Page 57 - gmj145-Oct-Dec-mag-web_Neat

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.”