Page 57 - GGG
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At purchase, Munda had an estimated inferred gold      Key people:
          resource of 511,000t @ 2.82g/t for 46,300oz (1 g/t cut-  Mark English (managing director)
          off).                                                  Stephen Strubel (executive director and company
          Starting pole position, Munda has since delivered a    secretary)
                                                                 Steve Morris (non-executive chairman)
          flying lap when its first-ever drill programme showed
          gold in 24 of 27 holes. Hits included 13m @ 14.62 g/t   John Utley (technical director)
          (including 1m @ 137.4g/t), 13m @ 6.00 g/t (including 1m
          @ 42.85 g/t), and 18m @ 3.6 g/t (including 5m @ 8.85   Projects:
          g/t). It now possesses an inferred gold resource of    Widgiemooltha, Jeffrey’s Find, and Spargoville in the
          3.77mt @ 1.43 g/t for 173,700oz (0.5 g/t cut-off).     Kambalda-Widgiemooltha region
          English is now eyeing another upgrade to that
          figure and to convert inferred figures into indicated,   Drill hits:
          following assay results due at the time of print.      13m @ 14.62 g/t (including 1m @ 137.4 g/t)
          “They’re really good numbers, now we’re just waiting   13m @ 6.00 g/t (including 1m @ 42.85 g/t)
          for the latest results to come through,” English told   18m @ 3.6 g/t (including 5m @ 8.85 g/t)
          GMJ in September. “The highest grade that we’ve
          achieved is 1m @ 137.4 g/t. Estrella, in some of their   “We’ve been dealing with Mincor for over two
          earlier drilling, got up to 1m @ 234.7 g/t which is really   years. They are our seventh largest shareholder and
          quite outstanding.                                   Neometals our eighth. That’s two good, big publicly-
                                                               listed companies in our top-10. They have both been
          “We are targeting at least a 200,000oz resource and   very supportive. To make deals with those companies,
          then to increase it. Once we get the resource number   and Estrella – a third publicly-listed company – to
          up, then we’re going to have some options, as what to   acquire great projects and build a huge footprint in a
          do, and how to move forward.”                        Tier 1 area in Western Australia is pretty impressive.”
          Options are very much the nature of the beast in the   Gold rights acquisitions bought off Neometals across
          Kambalda-Widgiemooltha region, where a bustling      21 tenements excite English and Utley as well. Auric
          bevy of explorers are riding a wave of rising gold and   inked the deal via $250,000 cash and $700,000 in
          nickel prices. Auric has been laboriously accruing its   shares with a commitment to keep the land in good
          puzzle pieces to join the neighbourhood party and has   standings for two years. Current aircore drilling on
          made deals with the likes of Neometals Ltd and nickel   several tenements is nearing completion and has been
          miner Mincor Resources NL.                           keeping Utley and the geological team busy.
          Mincor brought a plate to the party when it sold     “That was a fantastic acquisition for us,” English said.
          Jeffrey’s Find to Auric, catapulting it alongside    “It’s a really strategic area, low cost, a great location.
          Neometals as a major shareholder. Seven holes are    Most of this area has never been assayed for gold,
          planned at Jeffrey’s to test metallurgy.             only for nickel. It’s really a greenfields operation for
                                                               gold…if we get some good aircore results, then we’ll
                                                               come back and do some RC work.”
                                                               The deals with Neometals and Mincor highlight
                                                               the ongoing corporate activity in the district. The
                                                               Neometals deal was conducted through its Widgie
                                                               Nickel Ltd spinout, which is currently raising $25
                                                               million. Mincor recently completed a $60 million
                                                               capital raising to fund plans for an independent
                                                               workers’ camp and ongoing exploration.
                                                               “We’re all in this area,” English said. “Over this
                                                               location in the next two years, there’s going to be up
                                                               to $50 million spent in exploration which is fantastic.”
                                                               Still neighbours today, English admires having Utley’s
          Auric Mining managing director Mark English (left) with   global expertise on the team and the decision to keep
          technical director John Utley                        it in WA, instead of options abroad such as Canada.
          “It was just part of building a package down here,”   “John has done 35 years of gold geology around the
          English said. “You have Karora Resources [Ltd] doing   world,” English said. “He has worked in Australia,
          massive things and Mincor developing Cassini. We     Papua New Guinea, Chile, Nova Scotia…but COVID has
          want to expand our footprint around here more, but   taught us there’s nothing like home when you’re living
          not too much, as we already have enough to keep us   in the No.1 gold producer in the world.
          busy with our focus on quickly increasing resources.  “We’re a small team, we’ve only got four fulltime
          “Jeffrey’s is discrete standalone prospect. It is not   employees. We’re a young company, but with lots of
          going to grow its resource by much, but it is a very   knowledge and experience. We’re pretty pleased with
          simple and easy-to-mine deposit. We are looking at   what we’ve achieved since we started roughly two
          toll treating it at either Coolgardie or Kalgoorlie.  years ago.”
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