West Australian gold seeker Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) has seen the resource estimate at its Bluebird-South Junction project near Meekatharra leap 134 percent in contained ounces to 6.4 million tonnes at 3.1 grams per tonne.
In addition to this, a continuing program of infill drilling has picked up grades beyond ten grams per tonne at the project, with intercepts including 20.40 metres at 5.12 grams per tonne from 278.90 metres; 28.90 metres at 3.59 grams per tonne from 244.64 metres; and 10.45 metres at 3.80 grams per tonne from 788 metres and 3.98 metres at 10.80 grams per tonne from 894.49 metres.
Westgold managing director and CEO Wayne Bramwell said the company’s investment in drilling in order to grow its mine resources and make them more profitable was paying off.
“A half a million-ounce increase in the Mineral Resource at Bluebird – South Junction, post nine months of mining depletion is a solid return on investment and is a testament to the quality of this orebody,” he said.
“Early indications across Bluebird – South Junction show we have not defined the full extent of this mineralised system and that the “bolt-on” opportunity of South Junction is set to eclipse the current mining scale of our existing Bluebird underground.
“Mine expansion opportunities remain at depth, along-strike in either direction, and tantalisingly in the zone between the current drilling activity and the base of the South Junction open pit.”
Mr Bramwell added that converting the resource to an ore reserve was also a clear option ahead for Bluebird South Junction.
Westgold intends to set up an underground platform for diamond drilling to assess the upper reaches of the South Junction orebody during this quarter.
First discovered in 1989 by St Barbara Mines, South Junction was mined from the following year until the early 2000s, producing more than 400,000 ounces.
It lay dormant until Westgold Resources began development work at the nearby Bluebird deposit – itself subject to small scale underground and open pit mining, followed by larger scale open pit operations between 2000 and 2013, from which 600,000 ounces of gold were mined.
Westgold has been trading at $2.130c.