Ausgold has entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement with Critica to acquire a majority interest in exploration licence E70/5077, located near the Kulin gold project in Western Australia.
The tenement lies 75km north of Ausgold’s flagship Katanning gold project and captures the northern extension of the Yandina Thrust – a gold-rich geological structure that also hosts the Griffins Find and Tampia gold mines. The area is close to other notable prospects including Duggan and Nanicup Bridge Zinger.
Ausgold executive chairman John Dorward said the agreement marks a strategic expansion.
“The farm-in to E70/5077 is a strategic step in expanding our regional footprint across the eastern Katanning Greenstone Belt,” he said.
Trenching over high-priority targets has returned promising near-surface results at Katanning, including 31 metres at one gram per tonne (g/t) gold and 20 metres at 0.60g/t gold. Despite these early indicators, the area remains largely untested by drilling, offering strong discovery potential.
Covering 106km2, the tenement hosts a 3km-long gold-in-soil anomaly with readings above 10 parts per billion (ppb). Two standout bullseye targets span 600m each and return peak values up to 399ppb.
Ausgold expects to begin its maiden drill program at E70/5077 in the second half of the 2025–26 financial year, following the submission of a Program of Work in the September quarter.
Under the farm-in terms, Ausgold can earn up to 70 per cent of the tenement over three and a half years. An initial $250,000 spend within 18 months will secure a 51 per cent stake, with a further $360,000 over two years to lift the interest to 70 per cent.
Critica will retain a 30 per cent contributing interest or may elect to convert to a 1.5 per cent net smelter royalty at the decision to mine.
