A world-class gold project in a prime location in the centre of Kathleen Valley - next to Bellevue Gold
| Minerals | Gold, Lithium, Silver, Zinc |
| Location | 40 km north of Leinster, close to transport and energy infrastructure, close to major mines and mills |
| Licence area | 7 sq km |
| Ownership | NGM 50% Mila Resources: 30% Metal Rocks 20% |
| Project status | Virgin gold discovery (2019) situated very close to existing successful mines |
| Resources | 21,000 oz gold JORC Inferred resource 145,000 - 280,000 oz gold JORC Exploration Target |
Description
NGM’s most advanced project, Kathleen Valley, is located in the prolific Wiluna-Norseman gold belt which hosts several world-class mines. Our discovery (2019) is next door and on strike to recent discoveries by Bellevue Gold, and our 2022 drilling campaign has intersected Bellevue Style quartz-sulphide mineralisation. The tenement is surrounded by existing gold discoveries and developments as shown on the map. Kathleen Valley shares the same mineralogy as these projects with gold-silver mineralisation occurring within the Mt Goode Basalt sequence. These are the same host rocks as the Bellevue Gold Mine and Government Well projects (see map for proximity of Government Well to NGM's tenement). In 2015, NGM’s northern neighbour, Kathleen Valley Gold, extracted 65,900 oz gold from some relatively shallow gold pits over an 18-month period.
NGM’s project was held back with native title restrictions for more than 30 years. These were overcome in 2018 paving the way for drilling on this prime tenement in 2019 for the first time.
In November 2021, Mila Resources, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, acquired an initial 30% interest in the project from NGM in exchange for shares in Mila Resources and their funding of an intensive exploration programme at Kathleen Valley which has been underway since 2021 and is expected to run through most of 2022, operated by NGM.
Work to date
NGM commenced exploration activity in 2019 and made a gold discovery on the site after drilling two deep holes and 300 shallow holes which returned peak values of 8.4 g/t gold, 8.8% zinc and 20.7 g/t silver.
In 2020, NGM conducted further Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling over ten holes totalling 2,160 m and increased the peak values to 13.95 g/t gold and 58.8 g/t silver. Four electromagnetic studies were also conducted at surface and down-hole which, when combined with the 2020 drilling data, resulted in Kathleen Valley’s maiden JORC Inferred resource of 21,000 oz gold and, more significantly, an initial JORC Exploration Target (JET) of 145,000 - 280,000 oz gold.
In 2021, NGM commenced drilling across the JET area. This is an intensive programme that is expected to run through most of 2022 and aims to expand both the JORC Inferred resource and JET. The programme involves 11,100 m of drilling and electromagnetic surveying in the existing resource zone (the Coffey Deposit), plus 2,400 m of RC drilling to test two new targets to the north of the current resource. Initial results are highly encouraging with extensive mineralised sulphide zones intersected, including Bellevue Style quartz-sulphide lodes. This is the first time this style of quartz-sulphide mineralisation has been confirmed at the Coffey Deposit.
Next steps
An extensive exploration programme encompassing 13,500 m of drilling began in 2021 and is expected to run through most of 2022. The programme involves 11,100 m of drilling and electromagnetic surveying in the existing resource zone, plus 2,400 m of RC drilling to test the two new targets to the north of the current resource. As of March 2022, approximately 3,000 m have been completed.