Australian Domination
Vox Royalty (CVE:VOX) has extended its first mover advantage in Australia by acquiring a portfolio of three Western Australian gold royalties for total cash consideration of A$325,000.
Once closed, this acquisition will mean that Vox has extended its holding of Australian royalties to 31, making it the second-largest holder of royalties in Australia, with royalty and streaming major Franco-Nevada Corporation (TSE:FNV) the only company to have a bigger Australian portfolio.
This transaction, which is expected to close in Q121, will be Vox's 19th in the past two years, giving the company an industry-leading acquisition rate.
This acquisition comprises a 1% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty over the Bulgera Gold Project operated by Norwest Mineral Ltd (ASX: NWM); a 1% NSR over the Comet Gold Project operated by Accelerate Resources Ltd (ASX: AX8); and a 1% NSR over the Mount Monger Gold Project, also operated by Accelerate Resources but subject to a binding option agreement with Mt Monger Minerals Pty Ltd.
During Q420, there were over 32,000 meters of partner-funded drilling on projects within Vox's portfolio demonstrating the large amount of activity taking place on these projects. This activity looks set to increase with this latest acquisition with almost 7,000 meters (m) of drilling underway or recently completed at two of the three projects and a follow-up drill programme planned
Vox's latest acquisition is a typical example of its strategy targeting royalties that have a low-execution and counterparty risk.
- Each of the deposits subject to a royalty is located in a near-surface environment and could potentially be mined as open pits with low-strip ratios
- Each of the deposits also has excellent infrastructure, including being located within trucking distance of an operational gold processing plant.
- Each of the projects is also of a scale that could be funded into production by a junior company
- Each of these projects is considered "core" to the operating or acquiring companies with two of the deposits being the flagship operations for the owners
Bulgera Gold Project 1% NSR
The Bulgera Gold Project is part of Marymia East Gold Project operated by Norwest Mineral Ltd (ASX: NWM), located 200km northeast of Meekatharra in the Plutonic Well Greenstone Belt, Western Australia (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Marymia East Gold Project
Source: Norwest Minerals
The project is made up of two exploration licenses: E52/3316 and E52/3276, which cover an area of 36.8km2. It contains four shallow open pits that were mined between 1996 and 1998, and again between 2003 and 2004. Mining from the Bulgera, Mercuri, Venus and Price open pits produced 23,398 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au).
The Bulgera gold trend is believed, by Norwest, to be the extension of the mafic-ultramafic mine sequence that contains Superior Gold Inc's (CVE: SGI) Plutonic Gold Mine (+5.5moz) and Vango Mining Ltd's (ASX:VAN)'s Marymia Gold Project (+1moz), where drilling has shown that gold mineralisation increases with depth.
Norwest’s Bulgera Project currently has a near-surface JORC 2012 Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 93,880 oz of gold at a grade of 1.0 g/t Au, but there has been minimal historical drilling below 100 m depth.
Norwest’s current drill programme is testing for extensions to known gold mineralisation by drilling greater than 150 m below the three existing shallow open pits. Results received to date intersected high-grade gold mineralisation over large intercepts, including:
- 5 m at a grade of 15 g/t gold from 194 m (BRC21001)
- 2 m at a grade of 7.1 g/t gold from 42 m (BRO20031)
- 16 m at a grade of 1.6 g/t gold from 84 m (BRC20032)
- 5 m at a grade of 2.3 g/t gold from 72 m (BRC20033)
- 1 m at a grade of 18 g/t gold from 90 m (BRC20034)
Gold assays for holes BRC21006 and BRC21007 are expected to be announced in mid-March, but the Norwest team has already commenced planning additional drill holes to test areas up and down dip and along strike of the new gold intercept with the drill rig due to return to the Bulgera Gold Project in late February 2021.
The Bulgera Gold Project benefits from significant levels of pre-existing infrastructure, including the large Plutonic Gold Processing Plant operating nearby, two gas-fired power stations, overhead transmission power lines, bore fields, an airstrip and camp facilities.
Figure 2 - Comet Gold Project
Source: Accelerate Resources
Comet Gold Project 1% NSR
The Comet Gold Project is owned by Accelerate Resources Ltd (ASX: AX8), and is located 115km south southwest of Meekatharra, in the Meekatharra - Mount Magnet Greenstone Belt, Western Australia (Figure 2).
The project is comprised of one exploration licence, E20/908, which covers an area of 37.2km2.
The project lies immediately to the north and along strike of Westgold Resources Limited's (ASX:WGX) Comet Gold Mine, but has had very little modern exploration carried out within the licence area.
Initial exploration during the mid-1990’s identified a mineralised gold trend in shallow drilling to the north of the Comet mine. This historic drilling returned a number of significant gold values over a 1.4km strike length.
A second zone of anomalous gold mineralisation determined from historic drilling lies approximately 1km to the east.
Comets' recently completed 27 holes (1,914 m) drill programme at the project was designed to infill and extend drill coverage with the aim of defining gold mineralisation that could be amenable to open-pit mining, results included:
- 6m at a grade of 2.29 g/t gold from 44 m (20CORC019)
- 9 m at a grade of 3.89 g/t gold from 3 m (20CORC002)
- 6 m at a grade of 1.11 g/t gold from 30 m (20CORC003)
- 6 m at a grade of 1.45 g/t gold from 50 m (20CORC024)
- 1 m at a grade of 4.74 g/t gold from 62 m (20CORC021)
- 3 m at a grade of 3.10 g/t gold from 13 m (20CORC022)
- 1 m at a grade of 4.96 g/t gold from 50 m (20CORC024)
These results demonstrate that higher-grade gold zones occur in quartz veined and sheared rocks at a well-defined sediment-basalt contact, confirming Accelerate's geological model and highlights the excellent continuity of the mineralised zone.
Accelerate intends to undertake a review of the current results with a view to developing the next phase of potential evaluation work at the Comet Gold Project.
Figure 3 - Mount Munger Gold Project
Source: Accelerate Resources
Mount Monger Gold Project 1% NSR
The Mount Munger Gold Project is located 43km east of Kambalda in the Eastern Goldfields Province of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (Figure 3).
The project is currently subject to a binding option agreement, whereby upon exercise of the option, Mt Monger Minerals Pty Ltd will acquire 100% of the project from Accelerate Resources for total consideration of A$170,000.
The project is comprised of two exploration licneces, E25/525 and E25/565.
Previous exploration at the project discovered gold mineralisation at the Kiaki Soaks Gold Prospect, over a c. 2,500m north-south trending zone, within a section of the Bare Hill Shear Zone.
Within the central 300m section of the main target zone, several gold intersections were noted in the historical drilling.
The project is adjacent to excellent infrastructure and it is located just 8km east from Silver Lake Resources Ltd's (ASX:SLR) operating 1.2 Mtpa Randalls Gold Mill. Access is via the all-weather Mt Monger Road.