Aurumin set to follow up 18m at 26 g/t gold hit in Sandstone

Aurumin is set to unleash the drill-bit again to try to replicate a previous stellar 18m drill hit grading 25.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at its Central Sandstone project in Western Australia, about 520km northeast of Perth.

The company plans to target extensional and infill drilling at its Shillington and Plum Pudding deposits and is hoping to breach the magical million-ounce milestone at the project soon. 

Shillington and Plum Pudding stretch across three already granted mining leases and the project comes replete with its own mothballed 500,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) carbon-in-leach processing plant, which requires refurbishment.  

Aurumin is sitting on a 946,000-ounce gold resource across its flagship Central Sandstone and Johnson Range projects.

Central Sandstone comprises a gold resource of 881,000 ounces with open-pittable material consisting of 7.622 million tonnes grading 1.3g/t for 307,400 ounces.

Its underground resource at the project consists of 10.8mt going at 1.6g/t gold for 573,900 ounces.

The company also has a 64,700-ounce gold resource grading 2.51g/t gold at its Johnson Range project, combining for the total resource of 946,000 ounces across the two projects.

Management says drilling is planned for completion prior to the Christmas break and results are expected early next year.

As part of the drilling at Shillington, the company will prioritise and test interpreted controls to high-grade mineralisation within a north trending corridor, along with a previously untested banded-iron-formation hosted structural target.

Work at the Plum Pudding deposit will follow up the stellar hit of 18m running 25.8g/t gold from 30m that got the market focused on the project recently.

The mineralisation at Plum Pudding occurs as a sub-vertical zone of quartz veining within a corridor of sheared ultramafic rocks.

A series of drill-holes will be ploughed into the ground to test for strike extensions to the sheared zone to the north and south.

The company says regional exploration field work is ongoing with mapping and sampling across its large 520km project ground.

An assessment of drilling requirements has also taken place at Gwendolyn, with a program of works submitted and drilling expected to occur there next year.

Aurumin’s managing director Daniel Raihani said: “Aurumin remain focused on generating the critical mass required for future gold production at our Sandstone operations and the next on-ground step for both the gold and iron ore is drilling. In addition, we have recently received a non-binding indicative offer from Brightstar Resources in relation to a potential joint venture at the Central Sandstone project, which is currently under consideration.”

The company says all approvals to begin the reverse-circulation drill program are in place, with the program planned to begin within the week.

Aurumin recently revealed non-exec director and businessman Daniel Raihani has moved into the managing director’s chair at the gold and iron ore explorer.

Raihani has been a non-executive director at Aurumin for the past year and is an experienced accountant and businessman with various property and commercial interests.

He was joined at the boardroom table recently by John Ingram, a geologist with 25 years’ experience and Ben Broom, who comes with 20 years’ experience across the finance and mining services sectors.

Broom is a founder and current director of mining services contracting firm Mineral Mining Services.

Aurumin is now knocking on the door of the coveted million-ounce club at Sandstone and some handy work with the drill bit this campaign might just get it there at a time when the precious yellow metal is testing historic highs.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au