Key Highlights

  • The company has defined 23 high-priority drill targets at Walparuta, with a discovery drilling campaign to begin once all access approvals are received.
  • Induced polarisation results showed chargeability anomalies in the same locations as soil anomalies, forming an IOCG system about 5 kilometres long.
  • Christmas Gift drilling returned 14.5 metres at 2.23g/t gold and zinc and copper zones up to 30 metres wide.
  • Cash was $1.72 million at 30 September, with an estimated 3.41 quarters of funding.

Tarrina Resources (ASX:TR8) is an early-stage explorer with projects in South Australia and New South Wales. Its main focus is Walparuta in South Australia, where it is targeting iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation. According to its September quarter activities report, released on 28 October 2026, the company has defined 23 high-priority drill targets there. A discovery drilling campaign will begin once all access approvals have been received.

That drilling will happen without the executive who designed the programme. On 2 October the company said the board would oversee activities after his departure, while it waits for drilling approvals and looks for further project acquisitions. Partington will remain available as a technical adviser when needed.

Walparuta: geophysics and soils, not yet drilling

Tarrina has been building its case for Walparuta through surface work. On 30 September 2026 it reported soil geochemistry outlining five copper-gold-cobalt corridors, each continuous for 2 to 5 kilometres. On 22 October it announced induced polarisation (IP) results. Eight of nine survey lines showed encouraging chargeability anomalies in the same locations as the soil anomalies, and ten anomalies exceeded 42 mV/V.

The company describes this as a coherent IOCG system about 5 kilometres long. Its planned drilling would test a 4-kilometre stretch of the corridors to depths of up to 1,200 metres. However, chargeability anomalies can come from sulphides that contain no copper. Until holes are drilled, these remain geophysical and geochemical targets rather than discoveries. After the quarter, Tarrina applied for state co-funding which, if granted, would cover 50% of the planned Walparuta drilling, up to $350,000.

Christmas Gift in New South Wales

At the Christmas Gift project in the Lachlan Fold Belt, all assays from a six-hole Phase 1 diamond drilling programme have now been received. The best intersections came from beneath the historical mine. They included 14.5 metres at 2.23g/t gold and 4.6 metres at 5.42g/t gold, and a narrow 0.5-metre interval of 42.26g/t at the end of one hole. Drilling also returned zinc and copper zones up to 30 metres wide, with grades of up to 1.65% zinc and 0.23% copper. The company interprets these as a possible volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) setting. These are early drill results with no Mineral Resource.

Cash and funding

The September quarter Appendix 5B shows net operating outflows of $505,000. This comprised $307,000 on exploration, $47,000 on staff and $165,000 on administration and corporate costs, partly offset by $14,000 of interest. No shares were issued for cash. Cash was $1.72 million at 30 September, with no Debt facilities. That gives an estimated 3.41 quarters of funding. Deep drilling at Walparuta is likely to lift spending above recent levels even with co-funding, which suggests Tarrina may need new Capital to complete it.

Risks and upcoming milestones

South Australia hosts major IOCG deposits such as Olympic Dam, but many IOCG targets tested by explorers do not lead to deposits, and deep holes are expensive. Tarrina's main risks are approval timing, the loss of its chief executive and Competent Person, and future dilution. Its next milestones are approval of the Walparuta drilling and the result of the co-funding application. Separately, 1 million unlisted options were due for release from Escrow on 12 November 2026.