Lunnon Metals Ltd (ASX:LM8, OTC:LNMLF) has struck broad intersections of gold mineralisation in drilling at the Lady Herial prospect, part of the Kambalda Gold and Nickel Project near Foster in Western Australia.
The company chose Lady Herial for follow-up diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling due to its near-surface, high-grade intercepts generated in previous drilling efforts.
This latest program hit broad, shallow intersections of gold, including up to 18 metres at 5.27 g/t gold from 18 metres of depth in RC drilling, and 22.5 metres at 0.94 g/t gold from 8.5 metres in diamond drilling.
Targeting rapid resource definition
"The re-focus on gold at Foster continues to deliver exciting results,” Lunnon managing director Edmund Ainscough said.
“Recognising these near surface widths at good grade and also the presence of frequent visible free gold is especially encouraging for Lady Herial.
“As soon as all results are back our minds will turn to a possible mineral resource estimation and then open pit optimisation exercise.
“The team at Lunnon Metals has already shown it can drill, define, estimate and then optimise its discoveries rapidly, with the way the Baker nickel deposit was progressed from first drill hole to permitted mining proposal in a little over 2 years.
“This track record is made possible by the inherent positive aspects of our tenure at Kambalda, including abundant existing infrastructure, granted mining leases, minimal regulatory steps to permitting and low-modest start-up capital.
“Lady Herial might be the first cab off the rank for gold, but the site team see many more opportunities in the short-medium term with the gold price at all-time highs in Australian dollar terms.”
Drilling results
The full sets of drilling results from this latest round include:
RC holes:
- 18 metres at 5.27g/t gold from 18 metres;
- 13 metres at 0.96g/t gold from 22 metres;
- 7 metres at 0.69g/t gold from 31 metres; and,
- 11 metres at 0.89g/t gold from 28 metres.
Diamond drilled holes:
- 22.50 metres at 0.94g/t gold from 8.5 metres including:
- 2.50 metres at 3.82g/t gold from 10.5 metres;
- 3.49 metres at 3.05g/t gold from 21.5 metres (further including 0.99 metres at 6.86g/t gold where minor visible gold was recorded); and,
- 1 metre at 1.08g/t gold from 30.0 metres.
The company also re-evaluated previous assay results, incorporating gold of greater than 0.5 g/t gold rather than the previous 1 g/t gold cut off. The newly re-assessed assays include:
- 5 metres at 46.2g/t gold from 13 metres;
- 6.4 metres at 6.96g/t gold from 10 metres;
- 21 metres at 2.13g/t gold from 7 metres;
- 25 metres at 2.76g/t gold from 10 metres;
- 9 metres at 0.59g/t gold from surface; and,
- 8 metres at 1.67g/t gold from 25 metres.
Lunnon says Lady Herial is “shaping up as an excellent opportunity to define a small-modest sized zone of gold mineralisation which will subsequently enable open pit optimisations to be conducted and potentially a mineral resource to be reported”.
Joint company secretary appointed
Apart from its exploration efforts, Lunnon has also appointed a new joint company secretary, with Nicole Jeanneret adding these duties to her existing executive role.
Jeanneret has been with Lunnon since before its IPO in 2021, as the manager of stakeholder relations and corporate affairs.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, having held a previous position with Sally Malay Mining Ltd (subsequently Panoramic Resources Ltd (ASX:PAN)).
Lunnon chief financial officer and company secretary Hayden Bartrop will resign effective November 9, 2024.
With the challenging nickel market necessitating the deferment of development for the Baker and Foster projects, the company will focus its on-ground activities on the gold potential within its tenements.
Streamlining Lunnon’s management structure will allow for a reduction in corporate costs and direct greater resources towards its gold program.
The CFO role will not be replaced and upon Bartrop’s departure Jeanneret will be solely responsible for communications between Lunnon and the ASX.
“On behalf of the board and management team, I extend our sincere thanks to Hayden for his significant contribution to the company, particularly his role in completing the Baker pre-feasibility study, obtaining approval for the Baker and Foster mining proposals, and evaluating processing options for potential future nickel ore from these projects,” Edmund Ainscough said.
“We are proud to recognise Nicole’s loyalty and dedication with this expanded role and look forward to her playing a key part in shaping Lunnon Metals’ future.”