Riversgold Ltd has received approval for an expanded drilling program at its Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted Gold Project near Kalgoorlie, as the company pushes towards a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the potentially large-scale gold development.
The Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) approved Rivergold’s program of work (PoW), which PoW covers a further 200 drill holes at the project, the same day the company applied for it. A high-resolution drone magnetic survey is set to begin this week.
Planning for value add
Riversgold chairman David Lenigas said the expanded drill program and other planned value-adding activities are poised to move Northern Zone up the value chain.
“We also have metallurgy of the oxide mineralisation under way, as well as the mining lease application and application for a miscellaneous licence that allows connection of Northern Zone to toll treatment processing plants in the area.”
The company noted that its mining lease application is also advancing, with the Native Title advertising period scheduled to conclude by the end of May.
Riversgold has engaged Xirlatem, a Kalgoorlie-based structural consulting group, to review and relog four diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 500 metres. The work is intended to underpin the geological model that will inform the forthcoming MRE.
Building on local success stories
Lenigas noted that Riversgold is carefully studying comparable projects as it models Northern Zone’s potential. In particular, the company sees conceptual parallels with Saturn Metals’ Apollo Hill Gold Project, which hosts a 2.03-million-ounce resource.
Northern Zone Project Map showing proximity to the Kalgoorlie "Super Pit".
Despite being 175 kilometres to the north, Apollo Hill is seen as a potential benchmark for a large-scale, low-grade, heap leach-style operation – a development Riversgold believes could be achievable at Northern Zone.
The recent success of Black Cat Syndicate Ltd, which executed a turnkey funding, development and processing model for its Myhree/Boundary open pits 7 kilometres north of Northern Zone, also supports the feasibility of third-party processing solutions in the area.
Results from the earlier 32-hole, 1,805-metred drilling program at the Northern Zone included standout intersections such as:
- 10 metres at 8.89 g/t gold from 46 metres, including 1 metre at 77.96 g/t gold;
- 7 metres at 3.14 g/t from 47 metres, including 1 metre at 18.35 g/t gold;
- 5 metres at 1.26 g/t from 46 metres, including 2 metres at 2.74 g/t gold;
- 2 metres at 11.97 g/t from 34 metres;
- 1 metre at 6.98 g/t from 50 metres; and
- 12 metres at 0.80 g/t from 32 metres.
With multiple workstreams now converging – including exploration, metallurgy, resource modelling and permitting – Riversgold is aiming to deliver a significant gold project in one of Western Australia’s most infrastructure-rich mining hubs.