Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has moved to de-risk and accelerate its exploration plans near its historic namesake town in WA's eastern goldfields, executing a comprehensive heritage agreement with the Kakarra Aboriginal Corporation.
The accord covers KalGold’s Pinjin and Bulong Taurus gold projects and is designed to streamline access for drilling and other exploration activities by setting out a clear framework for protecting Kakarra heritage.
In more recent years, formalised cultural heritage processes have become an increasingly critical part of getting exploration and development underway in Western Australia’s resources sector, making such agreements a significant operational milestone.
The new, wide-ranging agreement supersedes an earlier, more limited arrangement and was brought into play following the Federal Court’s recognition of the Kakarra people’s native title rights in April 2025. The previous deal also included tenements no longer held by the company, while the new heritage protection now embraces all of KalGold’s tenements and gold rights across Kakarra Country.
For KalGold, the practical benefits are expected to be immediate. At its Pinjin gold project, the company anticipates the agreement will deliver timely heritage surveys and prompt clearances for its upcoming exploration and resource drilling programs. It is also expected to smooth the path for new licence applications within the area.
Similarly, at the company's Bulong Taurus gold project, 35 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the new framework is expected to free up the path towards heritage clearances for proposed work near the culturally significant Lake Yindarlgooda.
Kalgoorlie Gold Mining managing director and chief executive officer Matt Painter said: “Executing a comprehensive Heritage Protection Agreement with the Kakarra Traditional Owners is a significant milestone for KalGold. While cultural heritage protection is foremost for the Kakarra Aboriginal Corporation, the pragmatism and enthusiasm shown in meetings and on-country is very encouraging for KalGold’s exploration programs.”
KalGold’s Pinjin project lies in some of WA’s most prospective gold terrane, within the revered Laverton Tectonic Zone – a 250km-long, deep-seated and gold-rich structural corridor running through the heart of the Eastern Goldfields. This geological superhighway has delivered more than 30 million ounces of gold throughout its storied history of exploration and development and still remains an active exploration hotspot. Pinjin is also just 25km north along strike from Ramelius Resources’ 1.4 million-ounce Rebecca gold project, where its recent pre-feasibility study has outlined a path to gold production by 2027.
KalGold has already defined a maiden inferred resource of its own at the combined Kirgella Gift and Providence deposits, part of Pinjin, weighing in at a handy 2.34 million tonnes at one gram per tonne (g/t) gold for 76,400 ounces, with further upside becoming apparent in thick, shear-hosted gold mineralisation extending beyond the current resource.
Recent reverse circulation (RC) drilling around the two deposits has unearthed some notable numbers associated with alteration, sulphides and veining, up to 38m thick from shallow depths, including 3m at 3.55g/t gold from 67m, and featuring 1m at 8.57g/t gold from 67m within a broader mineralised envelope of 7m at 1.58g/t gold from 64m.
,Another hole gave up 28m at 1.15g/t gold from 20m, including 4m going 2.08g/t gold from 24m, within a broader mineralised envelope of 38m at 0.89g/t gold from just 19m depth.
Meanwhile, the company’s Bulong Taurus project 30km east of Kalgoorlie hosts the La Mascotte deposit, which contains an inferred mineral resource of 3.61 million tonnes grading 1.19 g/t gold for 138,000 ounces, hiking KalGold’s total combined resource base to more than 214,000 ounces.
The company prides itself on being a low-cost discoverer, pegging its exploration costs at less than $4.60 per ounce of gold defined so far and with the Australian-dollar gold price continuing to trade at historically high levels at around A$6100 an ounce, any exploration success at this level of spending efficiency looks even better.
For an explorer, having a solid relationship with the traditional owners of the land and a clearly agreed-upon process for accessing the ground is also worth its weight in gold. With its comprehensive heritage agreement now locked away, KalGold has cleared a major hurdle, allowing the company to focus on what it seems to do best - sniffing out new gold discoveries in Kalgoorlie’s backyard.
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By Doug Bright
