Kingwest Resources Ltd's (ASX:KWR) high-grade results from extensional and infill drilling at the Menzies Gold Project (MGP) in Western Australia demonstrate the potential for proving up future underground resources.
High-grade intersections include:
- 4 metres at 7.7 g/t gold from 124 metres;
- 3 metres at 13 g/t from 121 metres;
- 6 metres at 5.6 g/t from 108 metres; and
- 2 metres at 7.5 g/t from 49 metres.
None of the latest drill results were included in the March mineral resource estimates which outlined a total of 446,200 ounces at 1.26 g/t gold at the MGP.
Results provide “great confidence”
Chief executive officer Ed Turner said: “These high-grade results, including hits outside of the scoping study optimised open pit shells, give us great confidence that high-grade underground resources can and will be proven up with additional deeper drilling.
“When additional drilling is integrated into future re-optimised pits there’s also a good chance of the pits being extended at depth and along strike.”
Potential to re-optimise open pits
Drill holes KWR238 (4 metres at 7.7 g/t) and KWR239 (3 metres at 13 g/t) are higher in grades than the proximal estimated resource block grades which precede these results.
Kingwest believes future updated resource estimates should therefore increase in grade as well as size.
The new intersections are well below the scoping study optimised pit shells and prove the potential for proving up future underground resources that can be accessed upon the completion of open pit mining.
They also indicate the potential that re-optimisation of the open pits with additional drilling into the gap between Pericles and Lady Shenton resources will result in larger open pits and possibly the joining of the two open pits which will result in significant cost savings during the mining operations.
Single metre resplit assays pending
Hole KWR272 that returned 6 metres at 5.6 g/t gold from 108 metres is only the second hole drilled by Kingwest into the Big Babe Lode, which is the easternmost Lady Shenton lode.
It is also below the current optimised open pit and along with other significant intersections in KWR232 and KWR236 below the optimised pit indicate the potential for a larger re-optimised pit following additional drilling.
Assays are still pending for single metre resplits in KWR230, 231, 238, 242-256, 260, 261, 263-270, 272.