Fresh from an interim updated mineral resource estimate for its flagship Mt Stirling gold project about 40km north-west of Leonora in WA, ASX-listed Torian Resources continues to rack up multiple shallow, high-grade gold hits that are set to further expand the Mt Stirling deposit. The Perth-based junior explorer says it has only “scratched the surface” at the project, with a wealth of high-priority targets to be followed up.
Last week Torian released a new inferred and indicated resource for Mt Stirling of 2.05 million tonnes grading an average 1.54 grams per tonne gold for 101,722 ounces of contained gold.
It represented an impressive increase on the previously estimated inferred resource of 727,021 tonnes of ore going 1.45 g/t gold for 33,893 ounces.
Management says the Mt Stirling shear-hosted gold system remains open in all directions and the resource estimate covers about 740m out of an interpreted strike length so far of 1.16km.
The Mt Stirling gold system takes in the Mt Stirling Main, Hanging Wall and Viserion zones and several shallow eastern mineralised zones.
Torian is not pausing to bask in the afterglow of its latest resource increase.
The company has instead put the foot down on its 2021 brownfields and regional auger, RC and diamond drilling blitz totalling 50,000m across the Mt Stirling project area’s Stirling and Diorite blocks.
Some of the recent notable drill results not included in the interim mineral resource estimate were a 2m intersection with an average grade of 8.02 g/t gold from 1m including 1m at 15.19 g/t, 1m at 4.92 g/t from 88m, 1m at 3.93 g/t from 108m and 1m at 3.51 g/t from 6m.
According to Torian, the drill intercepts provide a swag of follow-up, infill and extensional drilling opportunities.
Torian Resources Executive Director, Peretz Schapiro said: “The sheer amount of shallow gold mineralised zones that were not included in the recent resource gives us great confidence that we will be able to significantly increase the size of the resource in coming weeks and months as we follow up on these prospective targets. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the recent resource estimate is just the beginning.”
Continuing encouraging assay values from the massive drilling program may lead to additional resource upgrades at Mt Stirling on two fronts before the end of the year, the company says.
Torian is eyeing a new resource estimate for the nearby Stirling Well deposit in the September quarter this year.
Stirling Well hosts an inferred resource of 253,500 tonnes at 2.01 g/t gold for 16,384 ounces.
The company is also looking at a further boost to the Mt Stirling gold resource later in the year.
Mt Stirling is located within cooee of ASX-listed Red 5’s developing 4.1-million-ounce King of the Hills project that is scheduled to pour first gold in about a year’s time.
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By Matt Birney
