Kalamazoo Resources has wrapped up a massive 72-hole, 13,726-metre resource definition drilling program at its flagship Ashburton gold project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, with the latest findings from seven holes ringing the till.

Standout results included one hole, which returned a cracking 31 metres at 5.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 49m, including a hotter 15-metre core grading 7.5g/t gold. The company says the high-grade hits have strengthened its confidence in the project’s cornerstone Mt Olympus deposit.

The company says the campaign has further de-risked the existing 1.44-million-ounce gold inventory by increasing geological certainty ahead of an updated resource estimate and a prefeasibility study (PFS). Tightening drill spacing to 20m by 20m is expected to upgrade a significant parts of the inferred mineral resources into the higher-confidence indicated category, an important step in optimising its future mine scheduling.

The latest assays build on an already impressive run of results from the campaign. Earlier drilling delivered a shallow hit of 21m grading 6.5g/t gold from 12m, featuring a 15-metre richer core of 9g/t gold from 14m, alongside a third hole which returned 14m going 4.3g/t from 49m within a broader 32-metre section running at 2.8g/t gold from 46m.

Together, the first 34 holes have now produced 16 standout intersections exceeding the coveted 50 gram-metre benchmark, underlining the remarkable continuity of Mt Olympus’ high-grade gold system.

The drill results today are consistent with what we have been seeing in the field. The results today are highly encouraging with 16 intercepts of plus 50-gram metres within the 34 holes so far.

Notably, several holes also intersected mineralisation beyond the current resource envelope while remaining inside the conceptual pit shell. That suggests additional mineable ounces may already exist within the planned development footprint, potentially improving the project’s bottom line without the need to expand the current pit design.

With resource confidence banked at Mt Olympus, Kalamazoo has gone back on the offensive with a twin program of fresh drilling to chase new ounces.

The first prong of the attack is targeting underground extensions beneath and down-plunge of the planned Mt Olympus open pit. The company has good reason to look there. Earlier drilling in March returned a hefty 43.8m grading 3.4g/t gold from 93m, including 21m at 4.6g/t, confirming the continuation of high-grade dirt beneath known mineralisation.

The second set of holes will be directed towards the nearby Peake deposit to test extensions of high-grade shoots under the old pit. Success there could establish a valuable satellite ore source, materially extending the project’s potential mine life.

Kalamazoo’s Ashburton project lies 35 kilometres south-east of Paraburdoo in one of Australia’s premier mining jurisdictions. It’s a classic brownfields revival story, having historically produced 350,000 ounces of gold between 1998 and 2004.

The project now hosts a global resource of 1.44 million ounces spread across four orebodies, led by the 1.07-million-ounce Mt Olympus deposit, alongside Peake with 210,000 ounces, Zeus with 121,000 ounces and the Waugh deposit, which hosts 32,000 ounces.

The company is also spreading its wings beyond its existing resource, having recently submitted applications for six additional exploration licences adjacent to the project. If granted, the move would expand its wholly owned Ashburton landholding by almost 192 square kilometres, bringing it to a district-scale 519 square kilometres.

The backdrop for all this activity remains an exceptionally strong Australian dollar gold price, currently hovering around A$6000, which has improved the economics by bringing additional ounces into future mine plans.

With the drill rods still spinning and Kalamazoo working towards an updated resource estimate in the fourth quarter of this year and a PFS in early 2027, Ashburton appears to be looking less like an exploration play and more like a future WA gold mine in the making.

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