Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX:CYL) has taken another key step as it rebuilds the foundations of the Plutonic Gold Belt in Western Australia with an updated mineral resource and ore reserve statement for the operating Plutonic Gold Mine and an updated resource for the Trident deposit.
A highlight is a 24% increase in resources at Trident deposit which now hosts 4.2 million tonnes at 3.7 g/t gold for 508,000 ounces with this increase largely due to a reduction in grade from the estimates of previous owners Vango Mining.
Upside potential
When added to the Plutonic Main deposit resources of 17.9 million tonnes at 2.9 g/t gold for 1.654 million ounces, the company’s gold bounty now stands at 2.162 million ounces and there is strong upside potential with numerous other open pit and underground deposits.
These have previously been estimated by other competent persons but are yet to be re-estimated by Catalyst.
Importantly for the mining inventory, there are ore reserves of 5.2 million tonnes at 2.9 g/t gold for 490,000 ounces with other reserve estimations in the pipeline, including at Trident as part of ongoing definitive feasibility study (DFS) work.
Foundation of operation
Catalyst’s MD & CEO James Champion de Crespigny said: “We are pleased to have this important body of work behind us. Such estimates are the foundation of any operation. This update provides our team with the comfort to execute on the mine plan.
"The updated Trident resource estimate is different than expected. It now reflects what Catalyst believes is an improved approach to estimating such a deposit, updated drilling and a lower cut-off grade in this higher gold price environment. This resource will form the basis of the pending Trident Definitive Feasibility Study.
"That study is well progressed and the company remains committed to its development as quickly as possible given its high grade and the latent mill capacity that currently exists at Plutonic.”
New operating team
The updated resources and reserves follow Catalyst’s installation of a new operating team at the Plutonic Gold Mine, which is helping to improve the mine’s operating performance.
"Catalyst took control at Plutonic a little over five months ago,” de Crespigny said, “and in that time there have been considerable changes. This is but another step in that transition plan as we set the company up for 2024.”
Resources and reserves
At Plutonic Underground, the mineral resource and ore reserve sit within the existing mining footprint and do not include virgin zones or any of the satellite deposits within the consolidated tenement package.
Previously reported NI 43-101 reserves and resources for the Plutonic Operations included satellite deposits such as Plutonic East, Plutonic West, Hermes and Perch, which remain NI 43-101 compliant, but not JORC compliant. Catalyst will review these estimates in due course.
The mineral resources and ore reserves for the Plutonic Underground Mine and mineral resources for the Trident deposit have been estimated for the first time by Catalyst following the acquisition of Superior Gold and Vango Mining.
Catalyst undertook a comprehensive re-estimation and classification of the entire Plutonic Main deposit resources, including the Plutonic Main underground and open pit areas.
The previously reported Plutonic Main open pit mineral resources have now been incorporated into the Plutonic underground resource inventory. Further work is planned to re-evaluate the Plutonic Main open pit potential.
Modelling technique
Catalyst has implemented a resource modelling technique that is well suited to estimating highly variable gold mineralisation. Modelling parameters were optimised so that the final mineral resource was well aligned with recent and historic production reconciliation performance.
The resource estimate for Plutonic Underground has been undertaken with a focus on delineating areas of the resource with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
Trident deposit sits about 25 kilometres northeast of the Plutonic Gold Mine and the planned development in 2024 has been made possible by the recently completed consolidation of the Plutonic Gold Belt.
Work on the Trident DFS is well advanced and Catalyst expects this will be released in January 2024.