THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Empire Resources (ASX: ERL) has more than doubled the size of its exploration acreage in the newly-discovered Point Kidman gold domain, located 40 kilometres east of Laverton in Western Australia.

The increase takes Empire’s Point Kidman acreage to a total of 780 square kilometres.

Source: Company announcement

Empire took the decision to apply for additional tenements on the back of new structural studies over the area following the recent discovery of surface gold nuggets spread over a 2.5km long zone.

Empire has applied for four new exploration licences covering an area of approximately 310sqkm.

“The acquisition of the four additional Point Kidman ELs further adds to Empire’s significant suite of copper-gold and gold projects located throughout Western Australia including our advanced high grade Yuinmery copper-gold and Penny’s Find gold projects,” Empire Resources managing director David Sargeant said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our enlarged exploration footprint at Point Kidman, including the newly discovered 2.5 kilometre long nugget zone, overlies possible granite hosted gold mineralisation – a style similar to the Laverton Belt’s Granny Smith gold mine, a large gold deposit partially located within granite, 50 kilometres to the southwest of Point Kidman.

“The surface nuggets were located on an extensional fault line where dolerite dykes have also been intruded and the pattern of faults closely matches the classic Reidal model used to predict favourable structural locations for finding gold deposits.

“Importantly, the surface gold nuggets were both numerous and spread over a very large 2.5 kilometre long zone exhibiting extensive quartz vein swarms and stockworks hosted by leached and weathered granite – with many of the veins showing limonitegoethite staining after sulphides.

“In addition, extensive soil sampling undertaken by the tenement holders around the area of the nugget discoveries has outlined a number of other gold and supporting pathfinder metal anomalies in the immediate vicinity.

“Significantly from Empire’s point of view, this new gold zone is in an area where there are no historical gold workings or previous exploration drilling although the Laverton region is one of the best gold endowed areas within the Yilgarn Craton.”

The new ELs are contiguous with Empire’s original six exploration licences at Point Kidman, an area the company considers to be structurally favourable for hosting large gold deposits, which it said was demonstrated by the association of surface nuggets with major fault structures in the area.

Empire acquired an initial 80 per cent interest in the Point Kidman gold project in September.

The company is currently planning a detailed aeromagnetic and structural study to be undertaken over the New Year on its Point Kidman acreage prior to confirming an initial drilling schedule.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Mutiny Gold (ASX: MYG) has updated the underground JORC-compliant resource and ore reserve for the company’s Deflector gold-copper deposit in Western Australia.

The update comes after a resource classification review, which paid particular attention to the West Lode splay zones which contain some of the highest grade mineralisation discovered to date at the Deflector gold-copper deposit.

The result is a reclassification of four complete or partial West Splay Lodes from Inferred to Indicated resource category.

Table 1: Deflector JORC-compliant resource. Source: Company announcement

The increase to the Indicated resource category totals 184,000 tonnes at 13.2 grams per tonne gold for 79,000 ounces gold, 26,000 ounces of silver and 2,000 tonnes of copper upgraded from Inferred to Indicated Resource Category, representing 87,000 ounces gold equivalent.

A review of the revised classification has led to a material reclassification from the Inferred Life of Mine (LOM) into the Probable Reserve Category.

Table 2: Deflector JORC-compliant Reserves. Source: Company announcement

The changes to the resource classification has affected Deflector’s underground mining reserve, whereby material initially included in the Inferred LOM plan has now been up-graded to JORC-compliant ‘Probable’ Ore Reserve category.

While the open pit ore reserve remains unchanged from the October 2012 update, the underground Ore Reserve has increased ‘Probable’ Ore Reserves by 196,000 tonnes at 9g/t gold, 2.8g/t silver and 0.6 per cent copper for 57,000 ounces gold, 18,000 ounces silver and 1,000 tonnes of copper for 63,000 ounces gold equivalent without changes to the current mine design.

Mutiny Gold considers the reclassified Indicated Resources demonstrate Deflector’s high-grade tenor delivered from the company’s successful drilling campaigns.

“The flow-through to Ore Reserves adds increased revenue to the project and places even greater confidence in our mining plan,” Mutiny Gold managing director John Greeve said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Furthermore, the Splay Lodes offer further opportunity for additional high-grade ounces within close proximity to planned mine development and will be included as targets in our exploration strategy.”

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: West Africa-focussed resources company Volta Mining (ASX: VTM) is pleased to announce it has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement (“HOA”) with Core Mining.

The deal will result in Volta Mining, through its 100 per cent-owned Mauritian subsidiary, Volta West Africa, acquiring 100 per cent interest in Core Mining Gabon SARL, the holder of the Kango iron ore project in Gabon.

Core is to become a 15 per cent shareholder in Volta Mining upon completion of the deal.

“The acquisition of the Kango iron ore project is synergistic in terms of operations, exploration and future infrastructure with Volta Mining’s landmark Mbombo iron ore project acquired in August and as such we believe it will help position Volta Mining as a significant iron ore participant in West Africa,” Volta Mining managing director David Sumich said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Volta Mining’s iron ore projects, Gabon: location and infrastructure. Source: Company announcement

The Kango iron ore project is located within the northwest margin of the Archaean Congo Craton within West Central Africa and covers a total area of 1,818 square kilometres.

Regional geophysical data has identified a 60km aeromagnetic anomalous zone.

Surface samples taken throughout the licence by Core have indicated the presence of iron mineralisation with grades ranging from 39 per cent iron to 61 per cent iron.

Volta is currently undertaking legal and technical due diligence, which it said it anticipated to be completed within a specified 30 day period.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Testing by Orinoco Gold (ASX: OGX) on an initial one tonne bulk sample from the Cascavel Target at the company’s Curral de Pedra project in central Brazil has returned an average head grade of 22.1 grams per tonne gold.

Orinoco claims the result has confirmed the high‐grade nature and significant potential of the, what it considers to be, rapidly emerging project.

The company said it expects to receive metallurgical results from the bulk sample in the coming weeks.

Orinoco said ongoing drilling has continued to intersect the structure that hosts the mineralised zones from which the bulk sample was collected, with all holes hitting the targeted structure over 420 metres of strike and 620m down plunge.

In the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange Orinoco Gold managing director Mark Papendieck said confirmation of high-grade mineralisation in a bulk sample combined with the fact drilling continues to show continuity of the mineralised structure over an increasingly large area at Cascavel reinforces the potential of the project.

“It is significant that drilling continues to show the consistency of the structure hosting the sulphide rich zone – and clearly very pleasing that a 1 tonne bulk sample from different parts of this zone has returned an average grade of 22.1 grams per tonne gold,” Papendieck said.

“Over the next two months we are confident that drilling will continue to add to the known size of the Cascavel target which is currently open down plunge and along strike.”

The bulk sample was collected from the deepest point of two historic winzes approximately 400m along strike from each other.

Two 500 kilogram samples were collected; one from the Mestre winze at a vertical depth of 55m (approx. 130m down plunge) and another 400m to the northwest from the Cuca winze at a vertical depth of 25m (approx. 50m down plunge).

Drill program showing the Mestre and Cuca winzes. Source: Company announcement

Orinoco said it considers the two samples to be representative of the mineralisation displayed in the winzes and are visually and mineralogically consistent with the much wider intersections of the mineralised zones (up to 15m) that have been established by the drilling it has conducted to date.

The company noted the 500kg sample collected at the Mestre winze contained a greater degree of alteration and returned an average head grade of 39.9g/t gold, while the sample from the Cuca winze contained noticeably less alteration and had an average head grade of 4.34g/t gold.

Orinoca believes the combination of these two samples represents mineralisation both in the core and also at the margin of the mineralised zones.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Burkina Faso trailblazers Gryphon Minerals (ASX: GRY) has raised $31.3 million via an institutional share placement to allow the advancement of the company’s Banfora gold project.

Gryphon will issue 52.2 million fully paid ordinary shares to existing and new Australian, European and North American institutional investors at an issue price of 60 cents per share.

Banfora gold project, Burkina Faso. Source: Gryphon Minerals

The company is currently preparing a Definitive Feasibility Study on the Banfora gold project based on a 3.5 million tonnes per annum operation.

It also has underway a detailed review on a staged 2 million tonnes per annum ‘start up’ operation that could be up scaled to a 4 million tonnes per annum operation.

Gryphon indicated it expects to be able to make a final decision on the preferred DFS case in the coming months.

“Proceeds from the placement will be primarily used to advance the initial development of the Banfora gold project through ordering of long lead items including an initial SAG mill payment,” Gryphon Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

“The proceeds will also be applied to preliminary site and earth works as well as to continue resource and reserve definition drilling.

“In addition, funds will also be used to continue pre-feasibility studies on the potential Heap Leach, exploration work at the company’s gold projects in Mauritania, as well as to meet working capital requirements.”