Calidus Resources has identified strong gold-in-soil anomalies in samples taken across a 3km strike length in historically mined sections of its Blue Spec project near Nullagine in WA’s Pilbara region.
The soil program, conducted in June and July, targeted the untested western end of the Blue Spec fault zone associated with gold mineralisation.
A total of 1,115 samples were collected over three areas at the project including a main zone on a 200m x 40m grid and two smaller areas on 100m x 50m grids.
Early follow-up work confirms the main zone of anomalism coincides with an increase in carbonate alteration and quartz-ankerite veins.
The company says preliminary fieldwork is now underway to identify drill targets in addition to areas for its program of work applications and heritage surveys.
Calidus Resources Managing Director, Dave Reeves said: “These results clearly demonstrate that there is potential for additional gold deposits along strike to the west of the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits.”
The results have prompted the company to plan a drill program that is expected to start after follow-up mapping and sampling at the site has been completed.
The Blue Spec area contains operations that were mined historically from 1906 and to a depth of about 320m. The project still has existing decline and shaft infrastructure with facilities including offices and workshops, extensive roads and historical processing facility and tailings dam. The mine was closed by Anglo American in 1979.
The Blue Spec West tenement is, unsurprisingly, immediately west and along strike from the Blue Spec project where Calidus has defined 219,000 ounces of contained gold grading at a sensational 16.3 grams per tonne across both the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits.
Calidus says the two deposits are currently part of a feasibility study that is exploring the potential of a new underground mine and likely to be released in the September quarter.
The Perth-based company has had a busy past 12 months, including becoming one of the Pilbara’s newest gold producers in May after its first gold pour at its Warrawoona project about 70km from Blue Spec.
Calidus sees Blue Spec’s ore contribution propelling production at the Warrawoona project to almost 130,000 ounces per annum for three years, from year four to year six, across an initial eight-year mine life.
The company’s projections for Warrawoona include “stage one” gold production averaging 90,000 ounces annually and all-in sustaining costs averaging $1290 an ounce across the mine life.
In January Calidus joined forces with Haoma Mining to create Pirra Lithium with the aim of unlocking the lithium potential of more than 1000 square kilometres of prime Pilbara real estate.
With proven runs on the board such as its maiden gold pour in May in addition to a comprehensive land package with a focus on gold and exploring lithium potential in the Pilbara, the market will be keen to see what Calidus Resources has in store over the next six months.
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By Matt Birney
