ASX-listed Aurumin is now wielding a gold inventory of 946,000 ounces in WA’s Mid West region after tabling resource updates for the company’s newly acquired Central Sandstone deposits and incorporating its nearby Johnson Range project into one operation. Notably, the explorer boosted the gold grade of the operation’s centrepiece, the Two Mile Hill underground deposit, from 1.1 grams per tonne to 1.6 g/t.
The updated gold inventory was minted after Aurumin probed its Central Sandstone project with a round of nine RC holes and four diamond drill holes in July. The drilling work returned a series of broad gold hits including 344m at 1.29 g/t from 243.5m, 244m at 1.5 g/t from 269m and 352.8m going 1.5 g/t from 298.2m.
Aurumin’s haul of positive assays amounted to an additional 97,000 ounces and represents an important step forward for the company as it looks to kick its Mid West operation into production. Whilst the centrepiece underground resource remains open at depth, it plans to undertake a scoping level assessment on the deposit.
Aurumin officially acquired the 784,000-ounce Central Sandstone project in March after striking a $12 million cash and scrip deal with Middle Island Resources late last year. The advanced project also came with a processing plant and quickly took the front seat of the gold explorer’s portfolio that also included 64,700 ounces and two historically mined projects.
Central Sandstone’s Two Mile Hill underground deposit boasted a series of broad gold intercepts and was eyed as a priority target for additional ounces. However, the company also saw an opportunity for exploration upside across the project that was already peppered with over 10 defined surface deposits. The explorer has since acquired further ground surrounding the Central project and has coined its broader group of tenements the Greater Sandstone project.
Aurumin Managing Director, Brad Valiukas said: “We have been maintaining a dual focussed approach since acquiring the Central Sandstone Project, to both optimise existing resources and identify new resources. We continue to see the Two Mile Hill underground deposit as a key part of the project going forward, with the scale to potentially underpin future production, and this has focussed our optimisation efforts.”
With Two Mile Hill mineralisation yet to be constrained, the company’s next move with the drill bit will test a series of new geochemical and structural targets across Greater Sandstone. Aurumin is currently working on soil sampling across its tenements as it looks to generate further targets before finalising exploration plans and permits.
The first release of soil sampling results is anticipated as early as next month.
The previous owner of Central Sandstone, Middle Island Resources, determined in a scoping study the operation could be particularly attractive if the 500,000-tonne per annum processing plant were upgraded to 750,000tpa and additional mill feed was secured. Interestingly, the broader region’s defined gold inventory totals almost six million ounces, with no prominent producer.
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