Neometals strikes gold in abandoned WA gold belt

Neometals has unveiled the first assay results from the company’s maiden reverse circulation drilling campaign at its Barrambie gold project in Western Australia, breathing new life into a historic high-grade gold region that’s been dormant for decades. 

An initial 11-hole program was carried out at Neometals’ Ironclad and nearby Mystery North prospects, confirming gold mineralisation and continuity that align with historical data and enhance a future mineral resource estimate promised for later this year.

The drilling 1044-metre drilling program across nine holes at Ironclad and two at Mystery North was designed to twin, infill and extend historical hits while unravelling the project’s structural secrets.

The standout intercepts at Ironclad included a 10m hit running at 1.77 grams per tonne (g/t) from 105m with a 2m chunk grading 5.63g/t, a high-grade 1m hit of 18.85g/t from 111m and a broad 37m intercept of 0.90g/t from 18m. 

The maiden drilling figures don’t yet match the eye-watering historical grades at Ironclad, such as 14m at 12.58g/t gold from 66m and a second hit running 13m at 13.43g/t gold from 7m. However, they signal a deposit with legs, stretching more than 300m along strike and 125m vertically in fresh rock. 

The company says drilling at Mystery North was less inspiring, with minor gold anomalism intercepted against a historical 24m at 1.75g/t backdrop, suggesting Neometals will focus on Ironclad for now.

Neometals noted its drilling angle may be missing the mark on higher-grade veins, potentially understating the true gold tenor at Ironclad. The company will now plan a follow-up diamond drilling campaign to uncover the structural clarity and high-grade quartz veins mentioned in historical reports.

Neometals managing director Christopher Reed said: “A geological framework is emerging at Ironclad placing the small, shallow laterite zones and isolated quartz veins observed in historic data into a deposit-scale context, which is showing potential for continuity greater than 300m along-strike and 125m vertically. We aim to advance Ironclad through mineral resource estimation and mine planning.”

The Barrambie greenstone belt is nestled in WA’s northern Yilgarn craton, where its gold prospectivity has long been overshadowed by its world-class titanium and vanadium deposits. With the gold price pushing new all-time highs - currently about $4815 per ounce - Neometals’ pivot to the yellow metal is proving timely. 

The company’s 505-square-kilometre project spans some 40km of strike and has a treasure trove of historical gold, including 27,000 ounces mined at a stunning 27.8g/t.

Neometals says Barrambie’s geological picture is now sharpening up, with gold sitting snugly within its gabbro host rock some 90-100m downhole, abutted by quartz veins and patchy pyrite. There are also signs of steeper dipping mineralisation than previously thought. 

The company’s exploration target, flagged in September 2024, remains in play at a meaty 8 million tonnes at 1.3g/t to 10.5mt at 2.3g/t, translating to a conceptual 335,000 to 775,000 ounces. 

Management is quick to stress this is an aspirational guide- though the potential for a camp-scale gold hub is alluring, especially given Ironclad’s historical profitability.

The company says further 3D modelling and technical studies are underway to underpin future mining, metallurgy and environmental planning, while a diamond drilling program looms to chase structural clarity and high-grade zones. 

Neometals also has its eye on the Barrambie Ranges, where a heritage survey will pave the way for reverse circulation drilling below the historic Golden Treasure and Barrambie North mines. These were also historic gold producers with a legacy head grade at a stunning 29.2g/t.

For a company better known lately for its vanadium recovery and lithium battery recycling ventures, this gold push is a timely play. The assays may not yet scream bonanza, but they show enough promise of gold for Neometals to dig deeper into the long-overlooked Barrambie gold belt.

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