Great Southern Mining Ltd (ASX:GSN) has the reverse circulation (RC) drill turning at Mon Ami Gold Project as part of a 5,400-metre program across the company’s Laverton region gold projects in Western Australia.
Through the drilling, the company is targeting near-surface, high-grade mineralisation to improve the open pit development potential as well as a deeper high-grade target analogous to the nearby Ida H high-grade underground mine.
After completing the Mon Ami program, from which first assays are expected from next month, the company will move the drill rig to the Cox’s Find project.
To support resource upgrade
GSN chief executive officer Sean Gregory said: “We are now back drilling our Laverton gold projects after a short Christmas break.
“The drilling at Mon Ami is expected to support an upgrade to the existing mineral resource in the first half of 2021 as part of the potential development pathway identified.
“A gold mine at Mon Ami could be a useful source of cash for GSN to fund our aggressive exploration plans at depth at Mon Ami, Cox’s Find and in North Queensland.”
Drilling objectives
This drilling program at Mon Ami has two main objectives - to define and extend near-surface, high-grade gold mineralisation for incorporation into a targeted resource upgrade and to test for possible depth extensions.
Drill results reported previously included several near-surface high-grade hits such as 11 metres at 7.9 g/t gold from 26 metres including 4 metres at 15.9g/t, and 4 metres at 12.4 g/t from 80 metres.
Interpretation of the results has identified opportunities to extend these high-grade zones with shallow RC drilling, which is targeted to further improve the economics of a potential open pit development.
Mon Ami has an inferred resource of 1.1 million tonnes at 1.7 g/t for 59,000 ounces of gold and favourable metallurgical recoveries averaging 95% in oxide and transitional mineralisation.
GSN will also test for possible depth extensions analogous to the 176,000 ounces at 22.8 g/t gold Ida H deposit 14 kilometres to the north of Mon Ami along the same regional shear zone.
Historically the Laverton Goldfield has produced more than 25 million ounces of gold.
Next steps
In December 2020, nine RC holes for 1,393 metres were drilled at Cox’s Find and assay results are pending.
A further 15 RC holes are planned to be drilled at Cox’s Find later in January 2021 to continue testing the targets identified.
Upon completion of the current Mon Ami drilling, the drill rig is planned to immediately return to Cox’s Find to complete the committed drilling.
GSN plans to complete a resource upgrade for Mon Ami in the first half of 2021 and continues to progress the other necessary technical and environmental studies to facilitate a mining approval in 2021 that contemplates processing at one of several nearby mills.
