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- Siren Gold (SNG) has made significant progress at its key projects in New Zealand’s prolific Reefton Goldfield region, and the company is not slowing down any time soon
- Siren has been drilling non-stop in the area since listing on the ASX, with scoping studies soon to be delivered for two underground mines and a treatment plant in the area
- The company is now set to release a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Alexander River project by the end of April, with another 20,000 metres of drilling to follow this year
- The Reefton goldfield region has significant potential for gold mineralisation and is backed by industry moguls like billionaire Eric Sprott
- With its major landholding in the area and upcoming resource estimate, Siren’s Reefton tenements could offer investors exposure to the next major New Zealand gold resource
In the 18 months since it first listed on the ASX, Siren Gold (SNG) has made significant progress at its key projects in New Zealand’s prolific Reefton Goldfield region.
The company has been drilling non-stop in the area since listing, with scoping studies soon to be delivered for two underground mines and a treatment plant in the Reefton area.
Siren Gold is not slowing down any time soon, with a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Alexander project slated for release at the end of April and two diamond rigs drilling 24/7 in the project area to help inform this resource estimate.
Siren Chair Brian Rodan said the progress the company has made in New Zealand so far was “outstanding”, and with another 20,000 metres of drilling planned for this year, he believed things will just get better.
Reefton: A tried and tested mining district
The Reefton Goldfield, which lies along the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, was first discovered in the 1800s and has striking geological similarities to Australia’s Victorian Goldfields.
Mr Rodan said the geology at Reefton was particularly similar to Victoria’s 4.5-million-ounce Fosterville Gold Mine, which is owned by Agnico Eagle Mines following its $10 billion merger with former ASX-listed Kirkland Lake Gold.
“The mineralogy as Reefton and Fosterville would appear to be similar when you get to similar depths,” Mr Rodan said.
“As we drill deeper at Reefton, we’d like to expect significant enrichment in grades similar to the Fosterville region.”
However, despite the promising geology and mineralogy in the area, most underground mining along the Reefton goldfields ceased in the 1940s during World War II.
This means the region has never been explored with modern mining techniques.
As such, it’s not just Mr Rodan and Siren Gold that has noticed the potential in the area: Federation Mining is developing an underground mine nearby to Siren’s Big River and Alexander River projects, and Reefton Goldfields Incorporated — a mining entity partly owned by billionaire Eric Sprott — is also operating in the area.
Eric Sprott made his fortune by investing in the mining and metals industry, meaning his backing of the Reefton region speaks volumes to the gold potential of the area.
Siren Gold making the most of the region
Siren’s Technical Director and geologist Paul Angus said the company’s strategic landholding in the area was littered with high-grade targets.
“Very rarely do you see mineralised free gold sitting on the surface,” Mr Angus said.
“At Alexander, we can track that for 1.2 kilometres, and we’ve seen it to 350 metres in drill holes. Alexander is a great example of what the Reefton goldfield can produce.”
Thanks to the extensive drilling work already completed, Siren has an exploration target at Alexander River of between 500,00 ounces and one million ounces, with work across at Big River giving the company an exploration target of 250,000 ounces and upwards towards 500,000 ounces.
While Alexander is the furthest-along of Siren’s tenements, Mr Angus said it was finding similar success in drilling results at Big River and its other projects, including its new St George project.
“We’re in a great space now to develop on those brownfields projects, but we also have got a lot of greenfields projects coming up as well,” he said.
Siren’s next steps
Siren is working to release its first mineral resource estimate for Alexander River by the end of April, but the company said this would certainly not mark the end of — or even pause in — its exploration work.
Mr Angus said to develop the resource estimate, Siren had targeted the top 300 metres of mineralisation in the Alexander area.
However, while the company drilled down to a cut-off of between 300 and 350 metres, all of these shoots remain open at depth.
As such, after Siren gets the mineral resource estimate out at the end of April, the company plans to continue drilling deeper in the area over the rest of the year.
Siren shares currently trade for 24.5 cents each on the ASX in a $23.5 million market cap.
With a major landholding in such a prolific mining region backed by industry veterans, Siren’s Reefton tenements could offer investors exposure to a major New Zealand gold resource.
The Alexander mineral resource estimate may only be weeks away, meaning investors who get on board sooner rather than later could have the most to gain.
