ASX small cap gold explorers are dominating with more high-grade hits

There is no shortage of gold news with the juniors continuing to report more high-grade gold hits.

First off Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE) has uncovered high-grade gold mineralisation below the existing Abujar-Gludehi (AG) resource at its 2.2-million-ounce Abujar project in Côte d’Ivoire.

The first of five diamond holes drilled to test the high-grade core at AG down to 550m below surface and over a 650m strike length returned 3m at 10.78 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a depth of 537m and a separate intersection of 6m at 4.47g/t gold from 553m.

Results above 5g/t are generally considered to be high-grade.

To date, the company has completed three holes with assays pending from the second and third deep holes.

Tietto says the new results, along with the numerous strong intersections consistently reported from outside the existing AG Resource over recent months, are expected to lift its next Abujar resource estimate, which is on track for release in September.

Big new gold discoveries

Chalice Gold Mines’ (ASX:CHN) maiden diamond drill program at the Pyramid Hill project in Victoria has confirmed the presence of a large gold system at the Karri prospect.

All six initial holes at Karri intersected primary gold mineralisation, with several high-grade zones intersected about 1km to 2km apart, which the company says is encouraging for a geological drill program.

Notable results were 4m at 3.3g/t gold including 1m at 12.1g/t gold and 1m at 6.2g/t gold.

Targeted diamond drilling is scheduled to begin later this quarter.

Meanwhile, Pantoro’s (ASX:PNR) has released the initial results from shallow drilling at its Lord Percy deposit within the Maybell Mining Centre near Norseman, Western Australia.

And it looks as if the company has discovered a shallow, high-grade lode system.

Notable intercepts from surface include 4m at 13.58g/t gold, 2m at 9.13g/t gold and 4m at 4.56g/t gold.

Drilling is ongoing at both the Lord Percy and Maybell deposits, with the company focusing on completing work required for inclusion in a feasibility study for its 50 per cent-owned Norseman gold project, which has a resource of 4.4 million ounces of gold.

TIE, CHN and PNR share price charts

Gold production draws closer

Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) is closing in on becoming Australia’s next gold producer with delivery of the modular Gekko gravity concentration processing plant for its Kat Gap project in Western Australia expected in mid-August.

The 30-tonne-per-hour (tph) plant, which is scalable to 250tph to increase throughput if required, will form the basis of the processing facility that will enable on site processing of ore from Kat Gap.

The project has a current resource of 93,000 ounces of gold, though Classic has flagged that there is plenty of exploration upside and scope for high-grade open pit mining.

Set-up, commissioning and testing of the plant will begin once it arrives on site before the company starts processing gold.

In the meantime, Classic has commenced negotiations to toll treat any initial parcels of ore from the project.