Well-funded mid-tier gold developer and explorer Gold Road Resources believes there is significant scope to discover further multi-million-ounce deposits at the South Yamarna project, 200 kilometres east of Laverton in Western Australia.
Earlier this month, Gold Road – which has been nominated for the 2018 Craig Oliver award at the RIU Explorers Conference to be held in Fremantle next week – acquired 100% of South Yamarna after purchasing Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania ‘s 50 % stake in the South Yamarna for A$7 million in cash.
The deal consolidates Gold Road’s ownership over the Yamarna Belt, where it already owns 100% of the north Yamarna project and 50% of the Gruyere deposit.
The ASX-listed gold play is now pouring A$23 million into exploration over the course of 2018 across both North and South Yamarna project and Gruyere joint venture.
Gold Road established the South Yamanra JV with Sumitomo back in 2013 and since then has discovered the 6.2-million-ounce Gruyere gold deposit, which will be producing gold and cash flows from 2019.
The company’s exploration activities at South Yamarna includes geological modelling of highest ranked targets, assessing bedrock targets for follow-up drilling and planning aircore programs in untested prospects.
Framework drilling will also take place on several smaller deposits that didn’t meet size criteria set by the JV.
Positive results could see rapid progress to infill and extensional programs targeting new gold resources.
The Company holds interests in tenements covering approximately 6,000 square kilometres in the region, which is historically underexplored and highly prospective for gold mineralisation.
The Yamarna leases contain a gold resource of 6.8 million ounces, including 6.2 million ounces at the Gruyere deposit.
Gold Road will be presenting at the RIU Explorers Conference to be held in Fremantle on Thursday 22 February.
The event – which has always begun the resource conference year – will feature presentations from 58 resource companies exploring and/or mining for commodities ranging from precious metals (gold and silver), base metals (copper, nickel and zinc) through to the in-vogue energy metals (cobalt and lithium).
On Wednesday 21st February at 9:20am, the Craig Oliver award will be presented. The award is presented annually to an ‘all round’, small-to-mid cap Australian mining company which has excelled in areas including exploration, mining, corporate, market results, environmental and community over the past 12 months.
The award is in memory of Craig Oliver who passed away on Saturday 16 June 2010 when the Sundance Resources plane he was on tragically crashed in the Congo with the loss of all people on board.
Mr Oliver made a lasting contribution to Australia’s mining sector over the course of his 20-year career.