Horizon secures gold-rich WA grounds next to new treatment hub

Horizon Minerals has scooped up a swag of prospective gold ground in Western Australia’s Goldfields and near its Black Swan processing facility after signing a $2.81 million deal with Yandal Resources for its Gordons gold project.

The deal will be funded with a $1.2 million cash splash from Horizon’s existing reserves, topped up with $1.61 million in shares to be issued at a 10 per cent discount to the company’s recent 15-day trading average. Settlement is due at the end of the current quarter.

Anchored by the advanced-stage Gordons Dam deposit, the 77-square-kilometre land package also includes the Mt Jewell, Malone and Mulgarrie prospects across 34 granted tenements.

Horizon says the deal opens the door to a treasure trove of exploration upside in WA’s gold-rich Kalgoorlie region, which it plans to hit hard in a bid to firm up enough ounces to keep its newly acquired plant humming for at least five years.

The company is currently progressing a pre-feasibility study aimed at converting the Black Swan plant into a 1.5 million tonne per annum gold treatment hub.

The Gordons Dam deposit sits 10 kilometres from Black Swan and carries a JORC-compliant resource of 365,000 tonnes grading 1.7 grams per tonne (g/t) for 20,000 ounces of gold hosted in paleochannel clays, weathered bedrock and quartz-rich veins.

Yandal, which has operated the project since 2018, peppered the deposit with 95 holes for a total of 10,176m of drilling prior to a maiden resource. Some of its best shallow hits included 2m grading 23.36g/t from 30m depth, 2m running at 7.63g/t from 38m and 4m going at 5.09g/t from 27m.

Deeper holes plunged into the prospect recorded hits such as 2m grading 8.69g/t from 180m and 2m running at 7.88g/t from 260m.

According to Horizon’s interpretation of the data, the mineralisation still appears open at depth and along strike, with recent and historic drilling shining brightly towards further extensions in all directions.

Several high-priority targets within the project area, including the Star of Gordon and Malone prospects, are also primed for follow-up work, giving the company a rich pipeline of exploration opportunities that could soon add more gold to its inventory.

We are pleased to acquire these projects in close proximity to our processing infrastructure. Our key focus is completing study work with the aim of generating a five-year life of mine plan processing through our Black Swan processing plant.

From a geological standpoint, the Gordons project sits within the gold-rich Boorara Domain, which makes up part of the broader Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt. The region is also underpinned by the prolific Gordon Sirdar shear zone, which Horizon sees as a critical structure for unlocking extra ounces.

Notably, the company regards the latest deal as a strategic part of its plans to emerge as a standalone WA gold producer. By accessing gold close to Black Swan, Horizon aims to use its cash flows to significantly de-risk its broader development ambitions and reduce haulage costs.

Despite historical workings in the area dating back to 1901 from mines such as Gordon-Sirdar and Mulgarrie, no modern-scale mining has been conducted on the grounds, leaving Horizon with a blank canvas and a mountain of untapped potential to explore.

With fresh ground in hand, drills poised and a processing plant just down the road, Horizon has positioned itself to not only unearth new ounces but also rewrite the playbook on modern gold mining in one of WA’s most historic goldfields.

If the early signs are anything to go by, this strategic land grab near Black Swan could prove critical to its plans to move the company into the next phase of standalone production.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au