Rokeby Resources (ASX:RKB) has defined a maiden inferred JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 66,565 tonnes at 5.29 g/t gold for 11,337 ounces at the Powers Gully tailings deposit within its recently acquired Omeo Gold Project in northeast Victoria.
The resource forms part of a broader program targeting historical tailings and mullock deposits across the Cassilis and Mt Wills goldfields, alongside ongoing hard-rock exploration aimed at expanding Omeo's longer-term underground resource base.
Rokeby is continuing auger drilling and metallurgical test work at Powers Gully, with further programs planned across the Wardens Mine, Maude and Yellow Girl tailings deposits.
Pilot plant decision targeted within two months
The company expects the work to provide the technical information required to make an investment decision within two months on engineering and constructing a pilot plant initially focused on processing historical tailings.
Further drilling and metallurgical studies at Powers Gully are designed to increase confidence in the maiden inferred resource and build on work completed by previous owners.
Results from the wider program are expected to help expand Omeo's resource inventory and assess the potential for an early-stage production pathway.
Managing director Richard Beazley described the maiden estimate as an important step towards upgrading the historical tailings resource and potentially supporting early production.
“The work we are committing to today will allow us to build quickly on the past actions and get us to an investment decision within two months to engineer and construct a pilot plant to initially process tailings,” Beazley said.
Hard-rock drilling continues at Mt Wills
The tailings work is progressing concurrently with diamond drilling at the Sunnyside deposit in the Mt Wills area, where Rokeby remains focused on expanding the project's underground mineral resource.
The current drilling program is expected to be completed within four weeks, with the first update to the resource model targeted for September.
Rokeby views expansion of the underground hard-rock resource as central to its longer-term strategy of developing Omeo into a sustainable gold mining operation, while the historical tailings offer a potentially earlier development opportunity.
Environmental rehabilitation opportunity
The program also has an environmental component, with Rokeby receiving support from the Victorian Government as it examines the rehabilitation and removal of historical tailings deposits that have contributed to environmental impacts in regional waterways.
Beazley said collaboration with Resources Victoria could help address these historical mining legacies while advancing the company's broader development plans.
The combined tailings, metallurgical and hard-rock exploration programs are intended to progressively build Omeo's resource base while providing Rokeby with information on both near-term processing opportunities and the project's longer-term underground mining potential.