Karora Resources Inc has told investors that the Larkin zone at the Beta Hunt mine has been extended to over 1 kilometre and that a maiden resource will be included in the 2021 group resource update, which is expected early next year, as the company updated on exploration at the Australian project.
Infill and step-out holes have extended the new Larkin zone, which was only discovered a year ago, with assays including 9.4 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 11 metres (m) in one hole and 20.5 g/t over 3.5m in another, said the miner.
"This rapid strike and depth expansion follows the drilling success reported earlier this year which previously extended Larkin over a strike of 650 metres and up to 120 metres down dip. Importantly, the Larkin zone remains open for further extension both along strike and at depth," said Paul Huet, CEO of Karora. "Overall, drilling results at Beta Hunt continue to deliver robust, continuous extensions to our major mineralized shear zones which positions us well for our 2021 Reserve and Resource update."
READ: Karora Resources says it is among the world's first carbon-neutral gold mining companies
"I am particularly pleased that our team was able to complete the initial phase of our aggressive Larkin drill program, overcoming the well-known challenges with respect to the tight labour market and COVID-19 related restrictions in Western Australia, both of which have significantly increased assay turn around times at third party labs," Huet added.
Drilling to date at Beta Hunt has focused on extending and upgrading the Western Flanks, A Zone and Larkin Zone, while nickel drilling was directed at following up the 50C Gamma Zone discovery of 11.6% nickel over 4.6 metres, reported in April this year, and infilling the 30C mineral resource.
At Western Flanks North and South, infill drilling aimed at upgrading and supporting the Western Flanks resource model returned solid intercepts, including 5.1 g/t over 10.7m, the company said.
Meanwhile, initial extensional drill results from surface in the A Zone North zone confirmed the presence of gold mineralization 300m from the margin of the existing resource with a result of 4.7 g/t over 2m. Planning for additional drilling to test the continuity of this mineralization is underway.
"On the nickel front, drilling is underway at the 50C Nickel Trough discovery where we previously reported strong initial results, including 11.6% Ni over 4.6 metres, including 18.4% Ni over 2.2 metres," Huet noted.
Karora aims to double gold production to 200,000 ounces by 2024 compared to 2020 and reduce costs at its integrated Beta Hunt Gold Mine and Higginsville Gold Operations (HGO).
Higginsville is a low-cost 1.6 Mtpa processing plant, expanding to a planned 2.5 Mtpa by 2024, fed at capacity from Karora's underground Beta Hunt mine and Higginsville mines.
At Beta Hunt, Karora said a robust resource and reserve is hosted in multiple gold shears, with gold intersections along a 4km strike length remaining open in multiple directions, while HGO has a substantial gold resource and reserve and prospective land package totaling around 1,800 square kilometres.
The firm also owns the high-grade Spargos Reward project which is anticipated to begin mining in 2021.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com