Xantippe Resources (ASX: XTC) is preparing to undertake a Phase 2 drilling programme at its recently acquired Southern Cross Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company has already submitted a Programme of Works (POW) for the drilling campaign, which is anticipated to consist of a total 18 reverse circulation (RC) for a total ~3,000m, to the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).
Xantippe has also appointed a highly‐experienced local drilling company to commence work at site, pending approval of the POW, expected in the next few weeks.
Managing Director, Richard Henning, said the company anticipates the commencement of drilling during August.
Following the recent acquisition of the Southern Cross Gold project, it is exceptionally pleasing to be able to present our second exploration programme to extend some of the high‐grade targets which are well known and which attracted the company to the Southern Cross region,” Mr Henning said.
“The Southern Cross project is a large project area consisting of approximately 175 sq. km of consolidated tenure and the exploration plan will use a systematic approach to unlock a number of key targets using geomagnetic data.”
Mr Henning said that in addition to drilling below previously drilled depths, the company will look to expand the known mineralised zones of exiting targets, as well as uncover new targets in prospective areas.
At Southern Cross, one of the targets for the proposed programme, the Boodarding prospect, recorded encouraging RAB and diamond results for previous explorers.
Mr Henning said that potential is supported by a new geophysical interpretation of the folded metasediments and ultramafic rocks between the Ghooli and Parker granitic domes.
Three holes have been planned here for 450m to test a structural dislocation in the vicinity of the historic drill results.
Two holes have been planned for 300m at another target, the Alpine/Roma prospect, to test structures associated with and along strike from the Frasers and Golden Pig mines.
Xantippe is also planning to resume exploration of structures in the Glendower and Xantippe prospect areas at the centre of its holdings, with the strategy being to target favourable structures and lithology in areas under cover, where sparse historic shallow RAB drilling has returned anomalous results.
Notably, no historical exploration has occurred at the Glendower and Xantippe prospects below a depth of 100m.
Six holes for 1,000m are to be drilled at the convergence of a previously untested structural flexure and fault located in the western part of the Glendower group of tenements (P77/4443 and P77/4444).
These target structurally controlled mineralisation in lithology that hosts the Axehandle mineralisation, further to the north. The structures and lithology have been interpreted from high‐ resolution magnetic data and are supported by encouraging shallow RAB drill results in the vicinity.
Seven holes are to be drilled in an area between the historic Xantippe and Glendower mines for 1,250m. These holes target a structural flexure in a banded iron formation that is known to host mineralisation at Marvel Loch, to the south.