Highlights

  • A six-bore hydrogeological programme totalling 1,378 metres at Elizabeth Creek is now complete, ahead of planned mining studies.
  • The RC rig moves to Oakden prospect, approximately 15 kilometres away, to test a legacy intercept of 3 metres at 1.15% copper from 39 metres — an unverified historical record.
  • Phase 1 Oakden drilling comprises 5–6 shallow RC holes at approximately 300–400 metres depth, targeting the unconfirmed historical result.
  • Emmie Bluff resource at Elizabeth Creek stands at 40.2 million tonnes at 1.27% copper and 25.9 g/t silver across Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

Keeping a rig busy between major campaigns is smart capital allocation, and Coda Minerals (ASX:COD) is doing exactly that. Having wrapped up a hydrogeological programme at its Elizabeth Creek copper project in South Australia, the company is moving its RC rig southward to test an old copper intercept at Oakden that has never been independently verified. If Oakden delivers, it becomes another asset in Coda's South Australian copper portfolio.

What the Hydrogeological Programme Covered

The six-bore programme at Elizabeth Creek involved drilling to varying depths to characterise groundwater conditions across the project area. Total metreage was 1,378 metres across six bores. The programme fed directly into planned underground mine design studies — specifically, understanding water inflows and dewatering requirements for a future operation. This work is a standard pre-feasibility input for underground copper mines in the Gawler Craton region. Completion removes a hydrogeological data gap ahead of more advanced studies.

The Oakden Target

The historical intercept at Oakden — referred to internally as OK36 — is 3 metres at 1.15% copper from 39 metres depth. Coda classifies this as an unconfirmed legacy data point, meaning the result comes from historical records not produced under contemporary JORC-compliant protocols. The company has not identified when the original hole was drilled or by whom. At 39 metres down, the intercept is shallow, which is operationally attractive if mineralisation proves consistent. Phase 1 drilling plans 5–6 RC holes at approximately 300–400 metres depth to test both the historical result and its immediate geological context. Results from Phase 1 will determine whether a Phase 2 follows.

Oakden in the Broader Context

Oakden sits approximately 15 kilometres from Elizabeth Creek within a geological corridor that is thought to be prospective for iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) style mineralisation similar to the Emmie Bluff deposit. IOCG systems in the Gawler Craton and adjacent Stuart Shelf region have produced several significant deposits, and the regional geology at Elizabeth Creek supports the hypothesis that multiple centres of mineralisation may exist in the area. Coda has not published a resource estimate or geological target for Oakden.

Elizabeth Creek: The Main Asset

At Emmie Bluff within Elizabeth Creek, the current mineral resource is 40.2 million tonnes at 1.27% copper and 25.9 grams per tonne silver, covering Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories. No ore reserve has been estimated. The project is at the pre-feasibility stage, and the completed hydrogeological programme feeds into the next round of mine studies. Coda's cash position and quarterly drill spend were not referenced in the material reviewed for this article.