King River Resources has lit up its new flagship Mindoolah gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison province, with a systematic soil sampling program delivering a standout result of 231.8 parts per billion (ppb) gold at the Golden Gate prospect.
The latest findings from an UltraFine+ soil sampling program appear to have strengthened the case for drilling at Golden Gate, on the eastern side of the project, where the standout gold sample was identified adjacent to historical mine workings and mapped quartz veining.
The company says the mean concentration of elevated samples in this eastern zone is 21ppb gold, a hefty 10 times higher than the normal background concentration of 2ppb gold.
The campaign has now successfully defined several coherent gold trends across the project area, closely aligned to interpreted structural corridors, magnetic features and key geological contacts - all classic ingredients for hosting gold mineralisation. The fresh data is likely to provide valuable new targets for King River's massive 11,000-metre, phase-two reverse circulation drilling campaign which is currently underway.
Over on the western side of the project, the Le Soleil-Demagnetised target corridor also delivered strong soil-gold responses, with values up to 69.9ppb gold. The mean of elevated samples in this western area is 27ppb gold, roughly five times higher than the background reading.
Positioned 70 kilometres north-west of Cue, Mindoolah became King River’s new flagship gold project after the company exercised its option to acquire the ground in March this year, marking a clear shift in its operational focus.
Since then, the company has wasted little time getting the rods spinning. Its phase-two program has included deeper testing beneath the historical Excelsior open pit, where previous drilling hit a solid four metres assaying an impressive 9.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 33m.
With the latest 3252-metre campaign at Excelsior now wrapped up, all samples have been dispatched to the laboratory for analysis. The rig has since shifted to the Le Soleil-Demagnetised Target corridor where the strong soil-gold geochem results of up to 69.9ppb were recorded. Aeromag is also currently being flown at the target and is slated for completion by November 6th.
King River Resources managing director Graham Gadsby said: “The UltraFine+ soil program has delivered a valuable new layer of geochemical intelligence across Mindoolah, revealing clear spatial alignments between elevated gold, structural corridors, magnetic features, and key lithological contacts. On the eastern side, the high-grade 231.8 ppb Au result at Golden Gate highlights an exciting target immediately adjacent to historical workings and mapped quartz veining.”
Confidence for the major drill-out was originally buoyed by King River's successful phase-one campaign, which delivered a 79 per cent hit rate and confirmed shallow, high-grade mineralisation. Noteworthy hits included one metre grading a hefty 13.59g/t gold at the company's Bertram’s prospect and three metres going a solid 4.7g/t gold at its Le Soleil prospect.
The strategic shift to the Murchison goldfields follows Gadsby's appointment as managing director in October last year. He previously worked at ASX-listed Spartan Resources, where his work was described as “instrumental” in discovering the significant Never Never and Pepper gold deposits near Sandstone.
The company has also taken a shrewd approach to funding its exploration push, progressively selling down part of its significant shareholding in ASX-listed Tivan Limited. The investment was valued at more than $12.6 million as at the end of September, providing a sizeable financial reservoir to bankroll its Mindoolah ambitions without immediately having to tap shareholders for fresh capital.
With a proven mine-finder at the helm, its saddlebags full and now a suite of compelling, drill-ready gold targets defined by high-grade soil results, King River appears to have all its ducks in a row. Now, it's simply a matter of waiting for the assay labs to see if the drilling assault can deliver on the promise shown at surface.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
