Legacy ups Drake resources to 0.8Moz, 35Moz AgEq as it flags potential for growth

Legacy Minerals upgrades open-pit resources at its Drake project to 0.8Moz AuEq and 35Moz AgEq
Resource across the Mt Carrington, Red Rock and White Rock deposits includes significant zinc and copper
Updated resource model identifies more opportunities for resource growth

Special Report: Record previous metal prices have unlocked the inherent value contained within Legacy Minerals’ Drake project in NSW, enabling a boost in open-pit resources to 0.8Moz gold equivalent and 35Moz silver equivalent.

The new combined resource of 23.1Mt at 1.1g/t AuEq for the gold-rich areas and 11.3Mt at 99g/t AqEq for silver-rich resources across the Mt Carrington, Red Rock and White Rock deposits reflects the changed commodity and precious metal prices, the polymetallic value across the deposits and more robust and extensive geological modelling.

It is based on relatively conservative Australian gold and silver prices of $3600/oz and $43/oz respectively as current spot prices are well above the $4600/oz mark for the yellow metal and ~$53/oz for silver.

While gold and silver are the dominant metals, the Drake resources also includes 147,000t and 20,000t of contained zinc and copper respectively, both of which were recently added to the Australian government’s critical minerals list as key minerals important for the global transition to net zero.

With the resource upgrade in hand, Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM) has now applied for an Assessment Lease over the Mt Carrington Group – a prospecting authority that exists as a ‘bridge’ between exploration and mining, where progression to mining status is reasonably foreseeable, but for which further work is required.

It is also reviewing the historical pre-feasibility study for Drake as a significant portion of the upgrade resource sits outside the area it considered.

This provides a low-cost opportunity to highlight the project’s economic credentials further and informs exploration target prioritisation.

All three deposits also remain open along strike and at depth with near-surface targets and deeper high-grade drill hits that remain untested.

These include 273m grading 30.1g/t silver and 0.12g/t gold from 58m at White Rock, 18.9m at 5.9% copper from 52.25m and 6.3% copper from 88m at Mt Carrington and 121.6m at 0.7g/t gold, 3g/t silver and 1.1% lead+zinc from 1m at Red Rock.

The upgrade also doesn’t take into account the recent discovery of antimony in rock chips at the Lunatic Field prospect.

Drake project deposits and prospects. Pic: Legacy Minerals

Impressive mineral endowment

“With gold and silver at all-time highs, it’s a fantastic time to release a substantially increased mineral resource estimate at our Drake project,” managing director Christopher Byrne said.

“The updated mineral resource estimate highlights the impressive mineral endowment of the large-scale system at the Drake project.

“Importantly for Legacy Minerals, the updated resource model highlights the Drake project’s significant upside potential, with strong opportunities for resource growth through clear strike and depth extensions and new greenfield discoveries.

“Drake is a low-sulphidation, epithermal gold-silver system. These systems are attractive deposits because they are often high-grade, high-margin, long-life underground mining operations.

“The fact that we are looking at a 34Mt deposit at surface, with no underground resource in the current mineral resource estimate, gives a glimpse of the system’s untested potential at depth.

“Achieving such significant MRE growth in such a short time highlights the quality of the project and the team’s ability to leverage historical datasets and capitalise on the project’s significant previous exploration expenditure.”

He added that besides significant historical exploration, the project also benefits from a substantial amount of critical infrastructure such as a tailings dam, grid easements, 750ML water source, site office, accommodation and core shed, and processing facilities within the exploration licence.

Road ahead

A large, airborne MobileMT geophysical survey is currently underway at Drake to define new targets.

MT has been successfully used by K92 Mining to define targets at their Kainantu mine in Papua New Guinea, which has a gold-copper epithermal setting similar to the drake project.

This supported the system’s growth from 0.88Moz AuEq in 2015 to 18Moz AuEq in 2024.

LGM also intends to carry out resource extension drilling to test brownfield targets at depth and along strike of high-grade gold-silver-copper zones along with exploration drilling to find new epithermal-porphyry discoveries within the Drake Caldera.

“The next round of exploration at Drake will aim to deliver substantial extensions to existing mineralised areas and new standalone discoveries that will be targeted upon completing the current geophysical and geochemical work programs,” Byrne added.

This article was developed in collaboration with Legacy 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.