Junior explorer Javelin Minerals has kicked off a 4000 metre air core drilling program at its Coogee project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Using a ‘lake drill rig’ the explorer will test gold and copper targets at its Coogee West area including a 3 kilometre gold trend containing bottom-of-hole anomalous results of up to 0.47 grams per tonne gold.
The project covers an area of about 17 square kilometres 55km southeast of Kalgoorlie on the north-eastern shore of Lake Lefroy. Notably, the project is 16km west of ASX-listed Lefroy Exploration’s Burns prospect.
Javelin says sparse and historical air core drilling in 2015 defined the 3km gold trend.
In addition to historical results, recent drilling by the joint venture between Goldfields and Lefroy Exploration encountered 6m going 0.48 g/t gold from 28m in an apparent continuation of the gold trend, immediately south of Javelin’s tenement boundary.
ASX-listed Ramelius Resources carried out gold mining on the Coogee project in 2013 and produced 20,400 ounces of gold at an average head grade of 4.7 g/t gold.
Importantly for Javelin, Ramelius’ earlier mining operations left the area with valuable site infrastructure and a remaining resource estimate of 96,000 tonnes grading 3.4 g/t gold for 10,600 ounces.
The project is also shouldered by Northern Star’s 1.2 million tonnes per annum Jubilee Mill 26km to the west and Silver Lake Resources’ 1.3Mtpa Randalls Mill 15km to the east.
Under Victory Mines, its previous banner, Javelin was originally earning into the Coogee project until 2020 November 3 when it acquired the remaining 90 per cent interest in Coogee from Ramelius for $1 million in shares.
With its hands on the reins, Javelin sees Coogee as a near-term, high-grade production opportunity and is moving forward with its drill tests to squeeze out as many ounces of gold as possible.
To date, the explorer has completed four phases of RC drilling totalling 135 holes for 19,136m.
The company says the drill programs have been successful in outlining mineralisation that transitions from gold to copper-gold to the north within a broader copper-gold system at the existing Coogee open pit that now has a strike length of more than 1km.
Notably, the gold-copper targets in the current phase of drilling are centred around discrete magnetic anomalies, analogous to its Coogee North prospect.
With the price of gold this week knocking on the US$2000 an ounce door, now is not a bad time to be going after the precious yellow metal.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
