Kaiser Reef has struck high grade gold grading upwards of an ounce to the tonne in its first drilling at the historic Maldon Goldfield near Bendigo in Victoria.

The results are in keeping with the region’s rich history of being one of Australia’s best gold producing domains, generating 1.74Moz at a remarkable 28g/t.

The underground mining hotspot is something of a forgotten treasure and has seen little modern exploration and mining activities despite its incredible grade potential.

Kaiser Reef (ASX:KAU), which operates the nearby A1 gold mine, has demonstrated that right off the bat in exploration at Eaglehawk Reef and the Alliance South deposit.

The mine is one of the largest historic producers in the Maldon goldfields, producing 491,000oz of precious gold.

Early results give plenty of indications that legacy can be extended, including:

  • 0.3m at 54.5g/t gold, within 1.2m at 14.1g/t gold (UH-UDH-001)
  • 0.65m at 33.4g/t gold (UH-UDH-005)
  • 0.8m at 63.6g/t gold within 1.8m at 29.6g/t gold (UH-UDH-006)
  • 0.8m at 12.1g/t gold and 0.3m at 11.7g/t gold (UH-UDH-018); and,
  • 1.5m at 6.5g/t gold (UH-UDH-021).

Next stop Nuggety Reef

Initial drilling at Eaglehawk Reef has taken place from the Union Hill decline and is drilling from the 1060 Access area, the deepest level in the mine’s modern day development.

The next major target will be Nuggety Reef, where a second drill rig is being drafted by Kaiser Reef to test one of Australia’s highest grade historic gold mines.

Nuggety Reef boasts past production of 301,000oz at 187g/t, around six ounces to each tonne of dirt mined.

Once a drilling crew is sourced to operate the rig, Kaiser Reef will be exploring on two fronts, continuing its examination of Eaglehawk Reef while it gets stuck into Nuggety Reef.

Kaiser Reef managing director Jonathan Downes said the company was delighted to find high grade gold in its first drilling campaign in the Maldon Goldfield.

“Maldon is one of the great goldfields and it has received extraordinarily limited modern exploration,” he said.

“The significant amount of gold historically won (1.74Moz @ 28g/t gold), mostly within 300m of the surface, offers fabulous opportunity at depth. We are just warming up in exploring this wholly owned, high grade multimillion-ounce goldfield.

“We have a talented geological team and the ongoing drilling programme will be increasingly stepped out, expanded and exploration for new lodes at depth will be targeted.”

Great development opportunity

Kaiser Reef is already a gold producer, operating the A1 gold mine and the Maldon processing plant, just 3km from historic workings in the Maldon Goldfield.

Having locked up the high-grade mining district, it means Kaiser Reef is well placed to benefit from exploration success with an established pathway to production.

Located in the Bendigo zone, it is looking to replicate the success that Kirkland Lake has had at nearby Fosterville, where modern exploration has turned that mine into one of Australia’s largest, producing 640,000oz last year at almost 34g/t.

If exploration proves successful, Kaiser says rapid and low-cost development could be implemented utilising Kaiser’s mining fleet and experienced mining team for minimal capital cost.

In a research note released ahead of the drilling campaign, Peloton Capital analyst Ian Spence was positive on the potential of modern exploration at Maldon, saying “multiple high grade and what we would consider very high grade intercepts never followed up historically by previous owners.”

An initial program is intended to consist of 20 drillholes, but Kaiser Reef expects to remain underground drilling at Maldon for a prolonged period, and the program could be extended based on results.

It has taken place after the minor refurbishment to a modern exploration decline, and there are plenty of high grade historic drill hits to help target drilling.

Some of the historic high grade gold drilling results from across Maldon Kaiser plans to follow up include:

  • 0.90m at 103.0g/t gold
  • 2.73m at 42.2g/t
  • 2.75m at 22.6g/t
  • 0.44m at 205.0g/t
  • 2.00m @ 58.0g/t
  • 2.30m @ 12.5g/t
  • 0.83m @ 80.0g/t
  • 1.0m @ 45.5g/t
  • 3.55m @ 11.9g/t
  • 2.95m @ 18.5g/t; and,
  • 0.85m @ 114.6g/t.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Kaiser Reef, 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.

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