Pantoro Ltd (ASX:PNR, OTC:PNTOF) is set for a big drilling season in financial year 2025, with 85,000 metres of drilling planned across four key targets and a further $25 million earmarked for extensions to successful drilling programs.
The company’s focus will be on near-term, high-grade underground mine targets in this drilling season, including re-entry to the Norseman Mainfield through the existing Bullen decline.
Pantoro expects to begin rehabilitation works for the Norseman Mainfield and Bullen decline in the first half of the 2025 financial year.
It expects to produce about 100,000 ounces of gold in the 2025 financial year, plus or minus 10% with an all-in-sustaining cost (ASIC) of A$1,900 per ounce.
“Dozens of opportunities”
“This is a very exciting period in the development of the Norseman goldfield,” Pantoro managing director Paul Cmrlec said.
“For the first time we are in a position to re-develop the Norseman Mainfield with an outstanding balance sheet position and operations generating strong cashflow.
“There are dozens of resource development opportunities that will in time contribute to production and the immediate target areas selected for rapid advancement during the coming year all present high-grade opportunities that can be advanced to production status in the medium term.
“We will be disciplined in our growth activities and ensure that every dollar spent is well considered and positively contributing to our goal of filling the processing plant with 5-6 g/t ore in the shortest possible time.
“We are confident that Norseman can ultimately be a +200,000 ounce per annum producer utilising the extensive infrastructure already in place.
“The processing plant is currently processing at a rate of 1.2 million tonnes per annum and there are very low-cost opportunities within the plant to increase throughput by another 20% once sufficient additional high-grade feed is available.”
In addition to the current targets, Pantoro intends to undertake detailed magnetic surveys over several target areas on Lake Cowan, with the intention of finalising drilling targets for financial year 2026 and beyond.
Four key target areas
The key target areas for the FY2025 drilling campaign will include down dip and strike extensions to the Central and Southern orebodies.
During the definitive feasibility study (DFS), Pantoro had great success in testing the northern zones to +500 metres below surface, returning some of the best drill intercepts in terms of width and grade seen at Scotia to date.
At the time of the DFS a decision was made to commence mining and to drill out southern extensions from underground.
Another target is Eastern lode, identified in the eastern wall of the open pit with shallow (about 100 metres depth) drilling from surface.
The zone is best targeted from underground due to the positioning of the open pit and local topography. Mineralisation has been identified over +500 metres strike length to date.
There is also the Panda lode, which lies immediately west of the Scotia main lodes. This was discovered by Pantoro during the first phase of drilling prior to construction of the processing plant.
Pantoro says work on the well-defined orebodies at Scotia to date has demonstrated that depth extensions in the area generally maintain strong widths and ore grades, and the Panda Lode, which potentially has a strike of up to 500 metres, has returned strong widths and grade in drilling from surface.
Additional opportunities
There are also many additional opportunities for high-grade feed at Scotia which are not currently planned to be tested during FY 2025, but which will remain as future priority targets:
- Green Lantern high-grade zones.
- Scotia northern extensions.
- Free Gift down dip.
Pantoro expects its ongoing operations to fund its growth projects while also building cash reserves.
The company is on track for another increase in quarterly production for the fourth quarter of financial year 2024, with strong cashflow generation.
The Scotia Underground development is also progressing ahead of schedule, with what the company describes as “excellent” ground conditions encountered to date.