OzAurum Resources Ltd (ASX:OZM) is looking ahead to an exciting few years in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, with its two advanced gold projects, Mulgabbie and Patricia, expected to deliver a consistent stream of promising drill results.
OzAurum joined the ASX in February this year after raising $12 million in its fully subscribed initial public offering after a three-decade-long journey to procure gold prospects in WA.
And it is now making progress at a rapid clip - on September 23 the company announced high-grade gold results from its maiden 28-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Patricia project, and a day later said it had defined new zones of mineralisation at Mulgabbie.
Promise for shareholders
In his chairman’s report, Jeff Williams told OzAurum shareholders they could expect consistent newsflow in the coming months and years.
“I am pleased to report that OzAurum has executed on all key operational objectives set in 2021, and within management’s control, to progress our strategy of finding Australia’s next significant gold discovery,” he said.
“In the past few months, drilling has not only produced high-grade gold results but has unearthed additional significant gold mineralisation.
“We have also made strategic acquisitions at both projects, providing us with even greater exploration opportunities over the project area.
“While neighbouring properties hint at the enormous potential of our projects, including Northern Star’s Carosue Dam gold corridor just two kilometres from our tenure, we still have a lot of work to define and understand the geology of the mineralisation discovered to date.
“With $7.6 million in the bank, we remain well funded to continue our expansive exploration efforts at both the Mulgabbie and Patricia projects, and we look forward to continuing to update our shareholders with exciting drilling results over the course of the next financial year and beyond - we look forward to continued success as we further prove up their potential.”
Mulgabbie project
Since listing, OzAurum has embarked on a large-scale aircore and RC drilling campaign and has so far completed an impressive 65,000 metres of drilling at Mulgabbie, its flagship project, defining widespread zones of gold mineralisation.
The company has since announced an additional 10,000-metre RC drilling campaign at the project to further test these gold anomalies.
Mulgabbie North contains exploration vectors typical of large deposits in the Carosue Dam area.
A total of 58 holes for 10,247 metres have been drilled at Mulgabbie and RC drilling has delivered strong results extending gold mineralisation at the Ben and James prospects, as well as defining a new zone of mineralisation to the west of the project – further highlighting the potential of Mulgabbie.
The Alicia prospect has particularly excited the company, with recent results highlighted by new, wide zones of gold mineralisation, including RC intersections of:
- 33 metres at 1.24 g/t gold from 93 metres, including 8 metres at 3.29 g/t;
- 23 metres at 0.92 g/t from 89 metres; and
- 6 metres at 1.45 g/t from 83 metres.
Gold mineralisation is open along strike and at depth and extends over 80 metres of strike along the Relief Shear.
The results confirmed the magnitude and continuity of mineralisation over the Relief Shear, including potential for mineralisation at the Alicia Prospect to link with previously intersected gold mineralisation at Ben Prospect also along the Relief Shear, 1 kilometre to the north.
OzAurum CEO Andrew Pumphrey said additional RC drilling was due to commence in the coming weeks to further test this exciting target at Alicia prospect.
“It also coincides with a large zone of demagnetisation and a coincident gravity low trough extending through the Mulgabbie North project,” he said.
“Aircore drilling will also commence later this month to test the 1-kilometre gap in drilling between the Alicia and Ben prospects along the Relief Shear.
“This is an exciting time for OzAurum, and we believe we are on the right path to making a significant gold discovery.”
A 12,000-metre AC drill program was planned to commence on September 28 to test the drilling gap between the Alicia and Ben prospects, with a potential future resource to be estimated with confidence at Mulgabbie North.
Patricia project
Since listing OzAurum also started a maiden 28-hole RC drilling program at its advanced Patricia Gold Project, 40 kilometres northeast of Mulgabbie, targeting high-grade gold mineralisation.
Granted tenement of 1.1 square kilometres plus surrounding application for 2.6 square kilometres.
That maiden drill program is now complete and an additional 13 holes have been drilled for a total of 41 holes for 7,850 metres.
RC results that intersected gold mineralisation included:
- 5 metres at 37.11 g/t gold from 154 metres;
- 1-metre at 90.40 g/t from 156 metres within 5 metres at 37.11 g/t;
- 1-metre at 63.60 g/t from 155 metres within 5 metres at 37.11 g/t;
- 1-metre at 16.00 g/t from 154 metres within 5 metres at 37.11 g/t;
- 1-metre at 13.25 g/t from 157 metres within 5 metres at 37.11 g/t;
- 5 metres at 11.74 g/t from 151 metres;
- 1-metre at 31.10 g/t from 154 metres within 5 metres at 11.74 g/t;
- 1-metre at 10.80 g/t from 151 metres within 5 metres at 11.74 g/t; and
- 1-metre at 7.42 g/t from 191 metres within 5 metres at 3.19 g/t.
“These exceptional RC drill results from Patricia, including intersecting 5 metres at 37.11 g/t gold, extend the initial high-grade gold results intersected at the project thus far,” Pumphrey said.
“These results are consistent with the average grade mined historically from underground of 41 g/t gold at Patricia.
“We are very much looking forward to continuing to explore this project with future diamond drilling planned at Patricia.”
Previous RC drilling and future diamond drilling are hoped to give OzAurum the ability to declare a maiden mineral resource estimate at Patricia as well.
The journey to the ASX
Williams described OzAurum’s journey to the point of exploration at Mulgabbie and Patricia as a “story of persistence”.
“Andrew Pumphrey began securing tenements at Mulgabbie, Western Australia, from as early as 1990,” Williams said.
“Over a 30-year period, Mr Pumphrey, together with his associates, compiled a portfolio of tenements that comprise the Mulgabbie project and Patricia project.”
- Daniel Paproth