Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has cranked up the diamond drill rigs at its Pinjin gold project in Western Australia’s eastern Goldfields to focus on the Kirgella Gift and Providence deposits in Western Australia’s Laverton Tectonic Zone - a region synonymous with multimillion-ounce discoveries.
The new program, which was launched at the weekend will drive four diamond holes into the prospect for about 1070 metres of core.
The campaign has been backed by up $130,000 in West Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme co-funding, giving KalGold a timely boost as it tests some of its more tantalising structural targets to date.
Unseasonal rains earlier in the year delayed the start of the program, however, with the rods now spinning again, the company is eager to follow up on a string of shallow, high-grade hits previously reported across the Kirgella Gift–Providence trend where mineralisation has been unearthed as close as three metres from surface.
Management says the campaign will also probe the geological link between the two prospects, testing a potential high-grade zone where mineralised plunges may merge. It will also explore how the cross-cutting faults have shaped and steered gold through the corridor, potentially revealing the structural keys to a richer system.
KalGold has already outlined a maiden inferred resource of 2.34 million tonnes at one gram per tonne gold for 76,400 ounces at Kirgella Gift–Providence. However, the deposits remain open in multiple directions and management believes the current diamond drilling could reveal structures leading to more gold along strike and at depth.
The three-week campaign comes as KalGold continues an aggressive reverse-circulation (RC) program across its neighbouring Lighthorse, Wessex and Providence South prospects – all part of a broader push to unlock the full potential of its Pinjin project.
The 50-hole program for 6200m is set to test beneath shallow gold picked up in drilling at the start of the year.
The company’s Lighthorse prospect made headlines earlier in the year with a string of spectacular aircore hits from a shallow supergene blanket, including 17 metres grading 4.81 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 48m, and 8m running at a stunning 9.12g/t gold from 52 metres.
A 16-hole reverse-circulation program swiftly followed to test for high-grade primary mineralisation beneath the oxide zone — and it didn’t disappoint.
The results lit up the page, headlined by 9 metres at 3.52g/t gold from 58 metres, including 2 metres at a red-hot 13.65 grams per tonne gold. Deeper down, the rig cut a solid 2 metre section running at 7.92g/t gold within 3 metres grading 5.52g/t gold from 133 metres. Another standout interval delivered 5 metres at 2.64 grams per tonne from 147 metres.
Notably, management said the high-grade hits are wrapped in broader gold halos, including a hefty 32m at 1.14g/t and 12m at 1.29g/t, pointing to a potentially large and fertile hydrothermal system.
The Pinjin tenure sits about 140 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and is squarely within one of the most sought-after addresses in Australian gold exploration.
The project sits along the southern extent of the prolific Laverton Tectonic Zone - home to more than 30 million ounces – and is the same geological engine room that hosts heavyweight operations such as AngloGold Ashanti’s Sunrise Dam together with Goldfields Ltd’s Granny Smith and Wallaby mines.
Adding to its credentials, KalGold’s ground stretches across 22 kilometres of prime gold-bearing strike. It sits neatly between Hawthorn Resources’ high-grade Anglo Saxon deposit, boasting 157,000 ounces at 6.1 grams per tonne and Ramelius Resources’ one-million-ounce Rebecca project. The latter already has a pre-feasibility study in place, mapping a clear route to production by 2027.
Just 35 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, KalGold’s Bulong Taurus project hosts the outcropping La Mascotte gold deposit, with 3.61 million tonnes grading 1.19 grams per tonne for 138,000 ounces.
That deposit is surrounded by a string of enticing satellite prospects and the historic Taurus Goldfield workings, where fresh exploration continues to gather pace and reveal new opportunities.
KalGold’s low-cost discovery model has been central to its success to date. The company already holds total resources of 214,400 ounces across its portfolio, with discovery costs averaging less than a diminutive A$4.60 per ounce.
With the diamond rig now doing its thing and the regional RC campaign marching ahead, the next few weeks are shaping up as pivotal for KalGold. If the company can prove the plunges between Kirgella Gift and Providence do actually converge into a richer ore zone, it could mark the start of a new growth chapter in WA’s gold heartland.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By James Pearson
