Surefire Resources has a spring in its step as it ramps up exploration across WA, with the multi-metal explorer looking to broaden its horizons and begin realising the value in its diversified project portfolio.
Whilst the company’s Yidby gold project has stolen the limelight in recent months, with drilling returning a cavalcade of wide gold intercepts, Surefire is keen to delve further into its box of tricks and begin exploration over its Perenjori iron ore project west of Yidby and the Kooline silver project in WA’s Ashburton region.
Surefire shot to prominence late last year following the announcement of the Yidby Road discovery that set its share price alight. The Yidby gold project is located in the resurgent Murchison mineral field approximately 320 kilometres north-east of Perth in Western Australia, with the company’s recently completed reverse circulation drilling program unearthing an array of shallow, ore-grade intercepts along more than 300 metres of strike.
Better intervals from the Yidby discovery include a spectacular 56m intersection grading 1.97 grams per tonne gold that also hosts a 4m section grading 14.47 g/t gold from 44m depth.
Another 40m intersection was equally impressive at 3.01 g/t gold, including 4m at 26.57 g/t gold from only 24m down-hole.
Interestingly, the Yidby project sits in a strategic position in the Murchison with the multi-million-ounce Mt Gibson gold mine lying just 30km to the south of the discovery, whilst the world-class Golden Grove copper-gold mine lies 60km to the north-west. The developing Rothsay gold mine sits just 40km to the west.
Surefire is also keeping good company in the fertile mineral terrane with Westgold, Silver Lake and Ramelius operating mines to the north and west of the company’s discovery, whilst explorers White Cliff, Terrain, TNT and Mt Ridley Mines have also taken up tenure in the province.
The company is now emboldened by its success at Yidby and is taking a closer look at what other potential treasures may lie within its comprehensive portfolio, however with iron ore trading at close to a ten-year high, weighing in at around US$155 a tonne, Surefire’s Perenjori iron ore project looks to be a stand-out opportunity.
Perenjori lies around 100km west of the Yidby gold discovery, with the company’s project area covering close to 650 square kilometres of iron and gold-rich greenstones. Historical exploration across the project area has returned an interesting selection of gold hits, including rock chips grading up to 8.05 g/t gold and drill intercepts of 28m at 0.72 g/t from only 8m depth and 8m at 1.18 g/t gold from 20m down-hole, however the wealth of the project most likely lies in iron ore.
Exploration by Quest Minerals defined a huge magnetite resource at Perenjori in 2013, with the deposit tipping the scales at an immense 191 million tonnes grading 36.5 per cent iron. A subsequent scoping study completed by industry consultants MinTrex concluded that ores from the project could be processed, via a coarse grind and concentrated to create a 65 to 70 per cent iron ore concentrate that is low in deleterious elements which would fetch a premium in the marketplace.
Surefire is now looking to dust off the Quest reports for Perenjori and with the project lying just 17km south of the mothballed Koolanooka iron ore mining operations and 35km from the Tilley Siding on the Mullewa rail line, which links through to the port at Geraldton, the company just might have a significant head start on other aspiring iron ore producers.
The third project to pop up on Surefire’s radar is the Kooline silver project located just 55km south of Northern Star’s Paulsens gold mine in the enigmatic Ashburton province of WA. Kooline covers close to 400 square kilometres of sedimentary stratigraphy. Curiously, the tenure includes three mineralised horizons which extend across more than 48km of strike and host high-grade silver and lead mineralisation.
Rock chip sampling at Kooline has returned impressive grades of silver, including results of up to 580 g/t or close to 19 ounces per tonne of the semi-precious metal. With silver enjoying a solid run in the market in the last twelve months, almost doubling in price and trading at close to US$30 an ounce, Surefire is planning to get boots on ground at the Kooline project in the coming months.
With over $4 million in the bank and a developing pipeline of projects in gold, silver and iron ore, Surefire looks well positioned to take advantage of the burgeoning metals markets and deliver regular news flow through the coming field season in WA as it kicks off drilling at Yidby and puts together its development and exploration programs at Perenjori and Kooline.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
