Ausgold Intersects Burong Gold at KGP

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Ausgold Limited (ASX: AUC) has completed reconnaissance Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling to test two areas within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Katanning gold project (KGP) in Western Australia.

Ausgold drilled a maiden RC program of five shallow holes at the Burong prospect, located seven kilometres from the Central Zone Resource area at the KGP – partly funded by the WA Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) – to test bedrock gold mineralisation.

Results include:

BSRC0950
1 metre at 6.47 grams per tonne gold from 101m at the bottom of hole; and

BSRC0952
7m at 0.49g/t gold, including 1m at 1.49g/t gold from 125m.

Ausgold said the drilling at the Burong prospect has confirmed the regional potential surrounding the KGP.

The company now has soils sampling underway along this structure to target gold mineralisation along this newly defined mineralised trend.

Elsewhere, four RC holes were between the Jinkas and Olympia Resource areas that were designed to locate the northern extensions of Jinkas mineralisation, which is thought to be offset from the Jinkas Resource by faulting and has not been intersected in previous drilling.

The new drilling intersected gold mineralisation peripheral to the Jinkas lode for the first time within the Resource gap zone.

The best intercepts include:

BSRC0948
1m at 2.15g/t gold from 90m; and

BSRC0949
4m at 0.87g/t gold from 100m, including 1m at 2.8g/t gold.

Ausgold has interpreted these intersections as the up-dip portion of the Jinkas lode, extending the potential strike a further 400m north of the current Jinkas Resource.

Further drilling is anticipated and will target the high-grade extensions to the Jinkas deposit.

“Ausgold’s recent RC drilling at the Burong prospect has intersected bedrock gold mineralisation over 200 metres of strike length with the best result being 1 metre at 6.47 grams per tonne gold having been returned from the bottom of hole,” Ausgold managing director Matthew Greentree said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Further RC drilling is planned targeting gold mineralisation within a package of mafic-ultramafic host rocks which extends at least 1.2 kilometres along strike.

“RC drilling within the Central Zone has intersected the northern portion of the Jinkas lode a further 400 metres north of the current Jinkas Resource.

“Future drilling is anticipated to target the high-grade extensions to the Jinkas mineralisation which are noted to the south and is expected to recommence as soon as practically possible.

“Currently, Ausgold is carrying out a soils sampling program along the Burong – Datatine structure which is clearly visible in aeromagnetics and ground gravity.

“This structure extends a further 10 kilometres eastward towards the Datatine Resource area.

“This newly identified mineralised trend has the potential to further expand the KGP’s current Mineral Resource and highlights the scale of gold mineralisation regionally.”

 

Email: info@ausgoldlimited.com

 

Web: www.ausgoldlimited.com

Apollo Consolidated to Divest Northern Cote d’Ivoire Interests

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Apollo Consolidated (ASX: AOP) is soon to be $7 million richer having agreed conditional terms for the proposed sale of its 20 per cent interests in Exore Resources’ (ASX: ERX) Bagoe and Liberty projects in northern Cote d’Ivoire to Ibaera Capital Fund LP.

Under the terms of the proposed sale, Apollo will receive consideration of US$4.5 million ($7M at the current exchange rate) in cash upon completion of the transaction.

The sale is subject to Exore not exercising its pre-emptive rights under the terms of the existing Joint Venture agreement or waiving those rights during a 30-day pre-emption period.

If this condition is satisfied, completion will occur within 15 business days after in-country approvals have been received and the relevant registration process has taken place.

“We consider this an attractive opportunity to realise the somewhat hidden value of this asset,” Apollo Consolidated managing director Nick Castleden said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our previous decisions to focus on building value at Rebecca have been supported by strong subsequent results, and in our view this represents an attractive premium relative to the value of the interests inferred from recent ERX share price trading values.

“We welcome the additional non-dilutionary funding that, on completion, would bring our cash position to well over $20 million.

“Importantly we still retain the valuable 1.2 per cent royalty over the advanced Seguela project in central Cote d’Ivoire, which is the subject of a recently announced Preliminary Economic Assessment on its one million ounces Mineral Resource by owner and operator Roxgold Inc (TSX: ROXG).”

 

Email: info@apolloconsolidated.com.au

Web: www.apolloconsolidated.com.au

 

Venture Minerals Claims Kulin Project Gold Discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Venture Minerals (ASX: VMS) has claimed to have made a new gold discovery at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Kulin project in Western Australia.

Venture Minerals’ Kulin project sits within the South West Terrane of the Yilgarn Archean Craton, which already contains several major gold deposits such as Australia’s 2nd largest gold producer, Boddington and Edna May.

The company explained it had initially focused on surface sampling and mapping programs over the priority target for nickel and PGE mineralisation, which coincided with an area of historic gold prospectivity identified by BHP with a peak rock chip result of 1.5 g/t gold.

Further soil sampling resulted in Venture delineating a cluster of six high-order (peaking at 399ppb (0.4g/t)) gold-in-soil anomalies within a 2km by 1km area of gold anomalism, which it claims to be comparable in size to the soil geochemical footprint of the nearby Tampia gold deposit.

The Kulin project has delivered Venture a great opportunity for the company to become an active gold explorer in an already proven, but still emerging, gold province in the South Western part of the World Class Yilgarn Archean Craton, already home to some of Australia’s largest gold mines,” Venture Minerals managing director Andrew Radonjic said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Venture is further encouraged by the historic gold exploration work done by BHP which had already recognised Kulin as a gold target as it did for Tampia which, following Ramelius’ takeover, is now planning to mine in 2021.

“The company is now preparing for a low-cost drilling campaign to test these priority targets and looks forward to updating shareholders when the results come to hand.”

 

Email: admin@ventureminerals.com.au

Web: www.ventureminerals.com.au

 

Red 5 Defines Satellite Resources at KOTH

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED) announced maiden JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource estimates for the Cerebus-Eclipse and Centauri near-mine deposits at the company’s King of the Hills (KOTH) gold mine in Western Australia.

Red 5 have placed some importance on these satellite deposits within its proposed mining strategy for the KOTH project, as it considers they could hold potential to provide open pit mill feed and cash flow in the early stages of a proposed bulk mining operation.

The numbers stack up as follows:

Cerebus-Eclipse: Indicated and Inferred Resource of 2.8 million tonnes at 1.2 grams per tonne gold for 112,000 ounces; and

Centauri: Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1.7 million tonnes at 1.5g/t gold for 81,300 ounces.

Combined with previously reported Mineral Resource estimates for the near-mine Rainbow and Severn deposits in May 2019, the Cerebus-Eclipse and Centauri Mineral Resources bring the company’s total Satellite Open Pit Mineral Resource base at KOTH to approximately 308,200 ounces.

“Delivering strong Mineral Resources at both Centauri and Cerebus-Eclipse is another big step forward for our bulk mining strategy,” Red 5 managing director Mark Williams said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These deposits have the potential to deliver early mill feed and cash flow from shallow open pits which can be accessed and developed relatively quickly during the early stages of bulk mining operations.

“In addition, we see the potential to continue to expand our Satellite Open Pit Resource inventory, with regional drilling underway to progressively test key targets – including at Cerebus-Eclipse and Centauri – each of which has the potential to yield further Resources.”

 

Email: info@red5limited.com

Web: www.red5limited.com

 

Dreadnought Resources Defines Gold Anomalies at Metzke’s Find

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) has defined a number of gold-in-soil anomalies with strong pathfinder associations at the Metzke’s Find prospect within the company’s Illaara gold-VMS project, located near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Dreadnought Resources identified the anomalies by way of a recently completed ultra-fine fraction soil survey at the approx. 12 kilometres long Metzke’s Find prospect.

The company explained the survey was designed as a first pass program to identify gold-in-soil anomalies and ultimately to generate targets for RC drill testing in 2020.

A 12 hole RC drilling program was carried out at Metzke’s in March 2020 around deeper historic workings that confirmed bedrock gold mineralisation, returning drill intercepts that included:

MZRC012
2 metres at 6.8 grams per tonne gold from 79m, including 1m at 12.5g/t gold from 80m;

MZRC010
4m at 1.9g/t gold from 64m, including 2m at 3.1g/t gold from 64m.

“Our recent RC drilling around the historic workings at Metzke’s Find intersected high-grade gold and highlighted a number of deeper bedrock drill targets,” Dreadnought Resources managing director Dean Tuck said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Drilling of these targets is planned to commence in May 2020.

“In addition, geophysics and geochemistry have identified that the historic workings are part of a 12 kilometres long anomalous corridor.

“Our recent ultra-fine fraction soil survey over this corridor has resulted in multiple gold-in-soil anomalies with strong pathfinder associations indicative of an orogenic gold system.

“These gold-in-soil anomalies are significant in scale and will be geologically mapped and possibly infilled to further constrain targets for drill testing in 2020.

“Dreadnought has a rapidly growing list of attractive drillready targets at Illaara including the deeper bedrock targets at Metzke’s and our VMS targets at Rodney and Warspite.

“Others will emerge out of our recent corridor work around Metzke’s and from Illaara Central.”

 

Email: info@dreadnoughtresources.com.au

Web: www.dreadnoughtresources.com.au

 

Black Cat Syndicate Continues to Encounter Gold at Myhree

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Black Cat Syndicate (ASX: BC8) has continued to encounter high-grade gold intersections from drilling underway at the company’s Bulong gold project in Western Australia.

Recent shallow RC drilling at Myhree returned several zones of thick, high grade mineralisation from drill holes drilled parallel to the strike of mineralisation to investigate a possible east-west high-grade vein set observed in previous diamond core samples.

Results include:

20MYRC020
28 metres at 6.59 grams per tonne gold from 5m, hole ended in mineralisation;

20MYRC014
3m at 41.95g/t gold from 41m;

20MYRC016
9m at 10.11g/t gold from 24m, hole ended in mineralisation;

20MYRC018
9m at 7.84g/t gold from 24m, hole ended in mineralisation;

20MYRC021
13m at 4.6g/t gold from 20m, hole ended in mineralisation; and

20MYRC019
7m at 3.76g/t gold from 26m, hole ended in mineralisation.

Black Cat Syndicate is continuing to progress the Myhree Feasibility Study, with recent activity including RC sterilisation drilling to identify locations for infrastructure.

This included encouraging results to the north of Myhree of:

20STRC003
2m at 11.57g/t gold from 37m.

The company explained it has follow-up drilling planned for this area.

Black Cat also completed diamond drilling for additional geotechnical and metallurgical testwork at Myhree during April 2020.

This core is currently being logged with assays expected in late May 2020.

“The thick zones of mineralisation at Myhree are pleasing and demonstrate a robust project that continues to provide consistently high grades,” Black Cat Syndicate managing director Gareth Solly said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The latest round of RC drilling was undertaken to aid the Myhree Feasibility Study, with sterilisation of potential infrastructure sites and fine tuning of the Resource model.

“The potential for additional Resource upside as a result of the results in the north of Myhree will be investigated when drilling resumes in late May 2020.”

 

Email: admin@blackcatsyndicate.com.au

Web: www.blackcatsyndicate.com.au

 

Exore Resources Releases Maiden Resource for Bagoe Gold Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Exore Resources (ASX: ERX) has announced a maiden independent JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the company’s Bagoe gold project in northern Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

Excore Resources explained the Mineral Resource Estimate includes drilling the company has completed at the Antoinette and Veronique deposits during the past 14 months of project ownership up to February 2020.

The Antoinette Mineral Resource Estimate has come in at:
5.55 million tonnes at 2.3 grams per tonne gold for 415,000 ounces (at lower cut-off of 1.0g/t); or
8.4 million tonnes at 1.8g/t gold for 485,000 ounces (at lower cut-off of 0.5g/t).

The numbers for the Veronique Mineral Resource Estimate stand at:
1.05 million tonnes at 3.2g/t gold for 110,000 ounces (at lower cut-off of 1.0g/t); or
1.35Mt at 2.8g/t gold for 120,000 ounces (at lower cut-off of 0.5g/t).

The Mineral Resource Estimate extends from surface with approximately 85 per cent of Antoinette Mineral Resource ounces within top 150 metres and around 90 per cent of Veronique Mineral Resource ounces within top 100m.

Mineralisation at all areas remains open, along strike and at depth, which when combined with recent step-out drilling results outside of the Mineral Resource provides plenty of potential for follow up drilling.

Recent drilling results include:

9 metres at 5.66 grams per tonne gold from 106m in a new footwall zone at Antoinette;

10m at 1.71g/t gold from 33m, 12m at 1.16g/t gold from 35m and 12m at 4.48g/t gold from 83m fin shallow step-out extensions at Antoinette;

12m at 3.88g/t gold from 8m at the new Juliette discovery situated approximately 2.5 kilometres along strike from Antoinette; and

3m at 6.45g/t gold from 3m from a new 80m step-out result at Veronique.

The release of Exore’s maiden Mineral Resource Estimate is based on the company’s exploration efforts over a little more than a year since acquiring the project and at a time of near record high gold prices,” Exore Resources managing director Justin Tremain said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We view the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate of well in excess of half a million ounces of gold at 2.5 grams per tonne as an interim resource with scope for growth with additional drilling.

“The Antoinette deposit remains open in all directions, along strike and down dip, with the Mineral Resource Estimate covering just 1,000 metres of several kilometres of strike potential.

“The Veronique deposit also remains open in all directions with the Mineral Resource Estimate considering just the one zone of mineralisation which has been subject to less than 3,000 metres of RC drilling, with several additional zones remaining undrilled.

“Notwithstanding the challenges posed by restrictions imposed by the COVID-19, Exore continues to undertake field exploration programs, including drilling.

“The company is in an excellent financial position with just under $13 million of cash.”

 

Email: info@exoreresources.com.au

Web: www.exoreresources.com.au

 

De Grey Mining Confirms Crow as Large Gold System

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG) has confirmed the Crow Zone at the company’s Hemi gold discovery in Western Australia as a third large gold system.

De Grey Mining completed six RC holes at Crow, five of which intersected broad scale, semi continuous gold mineralisation with narrower higher-grade intervals.

Results from the drilling include:

HERC045
63 metres at 0.9 grams per tonne gold from 26m;

HERC046
89m at 0.6g/t gold from 43m;

HERC047
14m at 0.7g/t gold from 169m;

HERC048
44m at 0.4g/t gold from 123m; and

HERC43
32m at 0.4g/t gold from 61m and 8m at 0.7g/t gold from 106m (previously reported within combined 70m at 0.3g/t gold).

“The potential for another large tonnage gold deposit similar to Brolga is very encouraging,” De Grey Mining technical director Andy Beckwith said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These are the first 6 RC holes we have drilled into Crow.

“The results show an extensive plus-400 metres wide zone of semi continuous gold mineralisation throughout the entire intrusion from Aquila through to Crow.

“The alteration and gold mineralisation at Crow is similar to that seen at Brolga.

“Looking at the cross section, if the gold mineralisation at Aquila and Crow join at depth then we have a target larger than Brolga with a potential lateral width of plus-700 metres.

“Drilling is at an early stage and we look forward to further testing this potential.”

 

Email: admin@degreymining.com.au

Web: www.degreymining.com.au

 

ioneer Quadruples Rhyolite Ridge Reserve on way to Releasing DFS

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: – ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR) announced a 280 per cent upgrade to the Ore Reserve estimate for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada, USA.

ioneer informed the market that the Ore Reserve at Rhyolite Ridge has been increased by 44.2 million tonnes and is now estimated to contain:

60mt at 1,800ppm lithium (equivalent to 1% lithium carbonate) and 15,400ppm boron (equivalent to 8.8% boric acid);

Containing 0.6mt of equivalent lithium carbonate and 5.3mt of equivalent boric acid.

This represents an increase of 0.42mt of lithium carbonate and 4.3mt of boric acid compared to the company’s previous Ore Reserve in December 2018.

“The 60 million tonne Ore Reserve provides the foundation for a very long mine life at the Rhyolite Ridge project, with clear potential for expansion and extension underpinned by the 146.5 million tonne Mineral Resource,” ioneer managing director Bernard Rowe said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Importantly, the planned Stage 1 quarry is exclusively Proved Reserves with higher-than-average lithium grades, which will provide higher cash flow in the early years of the project.

“The lithium-boron mineralisation remains open, particularly to the south where it continues to shallow and is generally higher in grade, and we expect further increases to Resources and Reserves with additional drilling.

“With the recent focus by the US Government on ensuring the supply of critical minerals, ioneer is well placed to become the first major domestic supplier of lithium to the American electric vehicle industry.”

The company backed up the Ore Reserve announcement with the results of a recently completed Definitive Feasibility Study that produced outcomes, including:

Project economics with an after-tax NPV of US$1.265 billion, and an unlevered, after tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.8 per cent;

The DFS confirmed plans for a large, long-life, low-cost operation, producing lithium carbonate, boric acid and then battery-grade lithium hydroxide;

All-in sustaining cash cost of US$2,510 per metric tonne lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) places the Rhyolite Ridge project at the bottom of the global lithium cost curve;

Stable boric acid revenue helps ensure EBITDA margin of 68.1 per cent based on average production over Life of Mine (LOM); and

Average LOM production 20,600 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate, converting in year four to 22,000tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, and 174,400tpa of boric acid.

“The DFS confirms our long-standing belief that Rhyolite Ridge is a world-class asset that will be transformational for ioneer and its shareholders,” Rowe declared.

“Rhyolite Ridge will be the single most attractive resource to economically produce lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and boric acid globally.

“The co-production of boric acid enables us to produce lithium, net of boric acid credits, at the lowest possible cost.

“Rhyolite Ridge’s projected position at the very bottom of the global lithium industry cost curve will enable us to achieve industry-leading EBITDA margins, an excellent return on investment, and a quick payback across a range of commodity price environments.

“Additionally, we are located in Nevada, a mining-friendly jurisdiction in the US, where lithium is recognised as a strategically important mineral, critical to a sustainable future.

“These benefits make Rhyolite Ridge an attractive project to strategic partners, which we have witnessed in discussions to date.

“On top of strong fundamentals, we expect the long-term demand for lithium to continue to increase when the Rhyolite Ridge production comes fully on-stream.

“I am proud of the ioneer team and our partners for their hard work over the last eighteen months, which has enabled us to successfully complete a robust and comprehensive DFS.

“We are now one important step closer to becoming a leading low-cost, long-life producer of lithium.”

 

Web: www.ioneer.com.au

 

Breaker Resources Encounters High-Grades at Depth

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Breaker Resources (ASX: BRB) is presently undertaking a long-term program of diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Bombora deposit at the company’s Lake Roe project, east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The drilling is targeting both discovery and expansion below and along strike from the current one-million-ounce open pit Resource at Bombora, the approximate 20 per cent inferred component of which remains partially drilled out at its northern, southern and depth extremities.

Breaker Resources has now reported the discovery of multiple high-grade lodes, which it believes highlights strong potential for ongoing growth in the Bombora deposit Resource.

The latest drilling results have produced intersections of new sulphide lodes up to 630 metres below surface over a two-kilometre strike length at the Bombora deposit.

Preliminary results include:

BBDD0092W1
1.85 metres at 12.94 grams per tonne gold from 442.5m, and 2.5m at 11.25g/t gold from 585m; and

BBDD0092W2
2.46m at 14.01g/t gold from 479.54m.

“Drilling outside the 3.2 kilometres-long one-million-ounce Bombora deposit has been limited in scope to date mainly due to an early strategic focus on establishing and de-risking a large, shallow open pit resource,” Breaker Resources executive chairman Tom Sanders said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“But given the scale of the greenfields gold system, we are now prioritising resource growth.

“We are now applying our hard-won understanding of the shallow gold mineralisation to find more gold at depth and we are getting results.

“We are also about to drill for more shallow gold at places like the Kopai prospect, which we are excited about.

“Our early objective with the drilling is discovery to lay a solid foundation for ongoing resource growth and to unlock the full potential of the nine-kilometres-long gold system.”

Breaker indicated RC drilling will soon be commencing at the Kopai-Crescent zone, located 3km north of Bombora.

The company explained this will be the first serious test of a 2km-long zone with several areas of shallow bedrock gold grading at over one gram per tonne gold.

 

Email: breaker@breakerresources.com.au

Web: www.breakerresources.com.au