Extensive Spartan Resources drilling set to lift Dalgaranga gold bounty

• Spartan Resources’ underground drilling at the Dalgaranga project has delivered more high-grade gold hits
• Results could deliver resource upgrades at the West Winds and Applewood deposits
• Surface drilling has also identified further potential for growth while confirming resource model at Pepper

Special Report: Underground drilling of key prospects within Spartan Resources’ Dalgaranga project in WA could lead to gold resource growth after returning high-grade results.  

Amongst an entire set of high-grade hits, drilling at West Winds deposit returned an eye-popping 3.94m grading 163.67g/t gold from a down-hole depth of 193.7m from the hanging wall zone in hole DUG250005.

Meanwhile, drilling at Applewood delivered a top hit of 18.98m at 5.56g/t from 208.8m (DUG25057) in the hanging wall zone.

Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) executive chair Simon Lawson said the extensive and targeted drilling campaign had proved highly effective in both extending and defining resources at the project.

“The advancing Juniper decline has provided an ideal platform for underground drilling at the West Winds prospect, with the results bolstering our confidence and enhancing our understanding of the geology,” he added. 

“Additionally, the drilling has identified a compelling high-grade hanging wall zone at West Winds. While relatively narrow, the strong grade and mineable widths of this zone will contribute further upside to the Dalgaranga underground mine complex.

“During the West Winds program, our geologists strategically pivoted the rig to the adjacent Applewood prospect. Despite its historical status as a high-grade open-cut area, Applewood has remained undrilled at depth due to access limitations. 

“Using the Juniper decline, our recent drilling has confirmed both the continuity of the high-grade hanging wall lode from West Winds, as well as returning good results from Applewood itself. 

“With the underground rig now focused on Four Pillars and up-dip extensions of Pepper, Applewood represents a key area for further follow-up drilling.”

Dalgaranga drilling

Underground drilling at West Winds is aimed at extending and upgrading resources with 29 holes totalling 9063m drilled to date.

These holes, which target high-grade depth extensions beyond the current resource as well as infill drilling to support a future ore reserve estimate, achieved excellent drilling rates as the contractor is now accustomed to Dalgaranga ground conditions as well as strong results.

Meanwhile, Applewood not only has historical open cut mining, it has a proven history of delivering gold grades that substantially exceed those from the main Gilbey’s open cut pit.

To date, seven holes totalling 2833m have been completed to validate and expand the developing underground resource, which will enhance strategic flexibility for mine planning.

SPR has also completed surface drilling for the first half of 2025 with a total of 22,921 reverse circulation and diamond metres drilled.

This focused on the Never Never North prospect and other priority near-mine targets while obtaining metallurgical samples from Never Never for further testing as part of the integration study work underway with Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS), which is acquiring the company.

At Never Never North, high-grade gold was confirmed in narrow shear zones within the hanging wall of the structure while broad, low-grade gold was found in the main core of the mineralised structure which is being tested for additional geochemical signatures to determine further drill target opportunities.

Meanwhile, drilling at the Pepper deposit confirmed that the high-grade gold envelope is consistent with the current resource model with the final hole intersecting the deposit on the southern margins of the indicated resource shape.

Exploration drilling at Hendricks below the limits of previous drilling confirmed that mineralisation extends at depth and highlighted opportunities for future growth while a single diamond hole to test the extension of Gilbey’s South mineralisation returned a 10.67m intersection at 1.22g/t gold from 288.55m.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.