Graphite Energy Corp (CSE:AUGF) (OTCMKTS:GRXXF) has been reactivated on the Canadian Securities Exchange with a name change to Australian Goldfields Limited, better reflecting the direction of the business.
The move follows completion of the Pilbara Gold District Land Package in Western Australia initially announced in June 2020, which comprises seven tenements in five districts in the Beatons River area in the Pilbara region.
Australian Goldfields projects are in proximity to other major players in the region and, in particular, C$767 million market cap Novo Resources Corp's (TSE:NVO) (OTCMKTS:NSRPF) Beatons Creek Gold Deposit.
Five underexplored projects
This acquisition comprises five underexplored projects including Beatons River, Cuprite West and East, Tyche, Fortuna and Nortia.
Within the Cuprite West and East Project are extensive high-grade rock chips up to 57.5 g/t gold and shallow drill intersections of up to 4 metres at 2.9 g/t from 8 metres.
The Tyche, Fortuna and Nortia projects are under-explored yet have geological structures that are highly prospective for gold mineralisation.
Australian Goldfield’s geology team will begin evaluating the projects in more depth after an inaugural site visit and then formulate a comprehensive exploration and priority development program.
High-profile gold discoveries
The Pilbara has a history of significant iron ore production; however, more recent high-profile gold discoveries have focused new attention on the region.
Notably, recent geological analysis of key gold discoveries is drawing a comparison to the Witwatersrand gold reef in South Africa, a major gold-producing area.
The Pilbara region has highly developed supportive mining infrastructure, with excellent transport networks to key ports.
Beatons River Project
Beaton’s River totals 335 square kilometres and is contiguous to Novo’s Beatons Creek deposit, which hosts 903,000 ounces of gold grading 2.53 g/t.
Novo’s deposit is hosted within gold-bearing conglomerates of the Hardey Formation that outcrop on the eastern edge of a Fortescue Group Plateau which accumulated in the Nullagine sub-basin.
The Western Australia Geological Survey has mapped the area and interpreted that the Hardey Formation extends onto the Australian Goldfields tenements 2 kilometres north of the Beatons Creek deposit.
The project’s target is gold-bearing conglomerates within the Hardey Sandstone Formation, part of the Fortescue Group, a sequence of sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
Australian Goldfield’s first stage of exploration will comprise mapping and outcrop sampling.
Cuprite West and East
Cuprite West and East Project comprises two tenements (around 109 square kilometres) around 50 kilometres northwest of Marble Bar that are deemed highly prospective for gold and base metal mineralisation.
The company believes this project has the potential to host epigenetic gold and syngenetic massive sulphide mineralisation.
Tyche and Fortuna
The Tyche Project sits over the two stratigraphic units of the Fortescue Group which comprise the Hardey and Kylena formations.
The Hardey Formation, which has been mapped across 90% of the tenure area, is typically linked with gold mineralisation.
Meanwhile, within the Fortuna Project, the Hardey Formation is present across 22% of the tenure, which is the first priority target.
Nortia Project
For the Nortia Project shear-hosted gold mineralisation is the target as the tenure contains ancient greenstone and granite assemblages, intersected by multiple faults and shears.