Kalgoorlie Gold Mining, operating as KalGold, has achieved highly encouraging outcomes from its inaugural diamond drilling campaign at the Pinjin gold project, situated approximately 140 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's Laverton Tectonic Zone. The program, which focused on the Kirgella Gift and Providence deposits, has definitively confirmed that gold mineralisation extends to much greater depths than earlier explorations had indicated, opening up substantial new opportunities for resource expansion.
Drilling Program Details and Funding
The drilling initiative comprised four diamond core holes, totalling an impressive 1154.6 metres in depth. This effort was partially supported by the Western Australian Government's exploration incentive scheme, highlighting the project's regional significance. The primary objective was to investigate areas well below the existing shallow resource at Kirgella Gift, which currently stands as a JORC inferred resource of 2.34 million tonnes at 1 gram per tonne gold, equating to 76,400 ounces. Notably, this resource begins just three metres below the surface, suggesting considerable untapped potential at deeper levels.
Significant Gold Intercepts and Findings
The diamond core intercepts revealed multiple thick zones of gold mineralisation, particularly at the Kirgella Gift deposit. One hole drilled into a shallow, near-resource area yielded 15 metres at 1.75 grams per tonne gold from 26 metres depth, including a 6-metre section assaying 2.74 grams per tonne, with other sub-intervals reaching up to 4.59 grams per tonne gold.
Additionally, the same hole intercepted 28 metres grading 2.24 grams per tonne gold from 92 metres, featuring an 8.5-metre slice at 3.21 grams per tonne and a 9-metre slice at 2.82 grams per tonne gold. These results reinforce the strong near-surface narrative, confirming continuity across drill holes and the presence of higher-grade internal shoots, which were initially identified through earlier reverse circulation drilling.
Deep Drilling Confirms Vertical Extension
Further drilling at Kirgella Gift's deeper southern margin returned 10 metres assaying 1.03 grams per tonne gold from 231 metres, including two separate single-metre zones grading 2.83 grams per tonne gold each. A second hole in this area provided 6 metres running 0.94 grams per tonne gold from 268 metres and 1 metre going 1.18 grams per tonne gold from 350 metres.
Collectively, these deeper holes have confirmed mineralisation down to 300 metres vertical depth, which is 160 metres below the current Kirgella Gift resource envelope. At the Providence deposit, a single drill hole intercepted multiple narrower but positive hits, including 3 metres at 2.14 grams per tonne gold from 83 metres, 1 metre at 2.12 grams per tonne from 138 metres, and two other single-metre intercepts of 1.12 grams per tonne and 2 grams per tonne gold.
Structural Insights and Future Implications
The diamond core has also unveiled a previously unrecognised set of north–south trending, east-dipping faults that explain local structural offsets. These structures are expected to assist the company in tracking displaced mineralised lodes during future drilling campaigns. Magnetic data further indicate that the targeted cross-cutting structures dip more steeply than initially interpreted, pushing priority deeper targets further west, which will directly influence the design and orientation of subsequent drilling efforts.
Kalgoorlie Gold Mining managing director Matt Painter expressed enthusiasm about the results, stating, "We are extremely pleased with the results of our first pass diamond drilling program which delivered key structural, geotechnical, and density data to support future resource upgrades. Importantly, we have intersected thick gold mineralisation in previously untested areas. Intercepts at depth hint at the potential for vertical extension of the orogenic gold mineralised system at Kirgella Gift-Providence, beneath known resources."
Strategic Moves and Future Plans
The findings have not only provided critical data for future resource upgrades but also boosted confidence in the vertical continuity of mineralisation, particularly below the higher-grade core at Kirgella Gift. This opens the door to further resource growth through targeted deeper drilling. KalGold is already planning follow-up programs to test potential areas of extension and new targets, reinforcing its strategy of extracting more ounces from this proven gold location.
These strong diamond drilling results have set the stage for renewed drilling activities as the company pursues deeper upside potential, marking a significant step forward in the exploration and development of Western Australia's goldfields.
