Mawson Resources Limited (TSE:MAW) (OTCPINK:MWSNF) has revealed it will kick off geophysics at its Redcastle gold project in the historic gold fields of Victoria, Australia this month followed by diamond drilling in late August or early September.
Earlier this year, the Finland-focused firm struck a deal giving it access to three high-grade, Fosterville-style (shallow-orogenic or epizonal) exploration projects at Redcastle with numerous historic mines, that lacked drill testing to depth.
READ: Mawson Resources back on the ground to explore at its Finnish and Australian projects
Mawson secured the right to earn 70% at Redcastle by spending A$1 million over the next five years. Redcastle has never been drill tested beneath any of the historic high-grade mining areas and has 17 kilometres of combined high-grade vein strike untested below the water table, the company said.
Modern drilling has focused only on shallow, previously mined surface workings, while the average drill hole depth is 38 metres.
Redcastle, like the Fosterville and Costerfield mines, as well as Mawson's 100%-owned Sunday Creek project, contain epizonal styles of mineralization, Mike Hudson, the group's CEO told investors in a statement.
"During the last half of the 1800s, Redcastle produced at astonishingly high grades from multiple arrays of thin quartz-stibnite vein," he said.
Hudson gave the example of Clarke's Reef belonging to the Welcome Group of mines in the area, which exploited 60.9 tonnes of quartz for 969 ounces at 446 grams per ton (g/t) gold within a year of its discovery in 1860, and went on to produce 20,583 ounces at 254.6 g/t gold in the six years between 1859 and 1865.
"These high-grade mines were mined to an average depth of only 50 metres (with no mine deeper than 125 metres) due mainly to the lack of pumping technology required to mine below the water table," he said.
"As a result, mine records indicate that high-grade gold was "left underfoot" in most mines, due to groundwater inflow exceeding pumping technology of the day to facilitate mining deeper."
The CEO added: "We are extremely excited to be the first group in 120 years to test the high-grade search space below the visible gold in quartz veins exploited by the old-timers."
The company has the option to earn an up to 70% joint venture interest in the Redcastle project from Australia-listed Nagambie Resources (ASX:NAG). It must spend A$100,000 in the first year on exploration and a further A$150,000 in the second year to earn 25%. then there is an additional A$250,000 in the third year to earn 50% and an additional A$500,000 by year five to earn 70%.
Shares perked up 5.41% in Toronto to stand at C$0.39 each.
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