Panther validates ‘province potential’ at 40 Mile Camp

Significant gold hits from maiden aircore drilling at Panther Metals’ 40 Mile Camp area demonstrates potential for the growth of a new gold province in the Laverton Gold Fields of Western Australia.

Panther Metals (ASX:PNT) focused its recent drilling campaign on the previously unexplored “Picnic Ridge” target area, which has provided more than a hint of the potential it hides close to surface.

Regional exploration had identified a series of promising targets, but historic drilling in the vicinity of 40 Mile Camp had never ventured beyond a maximum depth of 3.6m, rendering it too shallow to test the full potential of the identified targets.

However, Panther’s 1,800m aircore program has delved a bit deeper, revealing significant gold intercepts that indicate the possibility for a burgeoning gold province in the Laverton Gold Fields.

The 40 Mile Camp and 40 Mile Camp East prospects are located within a mineralised corridor that plays host to several gold and nickel prospects, including Panther’s flagship Coglia nickel-cobalt project, which already has a defined 70.6Mt resource and proven high nickel recoveries of over 92%.

This corridor stretches over 40km along a northwest-southeast trend within the northeastern Goldfield Province of the Yilgarn Craton. Of particular interest is the 40 Mile Camp target, which has shown the potential to be the most significant within this mineralised corridor.

The results are compelling, with drilling indicating that the target is open along strike over 550m. Some of the best shallow aircore drilling results include 1m at 1.29 grams per tonne (g/t) from just 7m, 3m at 0.41g/t from 32m, 2m at 0.37g/t from 40m and 2m at 0.31g/t from 43m.

The success of this initial campaign on the Picnic Ridge target, which covers just 0.2sq.km within the vast 25sq.km area, has generated considerable excitement and confidence in Panther’s broader exploration model for the 40 Mile Camp and 40 Mile Camp East prospect areas.

Managing director Daniel Tuffin said although it was still early stage, the latest results provided further evidence for the potential for the growth of a new gold district in the Laverton Gold Fields.

He went on to explain that the results suggested the gold mineralisation was closer to the surface than previously believed, which could have significant implications for the ongoing exploration of this area and others nearby.

The results from this first pass aircore campaign align with findings from systematic auger sampling and airborne magnetic surveys in the area.

This data, combined with the aircore drilling, has expanded the known distribution of mineral hosting units within the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, potentially uncovering an additional 850sq.km of unexplored ground.

One critical factor that further enhances the prospects of Panther’s recent gold intercepts at 40 Mile Camp is the robust Aussie dollar gold price, which in the past couple of weeks notched a new record when it reached $3,163 an ounce.

The significant momentum in the Aussie dollar gold price has been driven by various economic and geopolitical factors, including the Israel-Gaza conflict that has sent investors to the safe haven metal.

This favourable exchange rate significantly bolsters the economics of gold mining in Australia, making projects like 40 Mile Camp all the more enticing for exploration and potential development.

With the Australian dollar gold price offering a solid tailwind to the gold sector, Panther is strategically positioned to leverage this advantage as it continues to explore and advance its promising gold prospects in the Laverton Gold Fields.

This story was developed in collaboration with Panther Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

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