Growth drilling building momentum with six drill rigs now operational at Havieron, targeting extensions to SE Crescent, Eastern Breccia, Northern Breccia & regional geophysical targets
- Further high grade “SE Crescent” style sulphide mineralisation confirmed at the North West Pod
- Further Eastern Breccia mineralisation recognised outside the recently updated Initial Mineral Resource1
- Higher-grade copper mineralisation identified in the core of the Northern Breccia, open at depth
Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP), a mining development and exploration company with a focus on precious and base metals, is pleased to provide an exploration and development update at the Havieron gold-copper project in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
Highlights
- Six drill rigs currently operational after the Christmas shutdown, all focused on growth programmes targeting:
- Eastern Breccia: defining the mineralised footprint of the Eastern Breccia, focusing on extending the higher-grade mineralisation which remains open in all directions
- South East Crescent: targeting extensions to the SE Crescent below the Updated Mineral Resource 1 in addition to lateral extensions adjacent to the existing high-grade Resource
- Northern Breccia: delineating existing high-grade mineralised zones within the Northern Breccia and Northwest Pod (NW Pod)
- New Targets: drilling of targets identified outside of the immediate vicinity of the Havieron deposit, but within the Havieron Joint Venture area has commenced
- High grade result in the NW Pod on the northwest margin of the Havieron Breccia system confirms the potential for further high-grade sulphide mineralisation outside the SE Crescent Zone:
- HAD089W4 52.7m @ 7.1 g/t Au and 0.04% Cu or 7.2g/t AuEq2 from 1,074m
- Drilling into the Eastern Breccia returns a broad zone of mineralisation on the southern flank of the recently announced Initial Mineral Resource1 of 14Mt @ 1.2 g/t Au and 0.09% Cu or 1.3 g/t AuEq 2 in the Eastern Breccia 3 :
- HAD145A 70.2m @ 0.82 g/t Au and 0.22% Cu or 1.15g/t AuEq2 from 1,654.8m
- Northern Breccia drilling continues to assess the extents of higher-grade mineralisation within the core of the Havieron Breccia, with results in HAD145A intersecting a zone of copper dominant sulphide mineralisation that is currently open at depth:
- HAD145A 69m @ 0.72g/t Au and 1.1% Cu or 2.37g/t AuEq2 from 1,300m
- Including a higher grade zone of 31.7m @ 1.16g/t Au and 1.6% Cu or 3.56g/t Au Eq2 from 1,311.5m
- Early Works advancing: Construction activities are progressing well with achievements including (as of 25 February 2022):
- Box cut and portal completed in May 2021.
- Exploration decline has advanced 296 metres.
- First ventilation shaft blind boring has commenced.
- Works to progress the necessary approvals and permits required to commence the development of an operating underground mine and associated infrastructure at the Havieron Project are ongoing.
- Feasibility Study progressing: Feasibility study work by Newcrest continuing along with concurrent studies assessing broader growth options for Havieron. Upside opportunities are being evaluated to increase the scale and life of Havieron, as well as presenting the opportunity to adopt alternative, lower cost, mining methods. The Feasibility Study is still forecasted to be delivered in the December 2022 quarter4.
Shaun Day, Chief Executive Officer of Greatland Gold plc, commented: “The ramp up of the 2022 growth drill programme is an exciting time for Greatland and its shareholders as it presents an opportunity to further understand the size and scale of the Havieron system.
“This growth drilling programme is already delivering pleasing results with high-grade sulphide mineralisation confirmed in the NW Pod, several hundred meters away from the South East Crescent and Eastern Breccia zones. This, along with a continuation of the high-grade mineralisation outside of the recently updated Initial Mineral Resource for the Eastern Breccia is a fantastic start to the calendar year.
“Additionally, we are encouraged by the higher grade copper results we are seeing near the base of the Northern Breccia.
With five drill rigs testing extensions to the current mineralised system and a further drill rig testing for new opportunities on the mining licence outside of the immediate known mineralisation, the 2022 drilling programme lays the foundation for defining the next phase of Havieron’s growth.”
1 Greatland announcement Havieron Resources and Reserve Update on 3rd March 2022
2 The gold equivalent (AuEq) is based on assumed prices of US$1,450/oz Au and US$3.23/lb Cu for Ore Reserve and assumed prices of US$1,600/oz Au and US$3.50/lb Cu for Mineral Resource and metallurgical recoveries based on block metal grade, reporting approximately at 88% for Au and 84% for Cu which in both cases equates to a formula of approximately AuEq = Au (g/t) + 1.5 * Cu (%). It is the company’s opinion that all the elements included in the metal equivalents calculation have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold
3 Greatland announcement Havieron Exploration Update on 28th January 2022
4 Newcrest market update to Australian Stock Exchange on 12th October 2021
Significant New Results (intercepts are reported as downhole width not true width)
NW Pod
- HAD089W4
- 52.7m @ 7.1 g/t Au and 0.04% Cu from 1,074m
Northern Breccia
- HAD141W2
- 88m @ 0.98 g/t Au and 0.03% Cu from 1,314m
- HAD145A
- 69m @ 0.72g/t Au and 1.1% Cu from 1,300m
Eastern Breccia
- HAD145A
- 70.2m @ 0.82 g/t Au and 0.22% Cu from 1,654.8m
In addition to this release, a PDF version of this report with supplementary information can be found at the Company’s website: https://greatlandgold.com/investors/regulatory-news/
Enquiries:
Greatland Gold PLC
Shaun Day
+44 (0)20 3709 4900
