… The focus now shifts to drilling. Kirkalocka is scheduled for RC drilling in November giving us the opportunity to test the extent and continuity of gold mineralisation across these priority areas.”

Three priority prospects defined across Kirkalocka

Kirkalocka is a central part of Catalina’s Mid-West gold strategy. The project sits immediately adjacent to the Kirkalocka Gold Mine and its 2.0 Mtpa processing plant, providing nearby infrastructure that underpins the company’s longer-term development thinking.

Interpretation of the soil program and recent rock chip sampling has advanced three distinct prospects to drill-ready status:

• Capra: Coherent gold-in-soil anomalism follows an east-west-trending BIF/chert sequence, with values exceeding 100 ppb Au near a faulted contact zone. The target is largely untested by historical drilling. Six RC holes are planned across two drill fences, oriented approximately perpendicular to the strike of the BIF.
• Avis: Recent rock chips returned up to 3.64 g/t Au (KK009), with additional results of 0.361 g/t Au (KK012) and 0.238 g/t Au (KK007). Historical rock chip sampling in the vicinity of the workings returned up to 9.89 g/t Au (sample 17959, a historical result). Critically, some of the strongest soil anomalies are spatially separate from the historical workings, opening new ground for first-pass testing. Six RC holes have been designed to test the geological and structural setting associated with the historical workings and adjacent gold-in-soil anomalism.
• Two Mile Bore: Historical drilling has already returned 1m @ 4.66 g/t Au from 34m (CWRC-6807800-002) and 1m @ 0.64 g/t Au from 30m from the same hole. Despite these results, review of historical drilling indicates the strongest gold-in-soil anomaly has not been adequately drill-tested. East-west-oriented RC traverses are being considered to test the northern anomaly and its relationship with the interpreted Cuddingwarra Shear.

Key results at a glance

What does soil geochemistry actually tell us about gold exploration?

Before a company drills, it needs to know where to point the drill. That is where soil geochemistry and rock chip sampling come in.

Soil geochemistry involves collecting surface soil samples on a systematic grid and analysing them for trace elements, including gold, measured in parts per billion (ppb). Gold disperses from buried mineralisation upward through weathering processes, so elevated concentrations in soil can indicate what lies beneath. Rock chip sampling takes pieces of outcropping or sub-cropping rock and assays them directly, giving you grade in grams per tonne (g/t). A coherent, multi-sample soil anomaly aligned with prospective geology and backed by elevated rock chip results is a meaningful signal. It does not confirm a resource, but it tells geologists that something worth investigating is present.

The term “inadequately drill-tested” matters here. It does not mean a prospect has never been drilled. It means prior drilling existed but did not fully test the extent or depth of the anomaly. These are second-look opportunities, not blank slates. There is existing geological context, which reduces some uncertainty compared to a completely untested greenfields target.

Reverse circulation (RC) drilling is the standard next step after surface geochemistry. An RC drill uses air pressure to force chips of rock back up to the surface through the drill rods, allowing geologists to collect and assay samples at regular depth intervals. It is fast, relatively cost-effective, and well-suited to testing shallow gold targets in Western Australian terrain. The planned Kirkalocka program will produce the subsurface data needed to assess whether these surface signals extend into drillable mineralisation.

Santy adds a second string to the bow ahead of November drilling

While Kirkalocka takes headline focus, work has continued at the Santy prospect within Catalina’s Tallering Project.

Further technical analysis has been completed on previously reported tungsten-bearing rock chip sample SY09 (0.31% WO₃, previously reported). Micro-XRF mapping by Portable Spectral Services (PSS) in Perth confirmed a spatial association between tungsten (W), bismuth (Bi) and molybdenum (Mo) within the scanned area of the sample, helping to characterise how the tungsten mineralisation is distributed. Separately, UV shortwave light examination of SY09 did not detect scheelite fluorescence, suggesting scheelite (CaWO₄) is unlikely to be the primary tungsten mineral. Further mineralogical work is planned to identify the host mineral. New rock chip assay results from Santy are pending.

The tungsten discovery at Tallering marked the initial identification of WO3 mineralisation at Santy Well, providing the geological baseline that the current micro-XRF and mineralogical work is now building on.

RC drilling at Santy is also planned for November 2026, subject to heritage clearance and tenement grant. The Santy prospect is located within Exploration Licence Application E59/3068, which is currently pending grant. Santy adds polymetallic and critical minerals exposure alongside the gold-focused Kirkalocka program.

What’s next for Catalina

The near-term catalyst pipeline is clearly defined:

1. Heritage clearance completion at Kirkalocka, enabling RC drilling to commence in November 2026
2. RC program targeting Capra, Avis and Two Mile Bore
3. Santy rock chip assay results pending
4. Further mineralogical work at Santy to identify the tungsten host mineral in sample SY09
5. Santy RC drilling planned for November 2026, subject to tenement grant and heritage approvals

The broader objective is building gold scale adjacent to established processing infrastructure in Western Australia’s Mid-West, with Kirkalocka’s proximity to an operating 2.0 Mtpa processing plant forming a potential pathway to development if drilling confirms continuity of mineralisation across these priority targets.

Catalina’s Laverton gold drilling program represents the company’s most advanced active project, giving investors a sense of what a post-target-definition RC campaign looks like in practice and what the Kirkalocka program is working toward.

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