Stonewall Resources Ltd (ASX:SWJ) has the diamond drill bit spinning at its Theta Hill Gold Project in South Africa as it prepares to calculate a maiden open-cut resource.
Contractor OMT Exploration Drilling started the drilling this week with diamond tails to be completed on 20-25 holes and additional holes planned.
The program is expected to be completed by the end of April with assay results to start flowing from late March.
WATCH NOW: Stonewall Resources excited by open-cut potential at TGME gold project
A reverse circulation rig is continuing to test targets at Theta Hill, which is part of Stonewall’s broader TGME project in a world‐renowned South African gold mining region.
Results from the drilling programs will be used in planning for potential open-cut resource calculations and for feasibility work this year.
READ: Stonewall Resources discovers third open‐cut gold target in South Africa
An open-cut resource estimate at Theta Hill would be the company’s second at TGME after announcing a maiden open-cut resource at the Vaalhoek deposit last week.
This resource comprises 620,000 tonnes at 16.9 g/t gold for 335,000 ounces with 88% within the inferred category.
Stonewall’s delineation of open-cut resources at TGME is part of its Project Bentley initiative with Columbia Hill likely to be the third resource.
Cost advantages over other producers
The TGME assets include several surface and near‐surface high‐grade gold projects, which provide cost advantages relative to other gold producers in the region.
Stonewall’s targets within the TGME project near Pilgrim’s Rest.
TGME is near the historical gold mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest, in Mpumalanga Province, 370 kilometres east of Johannesburg by road.
Refurbishing CIL plant
Following small-scale production from 2011 to 2015, Stonewall is focusing on the refurbishment of an existing CIL plant and nearby mines with the intention of resuming gold production.
It aims to build a solid production platform to more than 100,000 ounces annually based primarily on shallow, adit‐entry hard rock mining sources.
The company has access to more than 43 historical mines and prospect areas that can be accessed and explored.