PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) has executed a sale and purchase agreement with Ausgold Trading Pty Ltd to acquire the Mt Porter gold deposit within trucking distance of the company’s Fountain Head and Hayes Creek zinc-gold-silver development in the Northern Territory for consideration of $1.05 million.
The acquisition is consistent with the company’s strategy to consolidate nearby projects which host existing gold, silver or base metals mineral resources to support the proposed Fountain Head and Hayes Creek development and have significant exploration upside.
Notably, the Mt Porter deposit has a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 681,000 tonnes at 2.2 g/t gold for 48,200 ounces with 84% reporting to the higher confidence indicated category.
Moving forward, PNX has planned to update the existing mine management plan, with fieldwork on the cards to test walk-up exploration targets.
“Highly prospective exploration targets”
PNX managing director James Fox said: “The Mt Porter gold deposit is near-surface, can be mined via open-pit and will integrate well with the proposed development plans at the Fountain Head gold and Hayes Creek zinc-gold-silver projects.
"The upfront cost of the gold ounces at Mt Porter is below the market average taking into account the high confidence, with 84% in the indicated category, and highly prospective exploration targets which exist along strike and have the potential to provide additional scale to future operations.”
Acquisition synergies
Mt Porter will become part of PNX’s integrated gold, silver and zinc development strategy which is expected to mine and process ore from five 100%-owned discrete deposits - Fountain Head, Glencoe and Mt Porter (gold) and Mt Bonnie and Iron Blow (zinc-gold-silver) - all of which are on granted MLs in the Pine Creek region of the NT.
PNX’s global project mineral resources now exceed 500,000 ounces of gold, with a total metal inventory of 520,900 ounces of gold, 16.2 million ounces of silver, 177,000 tonnes of zinc, 37,000 tonnes of lead and 10,000 tonnes of copper.
There is strong exploration potential at Mt Porter, along an approximate 1.2-kilometre strike with numerous high-grade gold intersections outside the resource boundary including:
- 13 metres at 3.53 g/t gold from 71 metres – 20 metres west of current resource;
- 8 metres at 8.38 g/t from 54 metres – Mt Porter North; and
- 9 metres at 1.55 g/t from 2 metres – Mt Porter South.