Maximus Resources Ltd (ASX:MXR) has extended its gold inventory at Spargoville in Western Australia to 320,600 ounces thanks to a 250% increase in resources at the Wattle Dam Gold Project to 251,500 ounces … and there is considerable potential for more growth across a large gold mineralised system.
An updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Wattle Dam has resulted in 5.4 million tonnes at 1.45 g/t gold for 251,500 ounces with 61% of this sitting in the higher confidence indicated category providing a firm foundation for future development studies.
Also providing encouragement for the company is the fact that 95% of the resources are within A$2,800 optimised open pit shells and are, therefore, amenable to shallow open pit mining.
Shares higher
The MRE update has produced a positive response from investors with MXR shares up 15.15% on the ASX to $0.038.
Maximus’ managing director Tim Wither said “We are pleased to achieve 251,500 ounces of gold resources at our Wattle Dam Gold Project, which increases the company’s mineral resource base to 320,600 ounces.
"Importantly 61% of the updated Wattle Dam Gold Project resources are in the higher confidence indicated category, totalling 153,200 ounces of gold, providing a strong foundation for future development studies.”
There is also strong upside potential as mineralisation is open in all directions and MRE modelling highlights near-surface growth options with the presence of numerous high-grade plunging shoots to be drill-tested.
About Wattle Dam
The Wattle Dam Project is part of MXR’s 114-square-kilometre Spargoville mineral tenements, 25 kilometres from Kambalda in the WA Goldfields and is on granted mining tenements.
It encompasses several deposits, including Redback, Golden Orb, Wattle Dam Stockwork, S5, 8500N, Huntsman and Trapdoor, in addition to the previously mined Wattle Dam main lode.
Wattle Dam Gold Project geology plan.
About 26 million tonnes per annum of installed capacity exists across eight gold processing facilities within a 70-kilometre radius of the project.
The increase in resources was delivered through updated geological modelling of previously uninterpreted mineralisation, despite an increase in optimised open pit cut-off grades from 0.3 to 0.5 g/t gold.
Expansion drill plans
With the aim of realising the project’s growth potential, Maximus has planning underway to expand the resource with further infill and step-out drilling. It is also finalising the next steps towards optimisation studies for ore reserves calculations within the granted Mining Leases.
Supporting this process is the completed metallurgical test work that demonstrates gold recoveries ranging from 92% to 97%, with rapid leach times, low reagent consumption and very high gravity recoveries up to 71%.
The updated MRE, in conjunction with the recommendations for a structural review, is guiding exploration planning in order to ensure sufficient drill density in areas currently excluded from the resource and to expand the mineralised envelope.
Targeting prospective zones
"The updated MRE model has captured a significant amount of mineralisation previously unaccounted for, with a marginal decrease in grade, confirming a very large mineralized system. The model also highlights a number of high-grade shoots, which are open at depth and require drill testing,” Wither said.
"As part of exploration planning, the recent structural review and updated MRE model are being used to target highly prospective zones that are currently excluded from this resource update, ensuring cost-effective drilling for rapid resource growth.”
Awaiting assays
The company is awaiting assay results from the first phase drill program at Wattle Dam North, which aims to identify a potential structural offset of the high-grade Wattle Dam Gold Mine.
All completed drill holes intersected zones of intense biotite alteration with a similar geological sequence as seen within the Wattle Dam main lode about 200 metres away.
An evaluation of a potential second-phase drill program will be made after assay results are received.
"The updated MRE for the Wattle Dam Gold Project confirms Maximus' strong resource base with high potential for further expansion and demonstrates Maximus' capacity to consistently grow gold resources while pursuing exploration activities across several promising gold and nickel targets in the company's exciting project portfolio,” Wither concluded.