WA-based explorer Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has begun testing three prospects in the WA Goldfields in a short RC drill campaign aimed at firming up the extent of gold mineralisation at its lead Bulong Taurus project about 35km east of Kalgoorlie.
The 12-hole 1750 metre RC campaign, expected to last just 10 days, will include four targeted drill holes at the project’s La Mascotte prospect to test a high-grade down-dip target.
The drilling follows a review of legacy campaigns at La Mascotte that have produced results that piqued the company’s interest. Figures have included 1m at 84.1 grams per tonne gold from 67m, 10m at 39.1 g/t gold from 128m and 2m at 12.41 g/t gold from 149m.
KalGold Managing Director and CEO Matt Painter said: “This latest round of drilling is testing the open-ended, high-grade gold mineralisation at a relatively shallow depth at La Mascotte and I am excited with what the drill campaign may reveal.”
“Several RC drill holes will test our concept for a northwest trend to gold mineralisation. If this high-grade zone continues at La Mascotte, this drilling will find it.”
The company says the zone is open to the west and north-west and a detailed structural analysis has identified a likely plunge control on the gold mineralisation. The four RC holes, for 865 metres, will test continuity down dip and down plunge.
The other eight holes comprise a short campaign of follow-up drilling, totalling 885m, at the project’s recent discoveries at Knockhill and Royal Star that lie to the north-west and south-east respectively of La Mascotte.
KalGold says both have strong gold mineralisation in the immediate subsurface. The current program is aiming to build on the intercepts discovered earlier this year and provide a guide to the next stage of deeper drilling.
First-pass drilling earlier this year returned 12m at 2.09g/t gold from 4m at Knockhill and 8m at 1.23g/t gold from 20m at Royal Star.
KalGold says it gained confidence from its first drill program at La Mascotte, which hit thick zones of near-surface gold mineralisation punctuated by higher grades.
This current campaign was due to start three weeks ago however rig availability led to a delay. The company is hoping its gold assays will be returned within a month of submission.
Bulong Taurus runs for 16km striking north-south and up to 9km east-west. The project is adjacent to and along strike from some successful and prominent gold explorers and miners.
KalGold has secured a total of 39 gold rights comprising an exploration licence, mining tenements and prospecting licences on land that has been mined since the 1890s.
Notably, historic drilling at La Mascotte, a total of 158 holes for more than 13,000 metres, has been deemed suitable for inclusion into a future JORC mineral resource estimate by the company. The inclusion of the historic drill numbers in the resource estimation is a significant win for the company as it will not have to foot the bill to re-drill those prospects, potentially saving millions of dollars.
KalGold only listed on the ASX last November after raising $7.5 million to advance its exploration plans.
The company has enjoyed a busy first 12 months on the Exchange. In fact, work on the ground at Bulong Taurus began prior to its listing and the company racked up close to 100 drill holes and 400 auger holes in just the first six months on the local bourse.
Attention will now turn to its next set of assay results that will no doubt provide some significant clarification around the tenure of the mineralisation.
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