Kairos Minerals Ltd has launched its largest drilling campaign to date at the 1.4 million ounce (Moz) Mt York Gold Project in Western Australia's Pilbara region, in the hopes of growing the resource and moving closer to a prefeasibility study (PFS).
Kairos managing director Dr Peter Turner said: “Mt York is a large, quality gold asset that is set to get bigger – the Main Hill Extension Prospect over which we are currently negotiating access with PLS will add an additional 1,500-metre strike to the overall mineralisation at Main Trend and all new gold we find over this prospect will add directly to the 1.4Moz that the project currently hosts.”
Vast area covered
The fully-funded drilling program will span some 30,432 metres across two phases.
Phase 1 will cover 18,872 metres through 79 diamond and reverse circulation (RC) holes, while Phase 2 will consist of a further 11,560 metres, primarily focused on resource conversion.
Six diamond holes have already been wrapped up for 1,166.9 metres using two DDH1 diamond rigs, with a third rig expected to arrive in June to support operations in the challenging terrain of the Main Hill prospect.
A high priority for the Stage 1 campaign is the Main Hill Extension, on Pilbara Minerals Ltd’s tenement, where Kairos is in advanced negotiations over mineral rights access.
The drilling aims to expand the resource along the Main Trend, which remains open at depth and along strike and to convert inferred resources to the higher-confidence indicated category.
Updated resource on way
An updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) is scheduled for later in 2025, forming a key input into the ongoing PFS.
The Main Trend resource has grown significantly since Kairos acquired Mt York in 2016, increasing from 123,000 ounces to 1.39Moz at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade.
Recent transactions with Pilbara Minerals have secured Kairos additional strategic ground, including a 1,500-metre north-west extension of the mineralised stratigraphy.
In parallel with the Main Trend drilling, Kairos is advancing regional exploration, including soil sampling programs at the Gilt Dragon prospect, three kilometres southeast of the Main Trend.
Soil assays have outlined multiple zones of coincident gold and arsenic anomalism over an area of 500 metres by 750 metres, highlighting potential for additional satellite gold mineralisation to support future development.
Kairos has planned around 1,400 metres of drilling at Gilt Dragon, following historic results including 13 metres at 1.31 g/t gold, alongside exploration for Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS)-style base metal mineralisation identified through copper, lead, and zinc soil anomalies.
In the longer term, Stage 2 drilling, anticipated to commence in late 2025 or early 2026, will aim to grow resources further and facilitate resource-to-reserve conversion for Mt York’s development planning. Environmental studies and detailed metallurgical work will also continue to support the advancement of the PFS.
Kairos is fully funded to complete its drilling activities and associated technical studies, which gives the company the firepower to capitalise on the resource growth potential at Mt York, one of the Pilbara’s largest undeveloped gold projects.
“Our negotiations with PLS are continuing. Subject to agreeing terms for a mineral rights agreement we intend to bring this prospect on-stream,” said Turner.
“We hope to announce the signing of the mineral rights agreement in due course, and for our rigs to move onto this large, prospective gold target.
“The technical assessment that Mt York is a large gold system that has not been fully drill tested, is an enviable scenario to deliver true value to shareholders as we plan to drill this gold deposit along its entire length, using our cash reserves.
“Six diamond drill holes have already been completed at Mt York in what is the largest drill program in the company’s history and underpins our belief in the project to yield one of the Pilbara’s (and Western Australia’s) largest undeveloped gold resources with clean metallurgy.
“To top it off, Kairos is fully funded through to completion of a PFS.”