Horizon nails Kalgoorlie infill drill program with 21g/t gold

ASX-listed Horizon Minerals isn’t leaving anything to chance after getting its hands on MacPhersons Resources’ Boorara Gold project just east of Kalgoorlie post its merger with MacPhersons.

The ASX listed company is headlong into an infill drilling campaign at Boorara ahead of the expected commencement of mining in the June quarter.

Significantly, drill spacings are now down to a minimum of just 4m x 10m – and the numbers haven’t disappointed.

Best numbers from the Royal deposit in the latest campaign include 6m at 21.16 grams per tonne gold from 33m and a 25m intersection going 3.08 g/t gold from just 15m down hole.

Other solid numbers include a 21m hit from only 5m downhole grading 2.74 grams per tonne gold, 10m at 3.57 g/t gold from 20m and 29m at 2.44 g/t gold from just 22m downhole. 

Another 24m intersection commenced just 1m below surface for 2.17 g/t gold. 

In a statement this week, the company said that reverse circulation drilling at the project that sits almost adjacent to Kalgoorlie’s revered “Super Pit”, just east of Kalgoorlie, totalled 18,000 metres across its three main areas comprising the Royal, Crown Jewel and Regal deposits to a maximum depth of 54 metres.

The global resource at Boorara now stands at 16.45Mt grading 0.96g/t Au for 507,000oz at a 0.5g/t Au cut-off grade, however Horizon is seeking to add confidence to the theory that mined grades will in fact be significantly higher than .96 g/t gold by radically closing up the drill spacings and the latest campaign numbers would appear to underline that theory somewhat.

Back in 2016 MacPhersons sought to develop this theory by mining a trial pit at Royal that worked out well with 30239 tonnes pulled out at a significant 1.73 g/t gold, well above the global head grade of around 1 g/t gold. 

According to the company, the aim of the drilling program was to enable a new geological model to be compiled ahead of mining and provide further economic information in addition to achieving a grade uplift.

The latest drilling data will be used to update the global resource model as part of the feasibility study currently underway that will look to underpin a standalone processing facility at Boorara.

Horizon said that it is looking to start mining at Boorara by the June quarter and will look to toll the ore to get into quick cashflow commencing in the September quarter.

Horizon managing director Jon Price said: “These initial results clearly demonstrate the scale and quality of the Boorara mineralised system with excellent width and grade continuity – we have barely scratched the surface.

“Our aim is to complete the grade control model, mine optimisation and stage-1 design in the March quarter and commence mining in the June quarter as well as third party toll milling in the September quarter.

“This will, in turn, provide invaluable geological and metallurgical reconciliation information for the larger-scale development as part of the consolidated feasibility study for Boorara and the satellite projects in close proximity due for completion in the December 2020 quarter.”