TNM Drill Down: South Pacific leads gold assays

Our TNM Drill Down features highlights of the best gold assays of the May 3-8 period. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width as identified by data company Mining Intelligence.

Companies in Australia and a nearby country it used to rule led the top 10 assays under review. Larvotto Resources (ASX: LRV) extended mineralization at the Hillgrove mine in Australia; K92 Mining (TSX: KNT) is expanding the Kainantu mine in Papua New Guinea; and Westgold Resources said drilling at the Great Fingall project in Australia is linked to a historical mine.

Larvotto Resources

Drill hole BKC015 at the Bakers Creek zone at Hillgrove cut 31 metres grading 65.8 grams gold per tonne for a width x grade value of 2,039.8 from 244 metres depth, Larvotto said May 8. The hole at the site in New South Wales about 460 km south of Brisbane included 5.3 metres at 220 grams from 245 metres depth and 4.8 metres at 161 grams from 255.1 metres downhole.

The results infill and extend to depth the current Bakers Creek mineralization, none of which is included in the latest mineral resource for the recently acquired Hillgrove gold and antimony mine, the company said in a release. The 2,036-metre diamond drilling program targeted the lower level of gold mineralization at Bakers Creek, Larvotto said.

Hole BKC012 returned 3.5 metres grading 9.55 grams from 161 metres depth, including 0.5 metre at 49.6 grams; hole BKC013 cut 13.1 metres at 3.61 grams from 346 metres depth including 4 metres at 8.11 grams.

“This work highlights the wealth of mineralized structures within the Hillgrove field,” managing director Ron Heeks said in the release. “Bakers Creek has historically produced over 300,000 oz. of high-grade gold. From our interpretation of these mined areas, we concluded there should be further extension to the ore shoots.”

Larvotto says it’s almost completed a metallurgical study and is preparing an ore reserve estimate for the 254-sq.-km Hillgrove project. It contains six mining areas in 48 licences and holds Australia’s largest antimony resource, which is ranked eighth in the world. About A$200 million ($180 million) has been invested in developing Hillgrove including A$20 million in the past four years, the company said.

K92 Mining

K92 Mining’s drill hole KUDD0053 at the Kainantu mine in Papua New Guinea cut 78.5 metres grading 24.94 grams gold for a width x grade value of 1,957.79 from 239 metres depth, the company said May 6.

The results are part of 140 diamond drill holes completed from surface and underground, the company said in a release. The results show high-grade continuity and expansion potential of the Kora-Kora South and Judd-Judd South vein systems. Intersections largely focused on increasing drill density vertically while also targeting resource extension along strike to the south and north, it said.

All drill holes at Kora-Kora South intersected mineralization, with 31 exceeding 10 grams per tonne gold-equivalent and 89 intersections exceeding 5 grams gold-equivalent. At Judd-Judd South, all drill holes intersected mineralization, with 12 intervals exceeding 10 grams gold-equivalent and 27 exceeding 5 grams gold-equivalent, the company said.

“The latest set of drilling results continue to confirm our view that the resource expansion potential of Kora-Kora South and Judd-Judd South is very significant,” CEO John Lewins said in the release. “The high-grade zones expanded vertically at K1, K2 and J1 are particularly important as they are immediately above our main mine workings, setting ourselves up well for the stage three expansion over the near and medium term in that area.”

K92 acquired Kainantu in the Eastern Highlands province from Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) in 2014, and it has become the company’s main operation. The mine aims to produce 470,000 gold-equivalent oz. annually after expansion.

Westgold Resources

Westgold drill hole 24FDD022 at the Great Fingall project cut 3.03 metres grading 547 grams gold for a width x grade value of 1,657.41 from 204.87 metres depth, the company said May 6.

The company is designing a drill platform for final grade control of the Fingall Flats area at its Murchison operation about 600 km northeast of Perth, Western Australia. It expects first production early next year.

Westgold recently announced a $1-billion takeover of Canada’s Karora Resources (TSX: KRR).

The Fingall Flats target relates to mineralized quartz reefs in the footwall of the historical, steeply dipping Great Fingall reef, which produced 1.2 million oz. of gold about 125 years ago, the company said.

“The Fingall Flats represent an early, shallow mining opportunity that could be executed in parallel to advancing the new Fingall decline to the deeper and virgin parts of the iconic Great Fingall Reef,” CEO Wayne Bramwell said in the release. “These latest results have extended the high-grade flat structures mined by historical operators below their previously interpreted base.”