A trip to the Mines Department appears to have paid off in spades for Kingwest Resources who has unearthed a treasure trove of lucrative looking historical face sample results taken along underground development drives and rises at its Menzies project.
The samples that were taken in 1924, returned some amazing results along the faces that averaged out at consistently high grades such as 22.3g/t gold over a 2.1m width along an actual strike length of 31m. These samples, taken from about 600m below surface, reveal that high grade mineralisation is well and truly open at the Princess May shoot in the underground workings below the old Yunndaga pit.
Another sample set taken over 62m of development at the bottom of the underground mine, graded 20.4 g/t gold over an average sampled width of 0.7m.
The results come from “face” samples taken underground in the 1920s at Princess May and the smashingly good assays have sat on paper in Government archives ever since – that is until Kingwest Geologists, led by CEO Ed Turner – recently brushed away the cobwebs.
The old underground mine at Princess May is divided into horizontal “levels” that were once accessed via a vertical “shaft”. These levels provided miners with access to the ore body, which they pulled out as ore blocks, or “stopes” from between the levels.
As the levels advanced, miners would take “face” samples to help them follow the gold ore – a practice still carried out in modern mines.
Between levels, the old-timers blasted out vertical “rises” or small access shafts to help ventilate the mine or provide a site to set off explosives in the ore, which would then be mined out as stopes.
Kingwest also uncovered sample data taken from two rises at Princess May that showed a 19m long sample averaging 24.5g/t gold across an average width of 1.5m. Another15m long section went 21.2g/t gold, also across an average width of 1.5m along the rise.
Remnants of unmined mineralisation – with levels developed above and below the ore – are known as “pillars”. Part of Kingwest’s theory is that the old-timers left behind gold ore in pillars across its project and that high-grade shoots would be still open at depth. The recently revealed samples appear to somewhat support that theory.
One remnant pillar left behind at Princess May looks to be close to about 100m by 30m in size and the sampling data shows that shoot is still wide-open.
One of Kingwest’s recent diamond holes also intercepted 2.28m grading 17.87g/t gold from 99.65m at Princess May, further confirming that the shoot is open at depth.
It certainly begs the question whether or not there are more remnant pillars and gold lodes still open at depth across Kingwest’s plethora of old workings and shafts near Menzies. The existence of the old sampling data has made that question much more intriguing, particularly given that the project has laid largely dormant and devoid of any substantial exploration since production ceased in the early 1940s.
Importantly, prior to 2019, only 20 holes were drilled into the project greater than 200m deep, over the entire 10 kilometres of its strike.
Menzies is renowned for its high-grade deposits where grade was king during the heady days of the 1900s. It was not uncommon back then for mine grades to run at nearly 23g/t and even at those numbers, they were often considered “too low” to follow by the 1940s.
The excitement has been building for Kingwest as it looks to drill out areas that are most likely mineralised if the old historic workings are any guide.
It has been enjoying some success with the drill bit recently too, churning out ounce-plus hits such as half a metre going a whopping 110g/t within 2.48m grading 23.22g/t.
This eye-watering 3.5 ounce to the tonne gold hit came from the First Hit prospect and since picking up the Menzies project, Kingwest has drilled diamond holes into five different prospects – Selkirk, Pericles, Yunndaga, Lady Shenton and First Hit.
First Hit took line honours for the overall best intercept of 2019, with 57.6 gram metres from 121.52m downhole, closely followed by Pericles with 41.5 gram metres from 125.27m downhole.
The company also recently tabled some excellent results from Yunndaga, including the discovery of a new lode above Princess May that returned 1.3m grading nearly 20g/t gold, with a 0.3m zone grading 64.4g/t.
Turner said: “…There also remain numerous areas also higher up in these mineralised systems that have potential for significant mineralisation to be defined and our review of other historic underground sampling at other deposits including Lady Shenton is yet to be completed.”
“Based on this data we believe the potential for significant high-grade resource ounces within these deposits and below these deposits is high as a result.”
Kingwest picked up the Menzies project in July 2019 from Horizon Minerals for a total cash and script consideration of $8 million.
Since then Turner and the experienced board have wasted no time in creating and executing a solid strategy for the project.
This isn’t Turner’s first rodeo either, having most recently been the CEO, GM of Geology and Exploration Manager of the uber-successful lead-silver developer, Galena Mining.
Most of the original Galena band is back together now at Kingwest with prolific company maker and Geologist, Adrian Byass, the founding Chairman of Galena, now in the Chair at Kingwest and Jonathan Downes, a non-executive at Galena, also taking up the mantle of Non-Executive Director at Kingwest.
Turner and his team of cohorts executed an exquisite strategy at Galena relating to its Abra lead-silver project that was originally thought to be a massive tonnage, but low-grade play.
Turner, who had worked on the project under previous owners, helped develop a strategy to exploit what he saw as a high grade “core” that still boasted serious tonnes, but perhaps not in the category of “massive”.
It is often said in the public company space that you are only ever as good as your last deal.
It took Turner, Byass and Downes just 6 months to run Galena’s share price from 20c on listing day to about $1.30 before putting the reins on it with a one for five share split, which makes their last deal a damn good one
...now for Kingwest.
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