Wedoany.com Report-Jun 24, Australian gold exploration company Ausgold has entered a farm-in agreement with Critica regarding exploration licence E70/5077, located adjacent to Ausgold’s Kulin Gold Project in Western Australia. This strategic arrangement grants Ausgold the opportunity to earn up to a 70% interest in the licence over a period of three and a half years.

The agreement allows Ausgold to earn up to a 70% interest in the licence, which spans approximately 106km².

The agreement outlines a two-stage earn-in process. In the first phase, Ausgold can acquire a 51% interest by investing A$250,000 (approximately $161,130) within 18 months. In the second phase, the company may increase its stake by a further 19% through an additional A$360,000 investment over the following 24 months. Upon completion of this process, Critica will retain a 30% interest, with the option to either contribute to ongoing exploration costs or convert its stake into a 1.5% net smelter royalty if a mining decision is made.

Exploration licence E70/5077 covers an area of approximately 106 km² along the eastern margin of the Katanning Greenstone Belt. It is positioned on the northern extension of the Yandina Thrust, a structurally significant zone that hosts established gold deposits such as the Griffins Find and Tampia mines. The tenement shows promising mineralisation potential, highlighted by a continuous gold-in-soil anomaly that stretches over 3 km, with two high-grade zones, each around 600 metres in length.

Ausgold executive chairman John Dorward commented on the development: “The farm-in to E70/5077 is a strategic step in expanding our regional footprint across the eastern Katanning Greenstone Belt. This new tenement complements our strong regional landholding surrounding our flagship Katanning Gold Project, which includes the Kulin Project as well as other advanced exploration prospects such as Duggan and Nanicup Bridge–Zinger. This agreement directly aligns with our strategy to establish a regional production hub at the Katanning Gold Project, by discovering and developing high-quality, near-surface satellite deposits that can leverage our existing infrastructure and scale.”

Ausgold intends to submit its programme of work for the project in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (Q1 FY26), with its maiden drilling campaign planned to commence between the second and third quarters of FY26. The initial exploration efforts will prioritise the high-potential gold-in-soil and trenching anomalies within the tenement area.

In June 2024, Ausgold secured A$38 million through a placement, aimed at advancing development activities for its Katanning Gold Project. The agreement with Critica reinforces Ausgold’s broader objective to build a scalable regional gold production platform through exploration and development of satellite deposits near its core project.