Multi-commodity explorer, Great Southern Mining, has kicked off its maiden exploration drill program at the prospective looking northern Goldfields based Cox’s Find project, with high grade gold hits showing up close to surface in for the first three holes. Initial results include 2 meters grading 9 grams per tonne gold from 76 meters downhole and 3m grading 16g/t gold from 74m downhole.
According to the company, the holes with good grades have intersected a quartz reef that looks like the Cox’s Find style of gold mineralisation.
Cox’s Find is an ex-WMC open pit and underground mining operation 65km north of Laverton, that produced just under 76,000 ounces at 22.6g/t gold. WMC operators formally mined the underground material by hand, with an amazing historical cut-off grade of 12g/t gold.
Great Southern dusted off the cobwebs at the Cox’s Find project recently and it is the first company to conduct substantial exploration in 25 years - and the first to drill below 60m in depth.
Great Southern Executive Chairman John Terpu said: “The exceptional quality of the intersections in these first three drill holes provides confirmation that the mineralisation style and grade is consistent with what was mined by WMC."
"This gives the Company confidence in its exploration model that significant high-grade mineralisation exists beyond the original development.”
Stockpiles of primary gold mineralisation left behind on-site by WMC have an average grade of 1.7g/t and old heap leach pads hold an average grade of 1.3g/t, according to the company.
Adding weight to the old stockpiles and heap leach pads story is the historical “waste dump” materials containing an average grade of 0.6g/t gold – not bad considering Great Southern may now be able to get its foot on some quick and easy cash flow by processing this material through one of the nearby processing facilities.
In today's gold mining age, 0.5g/t gold is considered a reasonable cut-off grade.
How times have changed.
Any success with these remnant surface ore material is a bonus on top of any future development for Great Southern.
The company has more assay results to come – these will no doubt be highly anticipated.
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