Pilbara Gold Ltd (ASX:PGL) earlier this week outlined the progress being made at its flagship Mt York Gold Project in Western Australia's Pilbara region, where the company is undertaking the largest drilling campaign in its history.
Speaking with Proactive, managing director Dr Peter Turner said the company had completed more than 5,600 metres of drilling and was advancing a planned 50,000-metre campaign aimed at expanding and upgrading the existing 2.1-million-ounce gold resource.
Turner said three drilling rigs were currently operating at Mt York, with two additional rigs expected to join the program in coming weeks. According to Turner, the company believes the deposit continues to demonstrate strong growth potential.
He noted that "every time we drill this deposit, it gets bigger", reflecting management's confidence that further drilling could increase the current resource base.
Mt York remains the clear focus for Pilbara Gold following the company's recent rebranding from Kairos Minerals. Turner explained that the name change was intended to align the corporate identity more closely with the company's primary asset and strategic direction.
A key catalyst for investors will be the ongoing drilling campaign, which is targeting both resource growth and resource conversion. Turner said the company is working to convert inferred resources into indicated resources ahead of a maiden reserve estimate as part of the next stage of project development.
Another important catalyst is the completion of a pre-feasibility study, which management is targeting for the first half of next year. Turner indicated the company is seeking to accelerate the timeline where possible.
The scale of the Mt York system also continues to attract attention. Turner said the mineralised trend extends approximately 4.2 kilometres and remains open in several areas. Drilling has reached depths of up to 350 metres in some zones, while other areas have only been tested to around 100 metres.
Beyond Mt York itself, Pilbara Gold is also evaluating additional exploration opportunities across its broader landholding. Turner said the company plans to undertake airborne geophysical surveys designed to identify potential new gold targets beneath cover.
Turner identified three primary drivers of future value creation: making new discoveries, growing the existing resource base and advancing Mt York towards development.
With approximately $30 million in cash, Pilbara Gold appears well funded to execute its exploration and development plans, positioning the company for an active period of news flow over the coming months.
Interview highlights
- Pilbara Gold recently rebranded from Kairos Minerals to better reflect its focus on gold exploration in the Pilbara.
- More than 5,600 metres of drilling have been completed at the Mt York Gold Project.
- A 50,000-metre drilling campaign is underway, the largest in the company's history.
- Three diamond rigs are operating on site, with two additional reverse circulation rigs expected shortly.
- Mt York currently hosts a 2.1-million-ounce gold resource.
- The company aims to expand the resource and upgrade confidence levels through infill and extension drilling.
- Mt York's mineralised system extends over 4.2 kilometres.
- Drilling has reached depths of up to 350 metres in some areas, with several zones remaining lightly tested.
- A pre-feasibility study is targeted for completion in the first half of next year.
- Pilbara Gold is pursuing three value drivers: new discoveries, resource growth and project development.
- The company holds approximately $30 million in cash.
- Management expects a steady stream of exploration and development news over coming months.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. Ladies and gentlemen, once again I'm your host Kerry Stevenson. I've asked Dr Peter Turner, who you may know from Kairos Minerals. The company is now Pilbara Gold, ASX:PGL. Congratulations. The Mt York Gold Project hosts 2.1 million ounces of gold. There's a lot of drilling underway and a lot of news flow. Bring us up to date.
Dr Peter Turner: Thanks, Kerry. Pilbara Gold it is. We changed the name to better reflect exactly what the company does. We're focused on gold and we're located in the Pilbara.
Since we last spoke, we've been extremely active. We've completed close to 6,000 metres of drilling since around April. We currently have three rigs on site and expect another two rigs to join this month. We're focused on drilling out the main Mt York deposit and extending mineralisation.
This year our objective is to grow the 2.1-million-ounce resource. Every time we drill this deposit it gets bigger, and we believe that will continue. We have more than 50,000 metres of drilling planned this year on this single asset because we see immediate growth opportunities beyond the current resource.
We're moving the project closer to development and building the team required to achieve that.
Proactive: Talk to me about the development side of Mt York. How deep have you drilled? Is it an open-pit operation and how quickly can it move towards production?
Dr Peter Turner: The 2024 scoping study provided a strong foundation for the pre-feasibility study. We're targeting completion of the pre-feasibility study in the first half of next year, and ideally during the first quarter.
There is still significant drilling to complete because we're converting inferred resources into indicated resources ahead of a maiden reserve estimate. Most of the required data collection should be completed this year. That's one reason we'll have five rigs operating on site.
The drilling demonstrates the project's scale and growth potential, but we also need to complete studies to clearly demonstrate the asset's value.
Proactive: How deep have you drilled, and is the system still open at depth?
Dr Peter Turner: Yes. The mineralised system extends for 4.2 kilometres. For perspective, the Kalgoorlie Golden Mile is about 3.7 kilometres long.
We've drilled different areas to depths of roughly 300 to 350 metres. In some areas where we intersected interesting mineralisation late last year, we've only drilled to around 100 metres. We know the mineralisation is consistent across the strike length.
There are very few areas where you won't find gold. The geology team remains excited by what they're seeing in the core, and we're looking forward to receiving further assay results.
Proactive: The project is large and development takes time. How do you continue creating value for shareholders?
Dr Peter Turner: Shareholders want to see progress and news flow. Every step we're taking is aimed at moving the project forward.
There are three key ways to create value. First is making a new discovery. We recently announced additional ground around Mt York and plan to conduct an airborne survey that we hope will provide a direct targeting tool for buried gold systems.
Second is growing the resource. The market understands the value of increasing resource ounces, and every drilling campaign has added ounces to the project.
Third is advancing the project towards development. We're actively pursuing all three strategies right now.
We are extremely active, there is strong news flow coming, and we believe the company is one to watch.
Proactive: Do you need to raise additional capital to fund all of this work?
Dr Peter Turner: We currently have around $30 million in the bank, which provides substantial flexibility. We remain disciplined about deploying capital into activities that can generate shareholder value.
We've grown from a much smaller company to one with a market capitalisation of around $130 million to $140 million. However, our vision extends well beyond that. We believe we have a strong growth strategy and are focused on delivering further value.
Proactive: Thank you for the update. Pilbara Gold is drilling to add ounces while also pursuing exploration upside and potential new discoveries. The company trades as ASX:PGL. Thanks for joining us.
Dr Peter Turner: Thanks, Kerry.
