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Bonanza grade gold hits a clue of more to come for Classic Minerals
Mining
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Up to 592g/t gold has been returned from what Classic described as the “highest ever intercept” from infill drilling at its Kat Gap project in WA.
The bonanza grade interval of 0.5m within a 10m interval grading 40.54 grams per tonne (g/t) gold was recorded within a single infill reverse circulation hole that was drilled for advanced metallurgical and R&D studies.
There’s more. Deeper infill RC holes testing the oxide profile and much deeper holes testing the down-dip extent of the main granite-greenstone contact lode have both returned high grade hits.
Results such as 4m at 18.97g/t gold from 76m and 4m at 16.93g/t gold from 101m have prompted Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) to urgently include the new intersections into the current resource model.
This urgency is driven by the fact that filling the gaps with gold mineralisation, which the infill drilling appears to have achieved, could drive pit designs deeper to allow access to more mineable gold-bearing ore.
In layman’s terms, this could mean that there’s more gold at Kat Gap than the current resource estimate of 93,000oz.
Further optimisation work will be carried out once the resource model is updated and will be coupled with the outcomes of the bulk sampling program to aid the final pit design work.
Earlier this month, the company received approval from WA’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) to mine between 3,000 and 5,000 tonnes of ore grading between 4g/t and 6g/t for 350 to 1,000 ounces of contained gold.
This work will assist in the calibration of mining and metallurgy parameters at Kat Gap, which will further de-risk the project and give both the company and its investors increased confidence in executing the greater mining operation.
Forward plan
Looking ahead, the company plans to return to Kat Gap in mid-July to conduct further deeper drilling down-dip and down-plunge of the current inferred resource.
This will require the drilling of between 10 and 15 holes ranging in depths from 150m to 200m for a total of about 2,200m.
This article was developed in collaboration with Classic Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
