Kalamazoo Resources has unearthed a substantial new high-grade underground exploration hotspot at its flagship Ashburton gold project in Western Australia.
The company says a fresh review of the Peake system, sitting just 2 kilometres from its cornerstone Mt Olympus deposit, has confirmed the resource could evolve into far more than a handy satellite ore source, with management now eyeing the high-grade system as a potential mine-life extender for the broader Ashburton gold operation.
Initial estimates for the fresh underground exploration target at Peake range between 1.7 million and 2.6 million tonnes grading a sharp 3.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold to 5 g/t gold. If proven, this would add between 240,000 and 380,000 ounces of the precious yellow metal.
When stacked on top of the deposit’s existing underground mineral resource of 210,000 ounces of gold, the deposit’s total footprint could swell to between 450,000 and 590,000 ounces.
The company says Peake appears to remain wide open at depth, having historically only been tested down to a shallow vertical depth of 200 metres across a 1.8-kilometre strike length.
Notably, it sits within the broader 4.5-kilometre Shinkansen trend, one of five newly identified regional mineralised corridors that collectively stretch for more than 12 kilometres across an expansive system.
The additional parallel structural corridors include the Maglev trend to the north, alongside the ICE, TGV and Eurostar trends to the south, highlighting the potential for a district-scale gold camp.
“We are excited to share the next growth stage after Mt Olympus. Peake is a high-grade vein system that has been outlined over 1.8 km in strike,” said Kalamazoo Resources executive director Ben Ackerman.
While engineering the upside at Peake, Kalamazoo has also completed 8,500 metres of a 14,000-metre resource infill drilling campaign at Mount Olympus to support ongoing pre-feasibility studies.
The company’s Mount Olympus scoping study has already dropped impressive numbers based on an assumed gold price of A$4,500 per ounce. Total production is forecast at 524,000 ounces over a 73-month life-of-mine at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,183 per ounce, with an impressive internal rate of return of 47 per cent.
Four drill rigs are on site, with over 50 per cent of the program already complete. Recent high-grade holes from the campaign include a 43.8-metre pearler running at 3.4 g/t gold from 93 metres alongside another standout hit landing an 8.8-metre slice grading 11 g/t gold from 20.5 metres. A third hole also chipped in with 30.9 metres going 1.5 g/t gold from 214.5 metres.
Kalamazoo’s Mount Olympus project holds a global resource of 1.1 million ounces of gold grading 2.7 g/t, anchoring Ashburton’s total global inventory of 1.436 million ounces of gold running 2.8 g/t. The wider project footprint also includes the high-grade Zeus deposit, which hosts 121,000 ounces of gold at 2.5 g/t and the Waugh deposit, with 32,000 ounces of gold at 1.9 g/t.
Beyond its flagship asset, Kalamazoo maintains a highly prospective exploration portfolio including the Mallina West gold project also in the Pilbara and a suite of high-quality gold and antimony assets in the Central Victorian Goldfields.
The company says that once the drill rigs have done their bit at Ashburton, they will be moved to Peake next quarter to run a 3,000-metre reverse-circulation and diamond-drilling program over its newest target.
A detailed regional hyperspectral survey will also kick off next quarter to rank and prioritise further targets across the broader 380 square kilometre Ashburton project.
With four active drill rigs running hot on site and multiple high-grade structural trends emerging across its sprawling Pilbara tenure, Kalamazoo’s mineral engine is well and truly purring.
If the drill rods can duplicate the spectacular success of its cornerstone Mount Olympus project, this under-the-radar junior could soon be making some very serious noise in the resource sector.
