Clara Resources Australia Limited (ASX:C7A) has completed an expanded high-resolution airborne LiDAR and orthoimagery survey at its Mareeba Gold Project in Far North Queensland, with the processed dataset delivered by survey contractor Mangoesmapping Pty Ltd, covering approximately 403 km² of the company's granted tenure and exploration licence applications along approximately 41 km of the Kingsborough Fault corridor.

Key Points

  • The expanded survey covers 403 km², more than ten times the area of the original March 2026 survey of 39 km²
  • Survey was flown between 9 and 13 August 2026 at a flying height of 1,000 m over 75 flight runs with 60% side overlap
  • Point density of 20 points per square metre was achieved across 99.8% of the survey area, more than twice the approximately 8 points per square metre of the March 2026 survey
  • The original March 2026 survey area was reflown at the higher density, with the new dataset superseding the earlier data
  • Next steps include systematic target generation across the expanded terrain model and completion of permitting for a maiden drilling program

August 2026 Survey Acquisition and Technical Deliverables

The survey was flown between 9 and 13 August 2026 at a flying height of 1,000 m, with the specified point density of 20 points per square metre met across 99.8% of the survey area. Orthoimagery was captured over the same five days at a 10 cm ground sample distance. Deliverables include a ground classified LiDAR point cloud, a 1 m digital terrain model, a 1 m digital surface model, 0.5 m contours, and 10 cm orthophotography in 1 km tiles, all referenced to GDA94, Map Grid of Australia Zone 55, with elevations to the Australian Height Datum.

Integration with Hodgkinson Database and Target Generation

The company has loaded the new terrain model into its Hodgkinson database, which holds the project's historic workings together with its drilling and geochemistry records. With tree cover removed, the bare earth model exposes shafts and costeans of the historic goldfield and associated structures. Over the original 39 km², the same approach identified seven targets — four at documented historical workings and three on previously unrecorded ground. The same systematic review will now be applied across the remaining ground, proceeding from the north west of the corridor to the south east, and integrating LiDAR interpretation with historic soil and stream sediment geochemistry and the historic mines record.

Executive Director Comment and Stated Next Steps

Clara Executive Director Duncan Gordon said the first LiDAR survey in March changed the way the company viewed the goldfield, and that the company now has the same level of detail across more than 400 square kilometres of its ground. The company's stated next steps include a systematic review of the expanded terrain model and orthoimagery for surface features consistent with historical workings and structural controls, integration of LiDAR interpretation with geochemistry data to rank new targets for field inspection and sampling, and completion of permitting for the maiden drilling program, with the expanded dataset informing drill targeting beyond the initial program.