Classic Minerals Limited (ASX Code: CLZ) has revealed a maiden JORC Compliant, Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at its Kat Gap deposit in Western Australia of delivered 1Mt @ 3gpt Au for 93koz.
CEO, Dean Goodwin, said the results strengthen the case for near term commencement of mining operations at the company’s Forrestania Gold Project (FGP) to take advantage of historically high A$ gold prices.
It also grows the global Mineral Resource inventory for the FGP to 8.25 million tonnes grading 1.52gpt Au for 404,000 ounces across all projects.
Mr Goodwin said the maiden resource was primarily calculated to pave the way for the application of a mining lease over the Kat Gap deposit area.
Scoping studies, metallurgical testwork and optimisation work on possible open pit scenarios are currently underway potentially underpinning the economics for near term mining operations.
Building on gold exploration efforts in the area since the 1990’s, Classic Minerals commenced an ongoing programme of RC and diamond drilling in April 2018. This maiden JORC Compliant Mineral Resource is the culmination of several work programmes since this time. The resource estimate utilises only recent Classic data, omitting the historic information and concentrating on a well drilled, circa 500m zone centred on 6372200N – a zone of strong mineralisation cut by a prominent Proterozoic dolerite dyke.
Mr Goodwin said that while the dyke is mostly barren in terms of gold mineralisation, there is evidence of localized remobilization and concentration proximal to its contacts with the Kat Gap lode.
Mineralisation has been modelled to around 150m below surface and is typically 3m to 4m wide. No prior mining has occurred at the project.
Mr Goodwin said classic’s proposed future activities will be focused on the growth of Mineral Resource inventories at the Kat Gap deposit and the advancement of studies and approvals required to transition to gold producer status.