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Saturn sizes up Apollo Hill

by Michael Washbourne

cross its first two years on the bourse, Saturn Metals we did have another fantastic result [9m @ 18.2 g/t gold from
ALtd completed a total of 28,000m of drilling. In 2020, the 301m] on the main lode which was another one of the best
unheralded explorer sent down almost double that meterage. intersections we’ve ever seen at Apollo Hill.
The fruits of that labour will soon be revealed when Saturn “It would be fair to say that the mineralised footprint of the project
publishes the long-awaited resource update for its Apollo Hill gold has doubled. Our drilling is still relatively underdone though, it’s
project, about 60km south-east of Leonora. still quite widely spaced, so we’ll have another aggressive push in
Speaking to GMJ ahead of that announcement, Saturn managing early 2021 to keep bringing that together.”
director Ian Bamborough reflected on what was easily the best While investor eyes are fixed on how many ounces Saturn will
year in his company’s short history. In fact, he had an inkling on add to Apollo Hill’s existing resource of 24.5mt @ 1 g/t gold for
his very first day back in the office after the Christmas break that 781,000oz in early 2021, Bamborough is already thinking about
the coming 12 months would be memorable. which regional prospects to next hit.
“We started the year with the best intersection [12m @ 9.98 Calypso, about 3.5km north-east of Apollo Hill, is one satellite
g/t gold from 269m] ever seen in the whole Apollo Hill asset,” target to have emerged from the company’s 1,000sq km regional
Bamborough said. ground holding. Initial drilling last year returned an encouraging
“I remember coming back into the office on January 6 and the hit of 9m @ 8.67 g/t gold from 115m, including 3m @ 24.6 g/t.
results were quite literally there for me that morning as I walked The growing footprint at Apollo Hill is also the main reason why
in. I sat down and went to Kath [Cutler, exploration manager], ‘my Bamborough is in no rush to start serious development studies
God, look at that’. on the project.
“Then the next hole [8m @ 12.9 g/t gold from 126m] came in and “After we’ve done this resource, we will take the opportunity to
it was another blinder. So not only were these fantastic results, look at our options, but I would think 2021 is still going to be about
what it showed was we were dealing with a much, much bigger that hard exploration and really looking at the district, camp-scale
gold system and the whole Apollo Hill corridor was a lot wider opportunities around Apollo Hill,” Bamborough said.
than we had previously thought.” “The aim for 2021 is to still be expanding and then in 2022 start
While Bamborough conceded his company was yet to replicate looking at scoping studies. We’re still an explorer because we see
the success of those two holes, it was enough to catch the eye a lot more potential.”
of some high-profile institutions – including Sprott Group and With Western Australia’s hard border to New South Wales
Dundee Corporation – which helped Saturn complete three coming down at the time of print, Saturn can now also start formal
capital raisings in 2020. exploration work at the West Wyalong JV it entered into last April.
The latest of those raisings was a $13.7 million share placement Saturn is earning up to 85% of the 91sq km brownfields project
which lifted the company’s cash balance to almost $16 million, via a $1.9 million exploration spend over four years.
setting the scene for Saturn to put down at least another 55,000m
“I’ve described it in the past as a bit of a sleeper agent…every
of drilling in 2021.
time I look at it I think it’s just one of those opportunities which is
“Those fundraisings gave us the support we needed to really step too good to be true,” Bamborough said.
up the exploration programme and hit this thing harder than we
“You’ve kind of got to pinch yourself and treat everything you’re
ever have before, and the results have flowed,” Bamborough said.
seeing with a bit of caution, but the optimism in me is overboiling
“We’ve not repeated those high grades in the same location, but and I can’t wait to get out there and explore that ground.”

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