Avira Resources Secures Tenure Extension and Drilling Approvals at Mt Cattlin

Avira Resources Clears Final Hurdles at Mt Cattlin, Maiden Drill Campaign Now Imminent

Avira Resources Limited (ASX: AVW) has secured a critical two-year tenure extension at its high-grade Mt Cattlin Gold Project in Western Australia, removing the final administrative barriers standing between the company and its maiden RC drilling campaign. With all permits now in hand, heritage approvals confirmed, and drill contractors being engaged, Avira Resources Mt Cattlin Gold Project drilling approvals and tenure extension positions the company to commence exploration at one of the Southern Goldfields' most compelling high-grade gold targets.

Key Highlights at a Glance

A Tenure Extension That Unlocks the Next Chapter

The Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) has granted a further two-year extension to Exploration Licence E74/401, the tenement covering the Mt Cattlin Gold Project. The licence now runs until 13 March 2028, providing Avira with the operational runway needed to execute its planned exploration and resource definition programme without time pressure.

What makes this extension particularly meaningful is the context in which it sits. Avira holds 100% of the gold and non-pegmatite mineral rights over E74/401 — a tenement registered in the name of Galaxy Lithium Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Lithium. Under a Mineral Rights Deed with Galaxy Lithium, Avira is contractually positioned to advance the tenement to Mining Lease status.

The plan is to submit a Mining Lease application during the current extension period, with the lease — once approved — to be transferred directly to Avira over any mutually agreed mining area within the project. This is not a passive land-holding story. The Avira Resources Mt Cattlin Gold Project drilling approvals and tenure extension means the company can move decisively from approvals to activity.

All Systems Go: Three Key Approvals Secured

For a junior explorer, the period between acquiring a project and actually drilling it is often filled with bureaucratic uncertainty. However, Avira has now cleared each of those hurdles:

1. Tenure Extended: E74/401 secured until March 2028, providing a stable foundation for the upcoming work programme.
2. Programme of Works Approved: PoW 206331, covering a 4,500-metre RC drill programme across Sirdar, Maori Queen, Ellendale, and Plantagenet, has received formal approval from the DMPE.
3. Heritage Clearance Confirmed: A Preliminary Advice Notice has been issued by the WKSNAC, serving as the official authorisation to commence on-ground exploration activities.

Together, these three approvals represent the complete regulatory green light for Avira's maiden drilling campaign. Furthermore, the company is currently working with chosen contractors to get boots on the ground.

The Grade That Commands Attention

Understanding why this project warrants investor attention requires looking at what the ground has already returned. Historical drilling at Mt Cattlin has confirmed exceptional high-grade gold intersections, particularly at the Sirdar prospect:

These are not marginal results. Intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au at Sirdar place Mt Cattlin firmly in the high-grade category, a fact reinforced by the project's historical production record. The Maori Queen and Sirdar deposits have a combined historical production of 23,006 tonnes at 24.56 g/t Au — a grade profile that underscores the quality of the system.

"Historical production from the Maori Queen and Sirdar deposits totals 23,006 tonnes at 24.56 g/t Au — a pedigree that speaks directly to the high-grade character of the system."
— Avira Resources ASX Announcement, 11 May 2026

How Does Mineralisation Occur at Mt Cattlin?

Mineralisation occurs in two styles: narrow, high-grade shear-hosted quartz-sulphide lodes at Sirdar and Maori Queen; and broader disseminated stockwork mineralisation associated with a significant multiphase porphyry complex measuring approximately 2.5 km × 1.5 km.

The porphyry is interpreted as the primary control on gold mineralisation — a geological configuration that suggests both high-grade lode targets and potential bulk-tonnage upside. In other words, the project carries multiple avenues for scale.

What Is a "g/t Au" Grade, and Why Does It Matter?

For investors new to gold exploration, it is worth understanding the grading terminology underpinning these results. g/t Au stands for grams per tonne of gold — the standard measure of gold concentration in rock.

• Below 1 g/t Au: Typically considered low grade, viable mainly in large open-pit bulk operations.
• 1–5 g/t Au: Considered solid for open-pit or underground mining in many jurisdictions.
• Above 10 g/t Au: High grade, often associated with underground mining and premium economics.
• Above 30–100 g/t Au: Exceptional — sometimes referred to as "visible gold" territory.

When Avira reports intersections of 131 g/t Au over 1 metre or 50 g/t Au over 6 metres, these sit well above what most operating gold mines would consider high grade. The key question drilling will answer is whether these intersections represent a coherent, continuous mineralised system of sufficient size to support a resource estimate.

Glossary of Key Terms

Four Prospects, One Emerging System

What distinguishes Mt Cattlin from a single-target exploration story is the system-scale confirmation of mineralisation across four distinct prospects within the one tenement:

• Sirdar — High-grade shear-hosted lodes with historical intersections exceeding 100 g/t Au; primary RC drill target.
• Maori Queen — The second of the two historically producing deposits; RC drill programme designed and ready.
• Plantagenet — Part of the broader "New Zealand Trend"; drill-testing planned as part of the 4,500m programme.
• Ellendale — Geophysical and geochemical anomalism identified; to be drill-tested alongside Plantagenet.

The "New Zealand Trend" — the structural corridor connecting several of these prospects — extends across 650 metres of strike and remains open at depth and along strike. This open-ended geometry is precisely what makes the upcoming drilling programme consequential. Results from shallow extensions could directly inform the size and continuity of the mineralised system.

The Road to a Maiden Resource: Milestones and Timeline

Avira has laid out a clear, near-term pathway from drilling to resource definition:

The RC programme is specifically designed to define shallow extensions to known mineralisation and establish the data foundation required for a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate. A maiden MRE would represent a transformational milestone for Avira — converting historical high-grade intersections into a formally defined resource.

In addition, the company is pursuing a Mining Lease application during the current extension period. Under the Mineral Rights Deed, once a Mining Lease is approved by the state, it would be transferred to Avira, granting the company direct tenure over any mutually agreed mining area within the project.

Project Setting: A District With Proven Credentials

Location matters in gold exploration, and Mt Cattlin's address is compelling. The project sits:

• 430 km south-east of Perth, within the Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt of the Yilgarn Craton
• 4 km north of Ravensthorpe, a regional mining centre with established infrastructure
• Adjacent to Rio Tinto's Mt Cattlin Lithium Mine — one of Australia's operating hard-rock lithium operations

The Yilgarn Craton is one of the world's most productive Archaean gold terranes, hosting numerous multi-million-ounce gold deposits. Furthermore, nearby Medallion Metals' Kundip Gold Project hosts a 1.3 million ounce gold resource — a regional reference point that illustrates the district's endowment potential.

Why Investors Should Watch Avira Closely

The combination of factors now converging at Mt Cattlin makes Avira a company worth monitoring over the coming two quarters:

• High-grade pedigree: Historical intersections above 100 g/t Au and a production history averaging 24.56 g/t Au set a quality benchmark that few early-stage projects can match.
• Fully de-risked for drilling: All permits, approvals, and heritage clearances are in place. The only step remaining is contractor mobilisation.
• Defined resource pathway: The drill programme is engineered specifically to support a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for Q4 2026.
• System-scale upside: Four prospects, 650m of open strike, and an unexplored porphyry complex measuring 2.5 km × 1.5 km suggest high-grade intersections may be part of a much larger system.
• Mining Lease trajectory: The contractual pathway to direct tenure, via the Mineral Rights Deed with Rio Tinto's subsidiary, provides a clear legal mechanism to convert exploration success into project ownership.
• Near-term catalysts: Drill results from Maori Queen and Sirdar are expected to begin flowing in Q2 2026, with Ellendale and Plantagenet results to follow — creating a sustained news flow over the next two quarters.

The Avira Resources Mt Cattlin Gold Project drilling approvals and tenure extension removes the final administrative obstacles between the company and its maiden drilling campaign. With all regulatory hurdles cleared and contractors being engaged, the focus now shifts entirely to execution and results.

"Avira Resources has methodically cleared every regulatory and administrative hurdle at Mt Cattlin, and is now on the cusp of a maiden drilling campaign at a project with a genuinely exceptional grade history. With four drill-ready prospects, a defined resource timeline, and a contractual pathway to Mining Lease status, the next six months represent the most consequential period in the company's exploration history."

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