ASX-listed Calidus Resources maiden diamond drilling program at its recently acquired Blue Spec deposit has hit pay dirt returning 4.1 metres at 33.6 grams per tonne gold from 194.9m including 1.1m at an eye-watering 100.7 g/t gold from 196m.
Other impressive hits include 2.55m grading 44.1 g/t gold from 413.25m which hosted a 1.9m intersection going 58.5 g/t gold and 3.1m at 20.4 g/t from 449.9m.
Blue Spec is located 75 km’s from Calidus’ Warrawoona project in WA’s prolific Pilbara goldfield where construction is well advanced ahead of the first expected gold pour in the June quarter of next year.
The diamond drilling program at Blue Spec consisted of 4 drill holes totalling 1,470 metres to a maximum depth of 420m from surface. The results will form part of the new resource numbers to be incorporated into the Blue Spec definitive feasibility study, or “DFS”.
Caldius Managing Director David Reeves said:
“These are the first holes Calidus has drilled at Blue Spec and it is significant that we have already validated the very high-grade nature of the deposit.”
“The results will form part of the DFS Resource upgrade, and the core will also be used in the metallurgical testwork and geotechnical studies now underway.”
The proposed integration of Blue Spec with Warrawoona involves underground ore from Blue Spec being trucked to Warrawoona for treatment at its planned parallel sulphide processing circuit, reducing CAPEX required to bring Blue Spec on stream and leveraging off Warrawoona’s infrastructure.
The company reported it is also contemplating installing an additional small modular standalone sulphide float plant at Warrawoona that can be utilised to treat the high grade Blue Spec ore along with the high-grade Copenhagen deposit at Warrawoona.
Interestingly, Calidus has its sights set on developing a central regional hub at Warrawoona which may provide it with further opportunities to treat ore from potentially stranded assets in the region that do not have the scale to justify a standalone plant.
The company proposes to kick off development of Blue Spec once steady-state production has been established at Warrawoona.
Its projections for Warrawoona include “stage one” gold production averaging 90,000 ounces per annum over an initial mine life of eight years and all-in sustaining costs averaging $1,290 an ounce across the life of mine.
It sees Blue Spec’s high grade ore contribution propelling production at the Warrawoona project to 130,000 ounces per annum for three years – from years four to six – across the initial mine life of eight years.
Warrawoona’s foundation Klondyke deposit speaks for 521,000 ounces of contained gold from proved and probable open-pittable and underground ore reserves of just under 14 million tonnes running at an average grade of 1.2 g/t gold.
Results from the latest diamond drilling program will be plugged into a new mineral resource estimate for Blue Spec. An inferred and indicated mineral resource calculated by previous owners weighs in at 415,000 tonnes averaging a blockbuster grade of 16.35 grams per tonne for 219,000 ounces of contained gold.
Further drilling is slated for later this year at Blue Spec East which is located about 300 metres along strike of the main Blue Spec resource. Historic drill results have churned out an encouraging 11m at 7.53 g/t gold along with a thicker 18m returning 4.21 g/t gold which are outside of the current mineral resource estimate.
Calidus finds itself in an enviable market position as it moves from explorer to producer at a time when the gold price has clawed its way back over US$1,800. A rising gold price will no doubt provide Calidus further impetus to continue exploring the Blue Spec mining camp to see what other earthly treasures it can discover.
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By Matt Birney
