Highlights

• CTN acquired projects in the Yerilgee and Evanston greenstone belts in the Yilgarn Craton, spanning over 650 km²
• At the Laverton Project (E38/3697), air core drilling intersected a broad zone of mineralisation, with hole LVAC049 returning 28 m at 1.09 g/t Au (including 1 m at 9.69 g/t Au).
• Drilling at the Laverton Project expanded the area of anomalous REE mineralisation.
• Catalina further strengthened its presence in the Laverton region by securing exploration license E38/3847, located along the strike of the Burtville and Karridale gold deposits.
• In November 2024, two diamond drill holes were completed at the Rock Lodge Project in the Lachlan Fold Belt.

Catalina Resources Ltd (ASX:CTN) advanced its exploration project portfolio in the half-year ended 31 December 2024 (1HFY25) with several key developments. These included the acquisition of projects in the Yerilgee and Evanston greenstone belts in the Yilgarn Craton region, successful drilling at the Laverton Project, and both extension and diamond drilling in the Lachlan Fold Belt.

Acquisition of projects in the Evanston and Yerilgee greenstone belts

In December 2024, CTN signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Dreadnought Resources Limited (DRE) to acquire projects in the Yerilgee and Evanston greenstone belts.

These projects are located in an underexplored area of the  renowned Yilgarn Craton and include five camp-scale prospects with favourable lithostructural settings and proven gold mineralisation. Notably, several walk-up targets have defined shallow, high-grade gold and silver intercepts that require limited follow-up work with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.

Significant Drilling Results at the Laverton Project

Assays from air core drilling in September 2024 indicated a broad zone of mineralisation. In the gold target area, the best result was from hole LVAC049, which returned 28 m at 1.09 g/t Au from 57 m, including 1 m at 9.69 g/t Au from 61 m.

Additionally, reconnaissance drilling 100 m and 200 m south of LVAC049 intersected mineralisation, delineating a significant gold zone.

Furthermore, the drilling program extended the area of anomalous rare earth element (REE) mineralisation linked to mafic intrusions near the point source magnetic anomalies. The most consistent anomalies were recorded in holes LVAC026–LVAC028, which followed-up on hole LVAC025.

Key results from these holes include:

• LVAC026: 1 m at 3,179 ppm TREO from 28 m, 1 m at 2,197 ppm TREO from 30 m, and 4 m at 2,237 ppm TREO from 35 m.
• LVAC027: 3 m at 2,720 ppm TREO from 32 m.
• LVAC028: 7 m at 2,029 ppm TREO from 40 m, including 4 m at 2,429 ppm TREO.

High-grade REE intersections were also encountered in the southern gold target area, with values ranging from 1,000 ppm to 8,500 ppm TREO. A particularly significant result was noted in hole LVAC037 on the southern reconnaissance air core traverse, which reported 9 m at 7,565 ppm TREO from 47 m, including 4 m at 13,406 ppm (1.34%) TREO from 49 m.

In addition, two more air core holes have shown enrichment in the highly sought-after heavy rare earth elements (HREO): LVAC027 recorded 2 m at 2,429 ppm HREO from 33 m, and LVAC046 (reported alongside LVAC027 and LVAC044) yielded 1 m at 1,701 ppm HREO from 38 m.

Expansion of Laverton Project Footprint

Catalina further expanded its presence in the Laverton region with the grant of exploration license E38/3847, following a successful ballot of its application. This tenement is believed to lie along the strike of the Burtville and Karridale gold deposits and is located at the northern end of the Burtville-Karridale Mine Corridor (BKMC), a region that hosts a substantial bulk tonnage gold mineralisation system, over 1Moz.

Drilling at Lachlan Fold Belt Project

In November 2024, two diamond drill holes (SRLRCD001-2) were completed at the Rock Lodge Project in the Lachlan Fold Belt, NSW, totalling 351m of NQ core. These holes were designed to follow up intersections of gold mineralisation in shallow RC drilling. The drilling results indicate a high-temperature hydrothermal fluid origin, possibly associated with a deep intrusion. This opens up opportunities for additional exploration and site development.

CTN shares were trading at AU$0.002 per share at the time of writing on 4 March 2025.