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With the gold price hitting impressive peaks in recent weeks, perhaps it’s not surprising that explorers chasing the precious metal would be releasing a flurry of results.
However, it’s undeniable that the market was pleased with Spartan Minerals Ltd’s news (ASX: SPR) that it had found a high-grade gold lode close to its Never Never deposit in Western Australia, with intercepts hitting above 27 grams per tonne.
Spartan’s shares rose 11.739 percent on news of the discovery – dubbed the Pepper prospect – where drilling has picked up results including 17.52 metres at 15.86 grams per tonne of gold from 522.0 metres, including 9.22 metres at 27.89 grams per tonne.
The company was drilling immediately south of its Never Never Gold Deposit, which carries a mineral resource of 952,000 ounces at an average grade of 5.74 grams per tonne, and which is part of the wider Dalgaranga Gold Project in WA’s Murchison region.
Never Never – discovered two years ago – is located only one kilometre from a 2.5 million tonne per annum carbon-in-leach processing facility and the main open pit at Dalgaranga, which has been on ‘care and maintenance’ since November 2022.
Spartan is now progressing drilling work to define the Pepper prospect, and its managing director and CEO Simon Lawson, said it was exciting to find a target appearing to host similar mineralisation to that of Never Never.
“The discovery of the new high-grade Pepper Gold Prospect, located directly between Never Never and Four Pillars, is yet another game-changer for the Dalgaranga Gold Project,” he said.
“The core from the discovery hole DGRC1432-DT shows the same thick, heavily-altered volcaniclastic host-rock, orientation and mineralisation style as Never Never and the gold grades are consistent across the entire intercept and of an impressive tenor, to this point only seen elsewhere at Never Never.
“Importantly, the Pepper discovery sits along-strike and in the same volcaniclastic sequence as Never Never but appears to be in a separate steeply north-west plunging fold shoot of its own.”
Spartan has been trading at 64c.
