Explorer Genesis Minerals reckons there’s potential to define a very large shallow gold system at its second-string Barimaia project in the Murchison District of Western Australia.

Although Genesis’ (ASX:GMD) main focus is the more advanced 760,000oz Ulysses project in the Eastern Goldfields, Barimaia has “strong open pit potential”,  managing director Michael Fowler said.

Barimaia is just 10km from 6 million ounce Mt Magnet mine operated by Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS).

“What is particularly exciting is the fact that there is over 4km of strike of the same controlling structure to be systematically drill tested,” he said.

Wide zones of low-grade mineralisation were intersected at the McNabs and McNabs East prospects, including 74m grading 0.66 grams per tonne of gold, and 12 metres at 1.61 grams per tonne of gold.

For an open pit mine to be economic Genesis needs to define a resource grading at least 1.2 grams per tonne of gold, Mr Fowler told Stockhead.

“Grades for open pits are dependent on a number of factors so it is hard to be definitive, however in this area we would need between 1.2g/t Au and 2.0g/t Au,” he said.

“Open pit ore mined by RMS last quarter at Mt Magnet was 1.17g/t gold.”

The Barimaia project (white outline) is next to Ramelius’ Mt Magnet gold mine.

More drilling this year will allow Genesis to define an initial JORC mineral resource while also continuing to test the broader gold trend, Mr Fowler said.

“Our focus remains squarely on advancing our flagship Ulysses gold project near Leonora as quickly as we can, but this is not a bad second string to have to our bow.”

READ: Why Genesis is shaping up as a takeover target in 2019