Ground Breakers: Never (Never) say die

Spartan upgrades Never Never gold discovery to 952,000oz at 5.74g/t gold
Comes less than a year after the struggling gold miner emerged from a 10c recapitalisation
The $450m capped stock is now up 380% year to date

Since ~2018 a handful of failing WA junior miners have stunk up the speccy end of the ASX gold sector, making it more difficult for emerging developers to raise cash.

The main culprits were Dacian Gold, Ora Banda, and Gascoyne Resources.

After limping along for years Dacian was recently acquired by Leonora consolidator Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) for an implied 28.3c/sh, based on a GMD closing price of $1.46 on 27th October 2023.

Well below DCN’s peak in excess of $2.50/sh in early 2019.

Meanwhile Ora Banda, which has historically struggled to make a go of its troubled Davyhurst gold operation near Kalgoorlie, is now on the recovery trail.

The aspiring 100,000ozpa miner has rebounded strongly with a 660% gain since MD Luke Creagh, a veteran mining engineer who was COO at Australia’s #2 gold miner Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), took control mid last year.

Ora Banda Share Price Chart

But the biggest turnaround so far comes from Gascoyne, recently renamed Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR).

Shallow, high grades and metallurgical simplicity at its game changing Never Never discovery at Dalgaranga, all within 2km of the processing plant, makes the deposit something special, analysts say.

Now you can add size to that list, with Never Never today moving to within a whisker of 1Moz.

The newly upgraded 952,000oz at 5.74g/t gold resource helps propel the wider project to 1.7Moz at 2.49g/t. That represents a 43% increase in Dalgaranga project ounces, a 13% uplift in grade and 27% more tonnes.

“To be able to post a high-grade resource for the Never Never discovery of just under 1 million ounces at an average grade of 5.74g/t less than a year after emerging from a 10c recapitalisation is an incredible outcome and a remarkable story,” SPR boss Simon Lawson says.

“The centrepiece of this MRE update is once again the Never Never discovery, which has grown remarkably within short order from a resource of 303,000oz at the start of 2023, through to 721,000oz in July, and now, less than 12 months later, reaching 952,900oz – 74% of which is now classified as Indicated.

This is just an interim update in what is a rapidly unfolding growth story at Dalgaranga, Lawson says.

Never Never remains open, there there are more drill assays to come, and many more high-grade targets to test.

“We are all looking forward to another massive year in 2024,” he says.

“If we can repeat anything like the success we have enjoyed in 2023 in terms of continued growth in high-grade resource ounces within a 2km radius of the Dalgaranga plant, then Spartan is set for a very exciting future.”

The $450m capped stock is now up handsomely year to date. Merry Xmas, SPR shareholders.