Highlights

  • Clara Resources expanded LiDAR mapping at Mareeba to approximately 403 square kilometres along the Kingsborough Fault corridor.
  • The August 2026 flights achieved a target density of 20 points per square metre across 99.8% of the survey area.
  • An earlier 39-square-kilometre survey identified seven targets, including three without documented historical workings.
  • The expanded terrain model will guide field checks, geochemical interpretation and exploration prioritisation.
  • LiDAR identifies surface features rather than gold mineralisation; follow-up sampling and drilling remain necessary.

Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A) explores mineral opportunities in Australia, including the Mareeba gold project in Far North Queensland. In a 3 November 2026 announcement, Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A) reported receipt of processed data from an expanded airborne LiDAR survey covering approximately 403 square kilometres at Mareeba.

Expanded Terrain Mapping Across Mareeba

The survey covers roughly 41 kilometres of the Kingsborough Fault corridor within the Hodgkinson Basin. Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A) consolidated granted tenure and exploration licence applications across the historic goldfield in June 2026. Two permits, EPM 29625 and EPM 29649, sit outside the newly surveyed area.

Flights were undertaken between 9 and 13 August 2026, using 75 runs from a height of approximately 1,000 metres and 60% side overlap. The survey achieved its target density of 20 points per square metre across 99.8% of the area, compared with around eight points per square metre in the original survey.

The original 39-square-kilometre survey area was flown again at the higher density. Consequently, the updated dataset replaces the earlier model and covers more than ten times its area. Delivered products include a ground-classified point cloud, one-metre digital terrain and surface models, half-metre contours and orthophotography with a 10-centimetre ground sample distance.

What the Earlier Survey Revealed

LiDAR uses laser measurements to construct detailed surface models, including representations of ground beneath vegetation. At Mareeba, Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A) previously identified seven targets from the initial 39-square-kilometre dataset. Four coincided with documented historical workings, while three were on ground without a previous record of activity. The terrain model also revealed shafts, costeans and other features associated with earlier Mining or exploration.

At the EBF prospect, the company interpreted several features as drill pads associated with exploration conducted decades earlier. The expanded survey follows fieldwork reported in July 2026, when the company said gold was detected at every prospect sampled. That programme covered less than one-tenth of the area now mapped in high resolution.

Field Verification, Permitting and Exploration Limits

Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A) plans to review the new terrain model and imagery systematically along the corridor, from north-west to south-east. It intends to compare mapped structures and possible workings with historic mine records, soil data and stream-sediment geochemistry.

The company is also progressing permits for its maiden drilling programme. The expanded survey may inform later target selection beyond that initial campaign, although timing and access remain subject to native title, heritage, land-access and funding considerations.

Importantly, the 3 November announcement did not report new assay results, a mineral resource or an ore reserve. LiDAR records terrain features rather than directly measuring gold content underground. Any target identified through the survey will still require geological assessment, sampling and potentially drilling to establish whether mineralisation is present and continuous.

Key Insights

For Clara Resources Australia Ltd (ASX:C7A), the 403-square-kilometre LiDAR programme is primarily a targeting and data-integration milestone. It gives the company a consistent terrain model across much of the Mareeba corridor and builds on seven targets identified in the smaller survey. The next test is whether field checks, geochemistry and permitted drilling can convert interpreted surface features into substantiated exploration results.