Miramar delivers a lesson in how to pocket the gold at its WA Gidji project

Want a lesson in exploration targeting? Miramar Resources’ Allan Kelly has got you, wielding his 100 point scale to rank drill targets across the junior explorer’s highly prospective Gidji gold project in elephant country near Kalgoorlie.

Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) is led by Kelly, a famed geo who followed up a successful career with Western Mining Corporation by making the discovery of the Andy Well gold mine with Doray Minerals, one of Australia’s best gold finds of the past 15 years.

Using a scale weighted towards the features found in major gold deposits, the methodology has been used to rank the company’s 13 key targets at its Gidji JV, where Miramar holds an 80% stake.

The criteria used by Miramar for their exploration targeting exercise — Pic: Miramar

Promisingly the Marylebone East and West targets, where Miramar has put much of its focus are up there with the best of the lot, with the Blackfriars prospect also ranking highly.

Gidji is located a stone’s throw from a significant resource held by Northern Star Resources through Super Pit owner KCGM, while it bears many similarities to Norton Gold Fields’ multi-million ounce Paddington mine.

Miramar Exploration targeting exercise results — Pic: Miramar

The new target review will help inform upcoming work programs aimed at proving up the potential Miramar has identified after a recent $2.4 million capital raising.

Aim to create ‘significant value’

An RC drilling campaign has already started at Marylebone East, where three aircore holes returned a series of very interesting high grade results in April.

They include 2m at 5.26g/t, 1m at 8.55g/t and 1m at 11g/t, also at shallow depths of between 52m and 56m.

Equally important plans are taking place alongside the current RC program, with upcoming work including a heritage survey over the Boorara North target ahead of aircore drilling, assays from aircore drilling at Blackfriars and Highway ahead of follow-up, an IP survey over the 8-Mile target to refine future diamond drilling, aircore testing for nickel sulphide targets at Marylebone and Boorara North, and soil sampling results from The Jog target.

It should not be forgotten that Miramar also has promising projects at Glandore, east of Kalgoorlie, and the Whaleshark IOCG target in WA’s north.

Kelly said the recent capital raising meant Miramar was well placed to chase promising targets at Gidji without sacrificing work at Glandore and Whaleshark.

“Since listing, we have identified and tested several new high priority gold targets at Gidji,” he says.

“The recent targeting exercise has identified a number of additional targets, any of which could host a significant new gold deposit, which reinforces the potential for Gidji to host a new gold camp.

“We could therefore have easily justified committing our entire remaining cash balance to exploring at Gidji but this would have had a significant negative impact on the ability to advance our other highly prospective projects, including Glandore and the Whaleshark IOCG targets.”

Forward plans

All up Miramar plans to complete 25,000m of aircore, at least 5000m of RC and deeper diamond holes on the back of shallow drill results at Gidji.

At Glandore East it is finalising plans for diamond drilling on the lake, while work at Whaleshark is focused on gravity and heritage surveys ahead of aircore drilling.

Geochemical sampling of late-time EM anomalies at Miramar’s Mt Vernon project in the Gascoyne region is also being planned, while the company is awaiting assay results from the sampling of outcropping pegmatites at its Lang Well project in WA’s Murchison region.

On the corporate side of the ledger Miramar will hold a vote at an upcoming general meeting on June 10, including to ratify its recent share placement.

It has also proposed a rights issue for existing shareholders with a one option per two shares. The options will be 1c per share and have an exercise price of 25c, with an expiry date two years after listing.

This article was developed in collaboration with Miramar Resources, 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.