Latitude 66 snaps up WA ground beside 2M-ounce gold-antimony deposit

Latitude 66 has snapped up some prime real estate in Western Australia’s Yalgoo-Singleton greenstone belt after being granted a lease over the newly minted Piastri gold-antimony project.

Piastri looks ripe for discovery, with its grounds lying just 200 metres from the monster 1.96-million-ounce gold equivalent Ricciardo gold and antimony deposit, which is part of Warriedar Resources’ Golden Range project.

Ricciardo is the jewel in Warriedar’s crown and is currently the subject of a takeover from Capricorn Metals, with an implied value of $188 million. 

Ricciardo is nestled within the mighty Mougooderra Shear Zone - but the real excitement may lie just off to the side. Recent interpretations of regional aeromagnetic data have lit up a series of shear-parallel structures trailing along the eastern, or footwall, side of the shear.

The geological off-ramps are thought to be splay faults or offshoots from the main structure. They appear to continue into the Piastri ground and could be the next big, mineralised prize waiting to be uncovered.

Latitude 66 is wasting no time and has boots on the ground to roll out first-pass soil sampling and field mapping programs to scope out the gold-rich structures slicing through the company’s 15.2-square-kilometre tenement. 

The company says it will target these structurally related splay zones to prove up mineralised cousins of the main shear. These types of splay and cross-fault zones are proven gold traps in other parts of WA.

Similar structures in the Zuleika shear zone west of Kalgoorlie have delivered high-grade deposits, such as Raleigh, Pegasus and Paradigm, while in the Laverton Tectonic Zone, the same splays helped unearth the massive Wallaby and Sunrise Dam mines.

Much of Piastri’s ground has never been tested with modern exploration tools, although a nearby 6m strike grading 4.3 grams per tonne (g/t) was previously picked up in the same structural corridor. Historical work on the ground has been minimal with just 22 shallow rotary air blast holes drilled across a 10km strike, leaving the door wide open for fresh discovery.

Latitude 66’s managing director Grant Coyle said: “Early interpretation of regional magnetics has already outlined multiple structural targets on the footwall side of the prospective shear, with historical drilling confirming the presence of high-grade gold in this position. We believe Piastri offers an exciting opportunity for near-resource discovery and look forward to commencing first-pass fieldwork in the weeks ahead.”

Meanwhile, the company’s bank balance has swelled after recently selling its 17.5 per cent stake in the Queensland Greater Dutchess copper project to joint venture partner Carnaby Resources for $2 million in cash and $4 million in shares. Latitude 66 says this cash will flow into an aggressive drilling program at Piastri when early groundwork locks in its high-priority targets.

From what’s already known about this belt and the monster Ricciardo next door, any sniff of high-grade gold could ignite serious market interest. That means Piastri might be writing the next chapter in Latitude 66’s playbook.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au