Kantra Copper Hits 30m at 1.32% Cu Beyond Known Resource as 2026 MRE Nears
Key Takeaways
- All 10 holes in Kantra Copper's Spitfire resource expansion program returned mineralisation beyond the limits of the 2025 MRE, confirming the deposit is larger than previously counted.
- Headline intercepts include 30m at 1.32% Cu and 0.17 g/t Au and 6.71m at 1.96% Cu and 0.25 g/t Au, drilled from the newly established 740 Diamond Drill Cuddy on the 740 Level.
- Approximately 80,000 metres of drilling results — including all Spitfire data from this program — will feed into the 2026 MRE, scheduled for release in the December Quarter of 2026.
- The 2025 MRE underrepresented Spitfire due to infrastructure access constraints, not a lack of mineralisation — a distinction that materially changes how investors should read the upcoming resource update.
- Four new underground Diamond Drill Cuddies established through record H1 2026 development will support resource definition drilling for both the 2026 and 2027 MREs, creating a multi-year resource-building pipeline across East Kavanagh, South West Kavanagh, North Kavanagh, Spitfire, and Nugent at depth.
Spitfire drilling extends high-grade Cu-Au mineralisation at Kanmantoo
Underground diamond drilling at the Spitfire lode, Kanmantoo Copper Mine in South Australia, has returned multiple high-grade copper-gold intersections from a 10-hole resource expansion program. Kantra Copper Limited (ASX: KAN, formerly Hillgrove Resources Limited) announced on 1 September 2026 that every intersection from the program extends mineralisation beyond the limits of the 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), with all results scheduled to feed into the 2026 MRE, expected for release in the December Quarter.
Headline intercepts from the program include:
- 30m @ 1.32% Cu + 0.17g/t Au from 110m downhole (26KVUG0890)
- 22m @ 1.02% Cu + 0.04g/t Au from 273m downhole (26KVUG0924)
- 18m @ 0.7% Cu + 0.03g/t Au from 236m downhole (26KVUG0924)
- 11m @ 1.19% Cu + 0.02g/t Au from 108m downhole (26KVUG0926)
- 10m @ 1.32% Cu + 0.24g/t Au from 76m downhole (26KVUG0890)
- 6.71m @ 1.96% Cu + 0.25g/t Au from 330m downhole (26KVUG0924)
These are not incremental improvements to an existing model. They represent new mineralisation sitting outside what was previously counted, which tells you the Spitfire lode is larger than the 2025 MRE captured.
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Inside Spitfire — what the geology is telling investors
The Spitfire lode sits to the south of the main Kavanagh lodes at Kanmantoo, extending at depth beneath existing underground development. Geologically, it is characterised by multiple stacked lenses — think of these as separate mineralised zones layered on top of one another rather than a single continuous body. That stacked geometry matters because it means more ore potential across a greater vertical extent, not just one thin seam.
The reason Spitfire was not fully captured in the 2025 MRE comes down to access, not geology. Drilling into Spitfire had historically been constrained by its position relative to active stoping areas (zones where ore was actively being mined) and the limitations of existing drill cuddy locations. A drill cuddy is simply an underground chamber from which drill rigs operate. With access restricted, the 2025 MRE captured only the upper portion of Spitfire and could not adequately represent its down-dip extent or the stacked lens geometry now being confirmed.
That is an important distinction for investors. A resource that was constrained by infrastructure access rather than by the size of the deposit is a very different situation from one that simply ran out of mineralisation.
Why the 740 DDC changes the equation
The newly established 740 Diamond Drill Cuddy (740 DDC), set up on the 740 Level at the completion of stoping, gave Kantra precise access to parts of Spitfire that were previously unreachable. The 10-hole program was completed from this platform. Drilling also confirmed a change in the orientation of the lode — a geological finding that reflects a better understanding of how the system behaves at depth, consistent with the undulating geometry observed across the broader Kanmantoo system.
Building toward the 2026 MRE — scale of the drilling program
The volume of drilling underpinning the upcoming resource update is substantial. Kantra completed 34,065m of underground diamond drilling to the end of July 2026, including 6,708m of Spitfire-specific drilling across both grade control and resource definition programs. When combined with drilling not captured by the 2025 MRE data cutoff, it is estimated that approximately 80,000m of drilling results will feed into the 2026 MRE update.
Record development achieved in H1 2026 enabled the establishment of four new underground Diamond Drill Cuddies (DDCs), significantly increasing drilling flexibility across the mine. The new platforms provide early drill access to:
- East Kavanagh
- South West Kavanagh
- North Kavanagh
- Spitfire
- Nugent at depth
These platforms are expected to support data collection beyond the 2026 MRE and will also contribute to the 2027 MRE, establishing a multi-year pipeline of resource-building activity.
| Hole ID | Target Zone | Interval (m) | Cu % | Au g/t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26KVUG0890 | Spitfire | 10 | 1.32 | 0.24 |
| 26KVUG0890 | Spitfire | 30 | 1.32 | 0.17 |
| 26KVUG0924 | Spitfire | 18 | 0.70 | 0.03 |
| 26KVUG0924 | Spitfire | 22 | 1.02 | 0.04 |
| 26KVUG0924 | Spitfire | 6.71 | 1.96 | 0.25 |
| 26KVUG0926 | Spitfire | 11 | 1.19 | 0.02 |
Source: Appendix A, Table 1 — Kantra Copper ASX Announcement, 1 September 2026
Bob Fulker, CEO and Managing Director, Kantra Copper
“The latest drilling from the 740 Level continues to highlight the scale and quality of the Kanmantoo system. Extending Spitfire beyond the existing resource envelope is an important step in building the 2026 Mineral Resource update. These results strengthen our confidence in the ongoing growth potential at Kanmantoo and demonstrate the value of the development investment made this year.”
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What’s next — December Quarter MRE in sight
The near-term milestone for investors is clear: the 2026 MRE is scheduled for release in the December Quarter. That update will incorporate the Spitfire results reported here, along with approximately 80,000m of total drilling not captured in the 2025 MRE due to data cutoff timing.
As development advances, Kantra has noted that additional grade control drilling will be required to further refine the lode geometry at Spitfire. This is standard practice in underground resource definition, not a signal of uncertainty — it reflects the disciplined, staged approach to converting drilling data into a robust resource model.
The four new DDC platforms established through record H1 2026 development work mean drilling flexibility is meaningfully greater than it was twelve months ago. They will support data collection for the 2027 MRE as well, extending the resource-building runway well beyond the upcoming update. With the December Quarter approaching, the Spitfire results represent a tangible step forward in Kantra’s ongoing effort to grow the measured extent of the Kanmantoo system.
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