BMG Resources has launched a new drilling blitz at the company’s Abercromby gold project near Wiluna in WA to beef up its 518,000-ounce gold resource and test for extensions to the mineralisation, which remains open in all directions.
The 10,000 metre drill program is the first major assault on the company’s significant gold resource since its initial unveiling back in 2023. The program will test multiple targets for strike and dip extensions to high-grade lodes, which returned several stellar intersections previously.
Earlier drilling at Abercromby pulled up an eye-popping 57.5-metre run grading 5.73 grams per tonne (g/t) from 80m depth. That hit was further supported by a 77-metre stretch going at 2.66g/t from 116m and a 26m section running at 6.07g/t from 192m, featuring a 7-metre high-grade slice assaying 21.22g/t.
Another 37m interval, which returned 2.58g/t gold from 144m and included 8m at 8.1g/t, bolstered the company’s belief it had stumbled onto something special.
The new drill campaign will plunge into underexplored zones where high-grade gold has previously been intersected, with hits such as 3m at 14.38g/t gold potentially representing the tip of the iceberg for further high-grade gold lodes to be unearthed at the site.
Several drill holes will be ploughed into part of the hanging wall to obtain a better understanding of the geology, where a mineralised hit of 3m at 4.97g/t from 104m was intersected, along with the 3m at 14.38g/t interval, in an area crying out for more probing with the drill-bit.
Plans are to initially drill to a depth of up to 150m with a reverse-circulation (RC) rig, then complete diamond tails using a diamond drilling rig to greater depths.
BMG is aiming to refine its resource model through the drilling and to provide supporting details for its upcoming scoping study, due for release later this month.
BMG Resources chief executive officer Ben Pollard said: “We’ve strengthened our executive team with extensive technical and development experience and are well-positioned to grow and upgrade the resource base to support development studies and advance Abercromby along a clear pathway to production.
Management says the results from the drilling blitz will inform a near-term development strategy for a low-risk, simplified mine plan to capitalise on the booming gold price and move the company closer to “producer” status.
With the gold price sitting at a turbocharged US$5356 (A$7550) an ounce, the company believes it is already well on its way to joining WA’s next wave of gold producers, with a suite of favourable factors lining up.
Abercromby sits on a granted mining lease within an established mining region, supported by local infrastructure. It has several toll treatment options available within trucking distance of its project.
BMG has signed a memorandum-of-understanding (MOU) with Wiluna Mining, owner of the Matilda carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant, to knock up a suitable processing arrangement for treatment of its ore.
Metallurgical studies conducted on the company’s ore have confirmed free milling gold across all orebody zones, returning high recoveries of 93 per cent to 95 per cent from conventional carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing.
Notably, the mineral resource comprises 11.1 million tonnes grading 1.45g/t gold for 518,000 ounces and begins from surface, setting up the deposit as a prime candidate for a cheaper, simpler open-pit operation. A total of 165,000 ounces sits within the indicated category and the remaining 353,000 ounces is classified as an inferred resource.
The upcoming scoping study will assess the economics of a potential mining operation at Abercromby, with a primary focus on the indicated resources to provide a high level of confidence for the company’s mine planning.
Many smaller, lower-grade gold mines are increasingly being developed under profit-sharing arrangements with a growing pool of mining contractors chasing exposure to the rising gold price.
Abercromby appears to tick all those boxes, with the project showing the hallmarks of a deposit that could see those contractors lining up to secure a prized mining deal.
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