Aruma Resources has more than quadrupled the greenstone belt width at its Salmon Guns gold project near Esperance to more than three kilometres and will vector in on new drill targets with an aerial survey of the 75 square kilometre patch early next year.
Two diamond drill holes sunk along the project’s 25km strike have redefined as sediments what were once thought to be granites.
The new definition enables Aruma to expand its interpreted strike width from 700m to more than 3km running the length of the strike.
Armed with the new information Aruma will take a two-pronged approach to exploration next year by running a fine comb over the project’s 10sqkm Iris-Thistle trend as it assesses the wider project area.
The expanded resource follows news in March Aruma had struck impressive gold grades with its maiden RC drill program.
That campaign returned a 5m strike at 50.2 g/t gold from 42m including 3m at 83 g/t gold and 1m at 224 g/t.
Aruma’s 360sqkm project area lays 60km south of the historic goldmining town of Norseman in the southeast Goldfields and 30km south of Pantoro’s 50 percent-owned Scotia mining centre.
Pantoro in April boosted the deposit’s gold reserve by 119 per cent to 906,000 ounces at the 12.4Mt at 2.3 g/t gold project.
That figure was led by a 776 per cent increase since the 2020 definitive feasibility study to the Scotia underground ore reserve to 1.26Mt at 4.5 g/t gold.
The Scotia deposit has been known since 1893 and churned out 811,000 tonnes at 5.9 g/t gold for 155,000 ounces between 1987 and 1996 for Central Norseman Gold Corporation.
The gold price performed relatively well early in 2022, reaching a peak of US$2051 per ounce before retreating below $1700 in September.
The price has since risen above $1800 and crystal ball gazers are bullish on the commodity next year due to a weakening global economy which traditionally buoys gold.
With Aruma’s find sitting nearby and along strike of Scotia the company will be hoping that further exploration at the Salmon Gums project continues to turn up some striking similarities to its renowned neighbour.
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