Pioneer Resources outlines 2013 exploration strategy
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) has outlined the company’s exploration strategy for 2013.
The company said it is embarking on an aggressive exploration campaign aimed at unlocking the potential it believes sits within its portfolio of Western Australian projects.
Pioneer acquired the remainder of the Golden Ridge nickel and gold project (PIO 100 per cent), and the Acra project (PIO 100 per cent) in 2012 following its sale of the Mt Jewell West gold project for $8 million.
The company indicated the Acra project, located 60 kilometres north east of Kalgoorlie, has emerged as its main priority, with drilling planned to target the Jubilee East prospect.
Target confirmation aircore drilling is scheduled to resume at Acra during February 2013 with the objective to identify targets for a subsequent program of RC drilling.
“We will be the first company to systematically explore the Acra tenements for gold using modern-day exploration technologies and methods,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The Acra gold project, particularly the Jubilee East prospect, has long been recognised for its potential to host nickel sulphide mineralisation.
“Because of that focus most of the earlier exploration undertaken at Acra predominantly concentrated on the discovery of nickel.
“Many of the earlier holes were not even assayed for gold, however, where gold was assayed, a number of holes were noted to have made significant intersections – including at the Kalpini South, Jubilee and Jubilee East prospects.”
A detailed EM survey has been booked to commence at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Golden Ridge project, 30km south east of Kalgoorlie in February.
The survey is following up results from a campaign conducted in July 2012, which detected conductors Pioneer consider may include nickel sulphides at Duplex Hill, Anomaly 11 and Blair South prospects.
Depending upon results achieved from the upcoming survey, Pioneer said it could move to drilling selected targets during an RC drilling campaign it has pencilled in for April 2013.
“When it became obvious we were selling the Mt Jewell West Gold Project, our major objective became finding worthwhile Projects to replace it,” Crook said.
“We believe we have successfully put together a portfolio that has achieved this objective through the acquisition of the remainder of the Golden Ridge Nickel and Gold Project, and gold rights for the Acra Project.”
The Company has also secured the highly-prospective Fairwater Gold and Nickel project, located in the Albany-Fraser Province.
Pioneer has already generated new gold and nickel anomalies since securing the Project.
“Pioneer Resources’ operational objective for 2013 is to turn one, maybe more, of these significant exploration opportunities into our next discovery,” Crook said.