Horizon Minerals boosts gold resource after project review

After a trio of mineral resource updates across its Goldfields projects, mineral explorer Horizon Minerals has boosted its gold inventory by 91,000 ounces to a new total of 1.24 million ounces. New resources were calculated within the company’s Baden Powell, Windanya and Binduli gold projects amounting to 69,000 ounces and a further 21,500 ounces was added to the company’s tally after acquiring the remaining 50 per cent of its Penny’s Find gold project.

After drilling 14 infill holes within its Binduli project, the company tabled a mineral resource estimate for its Coote prospect of 452,000 tonnes grading 1.54 grams per tonne for 21,000 ounces of gold.

Whilst at the company’s Baden Powell project 60km north-west of Kalgoorlie, Horizon was able to publish a resource of 595,000 tonnes grading 1.2 g/t for 23,000 ounces after compiling drill data from 2020 and 2021

Similarly, after reviewing drill data from 2019 and 2021 at the company’s Capricorn prospect within its Windanya project, Horizon was able to generate a resource of 659,000 tonnes grading 1.2 g/t for 25,000 ounces.

Finally, the acquisition of the remaining 50 per cent of the company’s Penny’s Find gold project slides the rest of the project’s whole mineral resource of 269,000 tonnes at 4.99 g/t gold for 43,000 ounces into its gold column. Notably, the Penny’s Find resource comprises of only 90 holes drilled since 2019 in combination with 79 historical holes that were validated and worked into the mix.

The numbers may still have a way to climb with further extensional drilling planned at Penny’s Find as the company looks to update the resource estimate with the mineralisation open to possible down dip extensions. Similarly at Coote, additional extensional resource drilling is planned where Horizon envisages mining synergies with its nearby 66,500-ounce Crake deposit just 500m to the east.

Horizon Minerals Managing Director, Jon Price said: “We are pleased with the increase in our Mineral Resource base from a modest amount of drilling, with all resources open at depth and along strike, that show the potential upside from these initial estimates with further drilling programs.”

Over 53,000m of drilling was completed across Horizon’s WA portfolio in the last financial year, with the company planning to push the envelope even further this time as it looks to chew through a further 65,000m before June 30 next year.

With a swag of open resources and drill rigs tuned for discovery across its portfolio, this year looks to be shaping up as a potentially exciting one for Horizon Minerals.

Today on the primary futures and options market, COMEX, gold futures were changing hands for as little as US$1625 per ounce, down from a high of US$2091 on March 8.

It has been a tough summer in the northern-hemisphere for gold according to the World Gold Council that believes the precious metal could remain under pressure if central banks continue to hike interest rates aggressively.

The Perth Mint agrees with the logic that as interest rates rise the opportunity cost of owning gold increases as the amount one can earn in a bank account or term deposit increases. However, in the Mint's recent analysis it found historically gold prices have typically risen alongside interest rates whilst noting there is more than one factor of influence for the price of the precious yellow metal. Other factors it cites potentially influencing the price of gold include the value of the US dollar, broader economic conditions and movements in the stock market.

In a similar vein, the Council’s analysis found that gold is one of the best performing assets during recessions. Interestingly, whilst the US has experienced two consecutive quarters of declining gross domestic product, a recession is yet to be declared.

The analysis over seven US periods of recession since 1971 found that gold had a median return of 0.92 per cent.

The return was comparably higher than other major asset classes including equities, commodities and energy although treasury and corporate bonds reigned supreme, returning 1.95 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively.

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