Calidus expands east Pilbara gold landholding

ASX-listed Calidus Resources has struck a farm-in deal allowing it to earn up to 75 per cent of a greenfields gold project, which sits immediately along strike from the high-grade Blue Spec gold project, as the company looks to put meat on the bones of its Warrawoona gold production hub strategy.

Perth-based Calidus is currently acquiring Blue Spec from Novo Resources in staged payments and the new farm-in project area, called E46/1026, is located about 11km east-north-east of the town of Nullagine in WA’s east Pilbara region and adjoins Blue Spec.

They are both located approximately 70km-75km from Calidus’ flagship, under-construction Warrawoona gold mining and processing operation about 25km south-east of Marble Bar, also in the east Pilbara.

According to the company, the new tenement area is considered prospective for mineralisation similar to Blue Spec, which lies fewer than 5km to the east.

A bonanza-grade inferred and indicated mineral resource estimate of 415,000 tonnes of ore going 16.35 grams per tonne for 219,000 ounces of contained gold has been attributed to the adjoining Blue Spec project incorporating the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits.

Under the farm-in arrangement with Gondwana Resources, Calidus can earn up to 51 per cent in the tenement with an initial minimum exploration spend of $500,000 within three years and up to 75 per cent with a further $500,000 expenditure towards exploration within five years of the joint venture commencement date.

Calidus Resources Managing Director, Dave Reeves said: “The farm-in arrangement with Gondwana provides Calidus with a low-cost consolidation opportunity in an under-explored and highly prospective mineral tenure along strike from the high-grade Gold Spec and Blue Spec deposits.”

“This additional ground increases our critical mass around Blue Spec where we envisage a satellite mining operation providing ore to the central Warrawoona processing facility. The Blue Spec shear has been mapped on the tenement, however, there has been no historic drilling.”

Calidus says the absence of any drilling on E46/1026 means the vein-hosted gold potential of the tenement has been largely untested and that it intends kicking off exploration at the project next year.

The company has commissioned a scoping study on Blue Spec that is expected to be completed in the March quarter next year. A development option being considered as part of its Warrawoona production hub strategy is trucking Blue Spec ore about 70km north-west to the planned Warrawoona gold processing operations and treating the mined Blue Spec material through a dedicated sulphide milling circuit.

Calidus has previously indicated a Blue Spec satellite gold mine scenario may see Warrawoona’s overall estimated gold output swell from roughly 90,000 ounces per annum to approximately 130,000 ounces per annum.

Early capital works at the $120 million Warrawoona project development are well advanced and the company says the main construction stage remains on track to begin in the first quarter of calendar 2021.

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