Key Highlights

  • Taiton has entered a binding farm-in agreement with Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) over Exploration Licence 6468, adjacent to Marmota Ltd's gold deposit portfolio.
  • Historical drilling at the Endor Prospect returned intercepts including 9m at 1.57 g/t gold and 0.53% copper from 33m, with a best result of 4m at 3.34 g/t gold and 8,198 ppm copper.
  • A reconnaissance Ultrafine soil sampling programme of 372 samples has been completed across four priority target areas, with assay results expected within four to six weeks.
  • Taiton may earn up to an 80% interest in EL 6468 by completing a Pre-Feasibility Study within six years, after which Havilah can elect to joint venture or dilute to a 1% royalty.

Taiton Resources Ltd (ASX:T88) has entered into a binding farm-in agreement with Havilah Resources over Exploration Licence (EL) 6468, a tenement comprising three blocks located close to Marmota Ltd's (ASX:MEU) portfolio of gold deposits, including the Greenewood Deposit. Under the terms of the agreement, Taiton will issue 1.5 million fully paid ordinary shares to Havilah, subject to a six-month voluntary Escrow period, and has been appointed exclusive operator with the exclusive right to conduct exploration and evaluation activities during the farm-in period.

Taiton may earn up to an 80% interest in EL 6468 through completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study within six years. Once that threshold is reached, Havilah may elect to contribute on a pro-rata basis through an incorporated joint venture, or to dilute its interest to a 1% Net Smelter Return royalty. Taiton retains the ability to withdraw from the agreement with at least 30 days' written notice, provided minimum tenement year commitments have been satisfied.

Historical Exploration Results at the Endor Prospect

Historical exploration within EL 6468 was conducted between 1997 and 2003 and included broadly spaced calcrete sampling, shallow vertical Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drilling at an average depth of 48 metres, and limited RC drilling. No exploration activity has been recorded within the tenement area since 2003.

At the Endor Prospect, historical RAB drilling identified zones of anomalous gold, above 100 parts per billion, and copper, above 1,000 parts per million, extending over a strike length of more than one kilometre, coincident with a northeast-trending structure interpreted from regional magnetic data. Assay results from this historical work include a maximum of 5.54 g/t gold and 1.40% copper with logged malachite, and a best intercept of 4 metres at 3.34 g/t gold and 8,198 ppm copper. The company notes the mineralisation is interpreted to be predominantly the result of supergene enrichment processes, forming a mineralised envelope up to 100 metres wide in parts, with several RAB holes returning anomalous gold values at the end of hole.

Beyond Endor, the central part of the EL 6468 licence sits along strike from Marmota's Greenewood deposit. Historical vertical RAB drilling in this area identified zones of shallow gold anomalism, including hole JSAR14, which returned 29 metres at 176 ppb gold from 34 metres, including an end-of-hole result of 390 ppb gold. No follow-up drilling has occurred in this area to date.

Soil Sampling and Tenement Application

Taiton has completed a reconnaissance Ultrafine soil sampling programme across four priority target areas within Challenger West. A total of 372 samples, excluding QA/QC samples, were collected on a nominal 200 metre by 300 metre grid and submitted to LabWest in Perth for analysis, with assay results expected within four to six weeks. Target areas were selected based on proximity to historical gold anomalism at Endor, interpreted north-northeast trending structures, and elevated historic calcrete sampling results reported in SARIG datasets.

The company has also lodged tenement application ELA-01277, covering ground between EL 6468 and EL 6785, which it says strengthens its land position and secures additional prospective strike length within the Gawler Craton. Before commencing a drill programme within EL 6468, Taiton intends to build out potential drill targets using results from the completed soil programme, together with infill sampling and litho-structural interpretation to guide drill design.

Conclusion

Taiton's farm-in agreement with Havilah Resources extends the Company's land position at Challenger West into ground with a history of shallow, anomalous gold and copper results that has not been drill-tested since the early 2000s. With soil assay results pending and a further tenement application lodged, the near-term catalysts for the project centre on target refinement ahead of a planned drilling campaign, while the farm-in structure allows Taiton to build toward an 80% interest over a multi-year earn-in period.