Corazon Mining has hit the ground running at its newly acquired Chalice gold project in Western Australia, unearthing multiple high-grade gold intercepts from a review of historic data before a drill rig has even turned a rod.
The company has just completed a systematic review of the project’s historical drill database and pinpointed significant gold hits sitting outside the current JORC-compliant resource of 191,000 ounces grading 2.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
Corazon says it has identified two distinct mineralised zones that were drilled in the past but were not incorporated into any resource estimate.
One is a near-surface zone that delivered hits including 4 metres at 8.84g/t gold from 55m, with another hole jagging 3m grading 7.38g/t gold from just 28m.
The other, deeper zone confirmed underground extensions with hits such as 3.8m running 4.03g/t gold from 514.3m and 5.1m at 2.44g/t gold from 578.6m.
The discovery of what appears to be low-hanging fruit comes just weeks after Corazon completed the company-making acquisition of Chalice from major producer Westgold Resources.
When we began our detailed review of Chalice’s historical drilling, we weren’t just chasing few isolated high-grade hits; we identified a near surface zone sitting hard up against the current pit design as well as high grade mineralisation well below the existing resource.
The deal saw Corazon cement its transition from explorer to emerging developer and left Westgold with a strategic 19.9 per cent stake in the company.
Notably, Corazon is now cashed up for a major campaign after settling a corresponding $16.5 million placement to fund work at its new project.
The company says the historical data review has confirmed the Chalice resource remains open in multiple directions, with the findings now shaping a 10,000 m phase-one drilling campaign, set to kick off in the third quarter of this year. The program will initially focus on the near-surface zone up-dip of the Kronos lode, as identified in the review.
The real allure of the project may lie in the numbers behind the numbers. The current 191,000-ounce resource was calculated using a conservative gold price of just US$1700(A$2434) per ounce. With bullion now trading almost 140 per cent higher, Corazon says there is a clear opportunity for a near-term re-optimisation of the resource.
A simple rejigging of the pit shell and the 1.3g/t cut-off grade against today’s gold price of US$4032 (A$5772) could add fresh ounces that were previously considered outside the historic economic boundaries. The discovery of additional high-grade mineralisation sitting just outside the existing resource model will likely strengthen that growth story even further.
Chalice is no stranger to production, with an impressive history of delivering 645,000 ounces of gold at an impressive average grade of 5.4g/t. This performance, well above the current grade, highlights the potential of higher-grade material that could be lurking within and beyond the existing resource.
Strategically, the old mine sits on a granted mining lease just 22 kilometres down a sealed road from Westgold’s 1.6-million-tonne-per-annum Higginsville processing plant. Westgold is planning to expand that facility, offering Corazon a clear and logical pathway to production.
Next steps for the company include planning for the 10,000m campaign, along with pit shell and cut-off grade optimisation studies that reflect the current gold price. In parallel, it will continue exploration at its other WA gold projects, Feather Cap and Two Pools.
With the deal now done, a fresh view of the resource in the bag and a strengthened balance sheet, Corazon looks to have timed its run perfectly.
Punters will likely be keeping an eye on the upcoming drill program to see if it can quickly add ounces to Chalice’s already golden heritage.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au
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