Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) earlier this week confirmed the presence of high-grade gold mineralisation at the Idenburg Project in Indonesia, following the release of promising drilling results from the North Idenburg prospect.
The company said the discovery has the potential to become a large-scale, low-cost, open-pit gold operation. Managing Director Shane Menere told Proactive that early drilling had already identified key structural and grade characteristics.
At North Idenburg, the company reported grades of up to 15 grams per tonne, including an intercept of 4.9 grams per tonne over five metres. Far East Gold highlighted that the zone extends over 300 metres of strike and 400 metres of dip and contains strong shearing and sulphide mineralisation.
It said the geometry of the zone is a significant factor. Unlike other deposits, North Idenburg features a broad, near-horizontal mineralised plain. The company explained this is favourable for open-pit development, offering advantages such as low strip ratio, efficient material movement and reduced capital requirements.
Menere said: “We’ve just uncovered something at North Idenburg that could change the scale of the Idenburg project altogether.”
Far East Gold confirmed that a 350-metre step-out program to the south is underway to test the extension of the shear zone. It also noted that drilling has commenced at Sua, which already contains nearly 300,000 ounces of gold.
In addition, the company is targeting a further anomaly in the region, which it described as potentially larger than Sua. The company stated that it had $9 million in cash as of the last quarterly report and is fully funded to continue its planned programs.
Far East Gold said this phase marks a key turning point for the project and expects regular exploration updates as programs continue.
Proactive:
Far East Gold confirmed the presence of high-grade gold at the Idenburg Project in Indonesia. The company’s Managing Director, Shane Menere, joins me now with the full rundown on this discovery. Shane, it's good to see you live out of Jakarta. How are you?
Shane Menere:
I'm very well, thank you for that. We’ve got some nice things to say.
Proactive:
Some great things to say. And based on your results from North Idenburg, there’s been a lot of talk — your share price is up nearly 4% at the time of this recording. In simple terms, for those just learning about this, what have you actually found?
Shane Menere:
This is a really exciting step forward for Far East Gold. What we’ve identified at North Idenburg has the potential to become a large-scale, low-cost, open-pit gold operation. With just seven holes previously, we defined 220,000 ounces of gold at Idenburg. Now at North Idenburg, we’re seeing the same style of mineralisation — slightly higher grades, up to 15 grams per tonne.
We’ve seen results like 4.9 grams per tonne of gold over five metres. These zones feature strong shearing and sulphides, extending over 300 metres of strike with 400 metres of dip. It’s a structure that’s shallow, continuous, and strong — exactly what gets mining engineers excited.
Proactive:
Why does that kind of structure matter so much when it comes to mining?
Shane Menere:
The key is geometry. What we have is a broad, near-horizontal mineralised plain. Unlike other areas we’ve explored, this geometry is ideal for open-pit mining — which is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than underground. You can keep the strip ratio very low, move material easily, and scale it up without huge capital costs. This kind of geometry can turn a discovery into a real operation.
Proactive:
This has definitely put Idenburg back in the spotlight. A lot of investors seem to be responding well. Where does the project go from here, and how big could this become?
Shane Menere:
We’re off to the races now. The early part of the year was about getting logistics right — all those obstacles are now removed. We're producing results. We've got $7 million committed to spend, and we’re stepping out another 350 metres to the south to test the shear zone extension.
Drilling is also underway at Sua, which has nearly 300,000 ounces. And we’re targeting another anomaly that could be even bigger than Sua. We had $9 million in the bank as of the last quarterly, so we're well-funded to keep moving and exploring. With this kind of geology, we see real potential for a large-scale, open-pit mining operation at Idenburg.
This is very exciting for Far East Gold. We believe this is a turning point, and we’ll have plenty of news flow going forward.
Proactive:
We’ll certainly look forward to having you back to discuss all the latest out of Idenburg. This was Far East Gold Managing Director Shane Menere, live out of Jakarta. Thank you so much.
Shane Menere:
Thanks very much.