en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australian mining company Mandrake Resources Ltd (ASX:MAN, FRA:CQ4) has signed a drilling contract with Canadian drilling firm Geodrill Australia (TSX:GEO) to conduct 3,200 meters of reverse circulation drilling at its wholly-owned Berinka Pine Creek gold-copper project in the Northern Territory.
The drilling will focus on gold and copper mineralization at the Terry's prospect, as well as several geochemical and geophysical anomalies that have not been previously drill-tested. Drilling is scheduled to commence in August 2026, subject to obtaining an environmental mining permit. Mandrake submitted a drilling permit application to the Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning and Environment in early May.
Mandrake stated that the upcoming drilling campaign will follow up on historical and the company's previous drilling results, which have confirmed gold-copper mineralization in the Berinka area. Best intercepts from previous drilling include: 4 meters at 6.6 g/t gold from 32 meters depth; 6 meters at 3.1 g/t gold from 18 meters depth; 5 meters at 2.6 g/t gold from 30 meters depth; and 6 meters at 2.3 g/t gold and 0.34% copper from 5 meters depth, including 3 meters at 3.8 g/t gold and 0.35% copper from 7 meters depth. Mandrake previously conducted a total of 18 reverse circulation holes at Berinka in 2020 and 2022, targeting gold and copper mineralization. The new plan will test the existing Terry's prospect and multiple undrilled targets identified through geochemical and geophysical work.
The Berinka project is located within the Pine Creek Orogen, a major gold district in the Northern Territory with over 20 million ounces of gold. Mandrake noted that exploration and development activity in the region has recently revived, driven by the approval of three new carbon-in-leach processing plants and the existing infrastructure at Union Reefs (currently under care and maintenance). Companies active in the area include Agnico Eagle, Vista Gold, Hanking, Patronus Resources, and PC Gold, which are advancing gold projects across the Pine Creek region. Mandrake believes this regional momentum highlights the growing investment interest in the Pine Creek area and the potential significance of the Berinka project.
The Berinka project is located on the western margin of the Pine Creek Geosyncline, underlain by Early Proterozoic rocks of the Finniss River Group, including the Burrell Creek Formation and Chilling Sandstone. The area is structurally complex, with major faults, volcanic units, intrusions, and sedimentary sequences creating potential for various mineralization types, including gold, copper, nickel-platinum group elements, and uranium. Since the late 1960s, multiple companies have conducted intermittent exploration at Berinka, targeting nickel, gold, copper, and uranium.
Mandrake Resources also focuses on its large-scale Utah lithium project in the Paradox Basin, southeastern Utah, USA. The company's wholly-owned Utah mining claims cover over 93,000 acres (approximately 379 square kilometers), with an initial inferred resource of 3.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. Additionally, Mandrake holds a 100% interest in the Berinka gold-copper project in the Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory.
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