Great Boulder Resources Ltd (ASX:GBR) has submitted a Mining Lease application for Ironbark deposit within the company’s flagship Side Well Gold Project near Meekatharra in Western Australia.
Ironbark hosts a shallow inferred mineral resource of 934,000 tonnes at 2.9 g/t gold, which equates to around 87,000 ounces of gold. Within this is a high-grade core of 471,000 tonnes at 4.7 g/t, amounting to around 71,000 ounces.
If obtained the Mining Lease will add flexibility to future mining scenarios at Ironbark, which is 11 kilometres from Meekatharra and 23 kilometres from Westgold Resources’ Bluebird mill.
Moving forward, GBR will kick off negotiations for a Mining Agreement with the Yugunga Nya People, the traditional custodians of the Side Well Project area.
Ironbark resource area.
Future mining scenarios
GBR managing director Andrew Paterson said: “The Ironbark Mining Lease is intended to provide optionality for possible future mining scenarios.
“Ironbark is the obvious choice as it’s high-grade mineralisation from surface. We aim to discover more Ironbark-style deposits along the same stratigraphic horizon later this year.
“We haven’t started any economic studies on Ironbark at this stage. We completed a baseline environmental survey earlier in the year.
“We will upgrade the resource and consider a scoping study at an appropriate time.
“We will now sit down with the Yugunga Nya People and the owners of Sherwood Station and start discussing a Mining Agreement for Ironbark and the Side Well Project, such that all stakeholder groups can participate in the company’s success.”
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