Has Buxton got a tiger by the tail at its Centurion project?

• Drilling returned up to 4.57g/t silver with associated tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, copper and zinc
• These highly anomalous results are likely result of chemical dispersion anomaly from a nearby sulfide deposit
• Further testing results expected to guide future drill planning at Centurion

Special Report: Buxton Resources is encouraged by strong pathfinder assays from drilling at the Centurion project in WA’s Great Sandy Desert, highlighting potential for nearby precious and/or base metals deposits.

Partial leach assaying of drill samples from the end-of-hole returned a suite of elements including up to 4.57g/t silver along with distinctly anomalous tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, copper and zinc compared to background levels.

These metals returned similar values in total leach analysis, an indication that a chemical dispersion anomaly has been intersected by hole CN002DD while the elevated silver levels suggest the source is nearby.

Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) had recently completed two holes as part of its 2025 drill program with CN002DD stopping at the base of the Canning Basin cover sequence, which post-dates the basement host rocks that are the likely source of the silver and other metals.

Testwork – Lower Sands

BUX’s comparison of partial and total leach analyses was carried out as a test to see if the hole had intersected metals being dispersed in groundwaters from a nearby sulfide deposit.

CN002DD had intersected highly porous sands at the end-of-hole.  Groundwaters carrying metals will preferentially pass through these sands leaving traces of any metals dissolved upstream attached to the sand and clay particles.

This type of dispersion results in relatively high partial leach results when compared with the total leach analysis, which is what was seen at CN002DD for a suite of metals including Ag, W, Mo, Re, Cu, Zn and others.

The chemical dispersion processes involved are complex such that it remains to be seen if the source of these metals is IOCG style mineralisation, or if the metals are being sourced sediment-hosted copper, skarn or other styles of mineral deposits.

Watch more from BUX: Silver squeeze at Centurion

Testwork – Highly Magnetic Unit

Meanwhile a distinctly magnetic unit intersected at around 450 metres depth in the mud-rotary section of CN002DD has returned highly anomalous gold – up to 63 ppb from a magnetic concentrate sample.  This is about 41 times the gold abundance in average continental crust, and equivalent to a highly anomalous result from surface samples collected in a similar manner.

This material appears to include magnetite and other iron oxides, along with other magnetised silicate grains and may have been eroded from the magnetic feature adjacent to the drillhole.

This assay has a similar suite of anomalous metals to the lower sands.  While further work is underway to understand the significance of this result, it does however emphasise the tantalising potential of the giant Centurion magnetic feature which is some 1500 nanoteslas in amplitude and which remains to be drill tested.

Next Steps

BUX’s testwork program on samples from CN002DD includes core petrology, micro-XRF and heavy mineral separate analysis.

Petrological results are expected by mid-October while preparation of heavy mineral separates is also nearing completion, though analysis might take several months to resolve.

Because the anomalous metals intersected in CN002DD are likely derived from a nearby basement high, the company plans to carry out a magnetotelluric survey co-funded by the WA state government to map the elevation of the basement interface.

The pending analysis from CN002DD samples, along with the geophysical results, will inform future drill planning.

This article was developed in collaboration with Buxton Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.