Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has wasted no time gearing up the rigs for follow-up drilling at its exciting Lighthorse supergene gold discovery, which is part of the company’s Pinjin project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
The company has kicked off a 16-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling program for 2500 metres across three drill lines, with planned depths of 140 metres to 220m using a 100m x 80m drill spacing pattern.
The rig will test fresh rock beneath and around a shallow, wide area of mineralisation - interpreted as a horizontal supergene blanket - to chase up potential sources of the uber-high-grade gold.
News of the find, announced to the world last month, sent punters into a frenzy and pushed the company’s share price up 400 per cent to nearly 10 cents per share.
Big hits from the recent core drilling campaign that caused all the noise included 17m grading 4.81 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 48m, including an 8m section running at 9.21g/t from 52 m, and a 4m intercept going 4.72g/t gold from 52m.
Both holes ended in mineralisation at the bottom of the oxide zone, the furthest extent the air core rig could penetrate before hitting sulphide rock.
KalGold has every reason to believe the source of the supergene mineralisation could be lurking just below. If the drill rig confirms the company’s theory and joins the dots with a primary gold discovery, it could unlock a whole new dimension for the project - one with massive potential.
Kalgoorlie Gold Mining managing director Matthew Painter said: “The laterally extensive, horizontal, well-mineralised supergene blanket at Lighthorse is very interesting in its own right, but the potential for primary gold mineralisation below has grabbed our attention. We may have already hit some of this primary mineralisation in the discovery air core program, which this new RC program aims to build on.”
KalGold is fast-tracking gold-only fire assays and aims to have the results ready by mid-to-late April, with testing for multi-elements likely to follow at a later stage. The strategy will allow the company to make quick, on-the-spot decisions and move rapidly as evolving circumstances dictate.
In addition to the current deeper reverse circulation drilling, KalGold is polishing up plans for a secondary air core program to test potential strike extensions along the Lighthorse corridor. Up to 2.7km trending north remains completely untested, providing plenty of opportunity for KalGold to grow the resource.
The Lighthorse prospect is part of KalGold’s Pinjin gold project and sits 140km northeast of Kalgoorlie at the southern tip of the legendary Laverton tectonic zone. The region is home to some of Australia’s most prolific gold deposits.
This world-class gold corridor hosts major operations including Gold Fields Limited’s 5.8-million-ounce Granny Smith mine, Barrick’s massive 11.8m-ounce Wallaby mine and AngloGold Ashanti’s 10.3m-ounce Sunrise Dam gold mine.
KalGold believes Pinjin’s southern position in the Laverton tectonic zone, 25km north of Ramelius Resources’ 1.04m-ounce Rebecca gold project, gives it a big opportunity for future exploration success.
The region’s lack of surface outcrops made it a tough target for exploration even as recently as two decades ago and going back as early as the 19th-century gold rush, it was one of the last areas explored before the old-timers moved on.
The ground has consequently seen far less exploration than other gold-rich zones, leaving KalGold with a wealth of untapped potential - 15 promising targets at last count that are all primed for modern exploration techniques.
Adding to the excitement of Kalgold’s recent discovery, the surrounding grounds have become the subject of some good old-fashioned nearology, prompting fellow ASX-listed explorer E79 Gold Mines to accelerate drilling plans on adjacent ground to chase potential Lighthorse extensions to the west.
If the company’s neighbour ends up having some early success, it could significantly expand the size of Pinjin’s footprint, unlocking even greater potential.
With drilling expected to finish within two weeks and assay results due in April, KalGold may be approaching a company-defining moment.
Its share price went up 12 per cent today to 7.5 cents, which is a good sign that punters are already laser-focused on its progress. If the exploration gods are kind and the company pulls off a win this round, a new major discovery could cement Kalgold’s reputation as the new gold “wunderkind” in one of WA’s premier gold regions.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By James Pearson
