Key Highlights

  • Fieldwork has started at the White Cockatoo Copper-Gold Project in Queensland to define targets ahead of drilling.
  • The programme focuses on four undrilled prospects: Quartz Ridge, Old Kroombit, Cave Mountain and Tea Tree.
  • Activities include geological and structural mapping, soil sampling and rock-chip sampling.
  • Maiden drilling is planned for early 2027.

Jacaranda Natural Resources (ASX:JRL) announced on 9 November 2026 that it had started fieldwork at its White Cockatoo Copper-Gold Project in Queensland. The work is intended to define targets ahead of planned maiden drilling in early 2027.

The programme focuses on four priority prospects: Quartz Ridge, Old Kroombit, Cave Mountain and Tea Tree. Activities include geological and structural mapping, soil sampling and rock-chip sampling.

Undrilled targets

Chief Executive Craig Hatch said none of the targets had been drilled despite high-grade surface mineralisation. He said the fieldwork was about understanding the size and shape of each target so that the first drill holes would be placed in the right positions.

That approach reflects a common challenge in early exploration. Surface samples can show high grades, but without mapping and geochemistry it is difficult to know the orientation and extent of the mineralised structures underneath.

Surface results so far

At Quartz Ridge, rock-chip assays from 2023 returned up to 24% copper, 4.4 grams per tonne gold and 912g/t silver. That work outlined a zone measuring 200 metres by 5 metres averaging 5.4% copper, 0.9g/t gold and 248g/t silver.

At Old Kroombit, rock-chip sampling in 2024 returned up to 42.1% copper, together with a gold-copper soil anomaly 1,360 metres long.

Rock chips at Cave Mountain returned up to 11.4g/t gold within a 1-kilometre multi-element soil anomaly coinciding with a magnetic high.

At Tea Tree, historical trench sampling returned 25 metres at 2.3% copper and 0.6% zinc within a soil anomaly 2 kilometres long.

How to read these numbers

Rock-chip samples are selective and are often taken from the most visibly mineralised material, so peak grades such as 42.1% copper do not indicate average grades. Soil anomalies show where metals are concentrated in surface soils, which can point to buried mineralisation but can also reflect dispersion from small sources. The Tea Tree trench result provides a width, but trenches sample only the near-surface zone.

The project

White Cockatoo comprises three exploration permits covering about 409 square kilometres in Queensland's Yarrol Province. The company is integrating geochemical and geophysical data to rank the targets, while advancing land access arrangements and drilling approvals.

The broader portfolio

Jacaranda listed on the ASX recently and also holds the Globe, Motloutse and Nkwe copper-gold projects in Botswana. Having projects in two countries spreads exploration risk but also divides management attention and funding. The company held an investor webinar on 11 November to outline its plans.

Why it matters

Central Queensland has a long history of copper and gold mining, including the historic Mt Morgan mine near Rockhampton. Undrilled prospects with high-grade surface results can offer significant upside if drilling confirms continuity, though many such targets do not lead to economic discoveries.

Qualifications

No drilling has yet taken place, and the timing of maiden drilling depends on approvals and land access. Historical results need validation.

The early-stage nature of the project means that news flow over the coming months is likely to centre on sampling results and target definition rather than drilling. For investors, the key question is whether the surface results can be translated into drill targets with enough size to justify the cost of drilling. Jacaranda's approach of mapping and sampling before drilling is designed to improve the odds of a first-pass programme hitting mineralisation, but it also means the first drill results will not arrive until at least early 2027. The pace of approvals will influence that timetable. Land access agreements can be a key source of delay.

What comes next

Jacaranda's next steps are to complete mapping and sampling, integrate the data, secure land access and drilling approvals, and begin maiden drilling in early 2027. Results from the soil and rock-chip programmes are likely to be the first news flow.