Meeka Metals has scored another win at its flagship Murchison gold project near Mt Magnet after the drill bit turned up a string of hits, including a standout 36-metre section grading 2.82 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at 89m depth from the company’s Turnberry Central deposit.
The 24-hole reverse circulation drilling program was designed to firm up the resource ahead of mine scheduling and to test for mineralised extensions to the west and beneath the existing pit design.
Eight of the infill drilling holes jagged big sections between 5m and 24m wide within the designed pit shell. At less than 46m in depth and with grades mostly exceeding 1.8g/t gold, these results appear to have solidified Turnberry Central as a quality low-cost, open pit deposit.
The best shallow intercept came in at 6m grading 8.8g/t gold from 16m, including a 1m slice running at an eye-opening 44.8g/t gold. Other hits included 24m grading 1.89g/t gold from 46m and 22m at 1.92g/t gold from 48m.
Deeper holes were drilled beneath the current pit design to test for extensions in the fresh rock below 80m – and they didn’t disappoint.
Best intercepts include 10m grading 4.67g/t gold and 11m at 3.85g/t gold within a huge section of 36m running at 2.82g/t gold from 89m depth.
This broader intersection lines up perfectly with a previously drilled shallower hole that lit up with 19m grading 8.75g/t gold from 45m and appears to be a deeper extension of the same lode.
Meeka Metals managing director Tim Davidson said: “These broad zones of shallow high-grade gold will support high productivity, low-cost open pit mining.”
The Murchison gold project, 60 kilometres north of Mt Magnet, is backed by a sizable 1.2m-ounce resource grading 3g/t gold.
Following a December update to its definitive feasibility study, which factored in a beefed-up ball mill, the gold project is now flashing some seriously impressive numbers.
Targeting an annual output of 65,000 ounces, the revised study has turbocharged expectations - nearly doubling total free cashflow to a jaw-dropping $1 billion, with a net present value of $616m and a lightning-fast seven-month payback.
Ore reserves have surged 31 per cent and projected production has climbed 40 per cent to a hefty 544,000 ounces over a seven-year mine life, peaking at 76,000 ounces in year five.
Since the updated study dropped, the gold price has soared a further 17 per cent, cracking $4800 an ounce, meaning the already eye-popping numbers could be about to get a whole lot shinier.
Meeka is now in full ramp up mode with the 20km haulage road, the accommodation village and mining facilities all completed. The mining fleet has been mobilised and is gearing up to start digging next week at the company’s nearby St Anne’s deposit, aiming for plant commissioning in June and its first pour shortly thereafter.
Shallow hits, high grades and near-term cashflow make it almost the perfect trifecta for the soon-to-be gold miner. With the price of the yellow metal holding strong and the count to production ticking down, Meeka appears to be carving out a top spot among Australia’s next wave of gold producers.
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By James Pearson
