Cannindah Resources Limited (ASX: CAE) (“Cannindah” or the “Company”) has released initial results from its 2026 resource expansionary drilling program at the Cannindah Breccia, Mt Cannindah Project in central Queensland. Drillhole 26CRC011, targeting the strategically important “GAP” zone, intersected 94 metres at 1.11% copper equivalent (CuEq) from 178 metres depth, including a high-grade sub-interval of 54 metres at 1.61% CuEq from 204 metres.
The “GAP” zone represents 280m or nearly 50% of the total 600m strike length of the Cannindah Breccia and yet contains approximately 25% of the copper equivalent metal within the Mineral Resource (MRE). Defined by lower drill data density, sub-optimal drill orientation, and historical holes with incomplete assay data, the GAP zone represented the most significant untested upside within the deposit. The 2026 program set out to change that.
Figure 1: Aerial or project overview map of Mt Cannindah Project, showing the Cannindah Breccia MRE, Southern Porphyry Target, and Eastern Porphyry Target. [Cannindah Resources]
Key Drilling Results at a Glance
The standout results from the current 2026 program, alongside the comparable 2025 intercepts that preceded them, are summarised below:
- 26CRC011 (2026): 94m @ 1.11% CuEq (0.67g/t Au and 0.47% Cu) from 178m, including 54m @ 1.61% CuEq (0.95g/t Au and 0.69% Cu) from 204m
- 26CRC012 (2026): 26m @ 0.51% CuEq from 28m, including 4m @ 2.31% CuEq from 32m
- 26CRC010 (2026): Multiple lower-grade intersections, including 10m @ 0.92% CuEq from 128m
- 25CRC001 (2025): 52m @ 1.18% CuEq from 4m, including 22m @ 2.63% CuEq from 32m
- 25CRC002 (2025): 120m @ 1.16% CuEq from 30m, including 60m @ 1.94% CuEq from 48m
Importantly, the average grade and intersection thickness from the new GAP zone drilling exceed those observed in the previously calculated MRE, which the Company expects will drive a meaningful resource upgrade.
Figure 2: Plan view of 2026 Cannindah Breccia drill holes and results showing the GAP zone, collar locations, block model at 400m ASL, and annotated intercept grades for 26CRC010, 26CRC011, 26CRC012 and comparative 2025 hole [Cannindah Resources]
What Management Says: Ore Shoot Development is the Story
Managing Director and CEO Cameron Switzer framed the significance of these results clearly. Speaking on behalf of the Company, Switzer stated:
“These results continue to support the value of our investment in further exploration drilling of the Cannindah Breccia, which is now demonstrating the presence of strongly mineralised zones beneath zones of lower tenor mineralisation.”
The concept of ore shoot development — where pockets of higher-grade mineralisation develop within a broader system of lower-tenor material — is central to the evolving geological understanding of the Cannindah Breccia. Geological logging and assay data from the new holes have revealed four key indicators that support this interpretation:
- Evidence of high-grade zones associated with significant dip flexures in the breccia outline, as seen in the 54m @ 1.61% CuEq intercept in 26CRC011 from 204m.
- Development of intrusive dykes carrying highly anomalous copper and gold values within 26CRC011.
- Metal ratio variability, with increasing gold grades frequently above 1.0 g/t Au observed in the southern portion of the Cannindah Breccia.
- Structural variability, with multiple zones of anomalous mineralisation and changes in dip of the dominant structure, collectively support the development of discrete ore shoots.
Switzer elaborated on the strategic importance of these geological findings, noting:
“The recognition of ore shoot development within the deposit is critical to our understanding of the emplacement of the higher grade mineralisation and provides the Company with the opportunity for further mineral resource expansion with the additional drilling now being planned.”
Project Background: A World-Class Porphyry System in Queensland
The Mt Cannindah Project sits 90 kilometres southwest of Gladstone in central Queensland and comprises nine Mining Leases and two enveloping Exploration Permit for Minerals (EPMs). The site hosts a classically zoned Triassic-age porphyry hydrothermal system with at least 17 significant copper, gold, and molybdenum mineralised occurrences.
The Cannindah Breccia itself is a 600-metre by 100-metre zone of fractured brecciated material located on a major NNE-trending faulted lithological contact. From 2021 to 2024, the Company completed 24 diamond drillholes at the Breccia, culminating in the definition on 3 July 2024 of a 14.5 million tonne Mineral Resource at 1.09% CuEq, containing an estimated 105,000 tonnes of copper, 197,000 ounces of gold, and 6.4 million ounces of silver.
This resource is reported within an open-pit shell to 350 metres below surface. However, drilling has already demonstrated mineralisation to over 1,086 metres downhole — a compelling indicator of the deposit’s depth potential.
Figure 3: Isometric view looking NE showing the Cannindah Breccia Block Model and GAP Target zone highlighting the spatial relationship between the known MRE, the GAP zone, and the latest 2026 drill results including 26CRC011 [Cannindah Resources]
The Southern Porphyry Target: A Potential Game-Changer Awaiting the Drill Bit
While the Cannindah Breccia rightly commands attention, the Southern Copper-Gold Porphyry Target looms large on the horizon. Diamond drilling at this large-scale target is expected to commence within two to three weeks, subject to a slight delay caused by weather conditions.
The Southern Target spans a significant surface footprint of 2,000 metres (east-west) by 800 metres (north-south) and remains open to the west and south. It carries an Exploration Target of 25 to 30 million tonnes at 0.2% to 0.3% Cu and 100 to 150 ppm Mo, for between 64,000 and 114,000 tonnes of CuEq.
Multiple independent lines of evidence support the target’s validity, including high-order soil anomalies with coincident copper, gold, and molybdenum anomalism; a large IP chargeability anomaly of up to 110 mv/V; outcropping skarn with copper oxides; and trench results returning high-grade results 400 metres beyond the current exploration target boundary.
What Comes Next: More Drilling, More Data
The Company has drilled a total of 12 RC holes as part of its 2026 GAP zone program. Assay results from four additional holes remain pending, and further drilling to follow up the current results at depth and along strike is expected to commence within two weeks. Planned drill activities across the Cannindah Breccia and the Southern Target total upwards of 10,000 metres, underscoring the scale of the Company’s exploration ambitions.
The mineralisation at the Cannindah Breccia remains open to the south, and the evidence for ore shoot development adds a new layer of geological complexity and upside to the deposit. A resource update is anticipated following receipt of material drill results.
Copper Market Outlook
The copper market is flashing bullish signals in 2026. LME copper prices hit a historic high of $13,238 per tonne in January 2026, and J.P. Morgan projects a global refined copper deficit of approximately 330,000 tonnes this year. Supply disruptions at major mines, including Grasberg in Indonesia, are compounding the tightness, while demand from EVs, AI data centres, and grid infrastructure is structurally lifting consumption.
Against this backdrop, Cannindah’s high-grade 94m @ 1.11% CuEq intercept in the GAP zone, backed by a $17 million treasury and an imminent porphyry drill program in stable Queensland, couldn’t be better timed. Forty per cent of LME poll respondents believe copper will be the best-performing base metal in 2026, and quality copper-gold assets like Cannindah’s are precisely what the market is hungry for.
Investor Outlook
- Last Price: $0.035 [as of 17 March, 2026]
- Change: +$0.001 (+2.94%)
- Market Capitalisation: $47,055,986
- 52-Week Range: $0.015 – $0.086
Cannindah Resources enters this announcement from a position of financial strength, holding approximately $17 million in cash. This gives the Company the runway to aggressively prosecute both the Cannindah Breccia and Southern Porphyry targets without the near-term dilution risk.
The combination of a high-grade hit in the previously resource-poor GAP zone, the pending assays from four additional holes, and the imminent commencement of diamond drilling at the much larger Southern Porphyry Target creates a compelling near-term catalyst sequence.
Investors should note the following key near-term catalysts:
- Pending assay results from four additional RC holes in the GAP zone are expected imminently.
- Commencement of follow-up RC drilling at depth and along strike within the Cannindah Breccia is expected within two weeks.
- Commencement of diamond drilling at the Southern Copper-Gold Porphyry Target within two to three weeks.
- A General Meeting is scheduled for 18 March 2026.
- An updated Mineral Resource Estimate following the receipt of material drill results, widely anticipated to deliver a meaningful upgrade to the existing 14.5Mt @ 1.09% CuEq resource.
In the context of a copper market that continues to grapple with structural supply deficits and robust demand from the energy transition, high-grade copper-gold assets in stable jurisdictions like Queensland attract premium investor attention. Cannindah Resources’ combination of a growing breccia resource, a large-scale untested porphyry target, a well-funded treasury, and an active drill program makes it a name worth watching closely over the coming weeks.
Disclaimer: This article is prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Past exploration results are not necessarily indicative of future results. Investors should conduct their own due diligence before making investment decisions. The Exploration Target referenced for the Southern Target is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration drilling to estimate a Mineral Resource in that area.
