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Waratah Minerals is building a district-scale gold exploration project in New South Wales, with drilling expanding mineralisation across a 6km corridor at its Spur project.
The company’s latest results have strengthened its interpretation of a larger gold system extending beyond its principal Consols and Spur discoveries, while the completed Ironclad acquisition has consolidated its position across the historic mining district.
Located approximately 5km west of Newmont’s Cadia Valley operations, Spur remains an early-stage exploration project, with Waratah working to establish the extent and continuity of its mineralised zones.
Waratah executive chair Andrew Stewart said the results highlighted the potential to establish a larger mineralised system.
“Our September quarter results continue to demonstrate the scale and growth potential of the Spur gold project,” Stewart said.
“At Consols, hole SPD075 delivered our best intercept to date, returning 46m at 7.27g/t gold and extending known mineralisation to the north and east.
“At the Spur Zone, drilling continued to expand and infill mineralisation, while early-stage metallurgical test work at Consols returned strong gold recoveries through gravity and conventional leaching.”
He also said that the completion of the Ironclad Mining lease acquisition strengthens Waratah’s district-scale position, with initial drilling supporting the potential for a broader mineralised system linking Ironclad and Consols.
“Results from Alpine, Gazzards and Gum Flat have added further exploration opportunities across the project,” Stewart said.
“As we enter the December quarter, we remain focused on defining and expanding the known gold zones while systematically testing these targets.”
Drilling at the Consols Zone has traced gold mineralisation across approximately 400m of strike and 400m vertically, with the standout intersection of 46m at 7.27 grams per tonne gold from 541m, including 10m at 28.93 grams per tonne.
The result, originally announced in September, extended known mineralisation 70m north and 150m east of previous drilling, while subsequent October results included 9.86m at 6.71 grams per tonne gold from 710m within a broader 70m intersection grading 1.71 grams per tonne.
Exploration at the neighbouring Spur Zone has expanded the combined mineralised footprint to approximately 550m by 800m, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.
Further drilling at Alpine and Gazzards has identified shallow gold mineralisation, supporting Waratah’s interpretation of a 6km corridor linking several prospects across the district.
Waratah said that the completion of the Ironclad acquisition has added another dimension to the exploration program, with initial drilling intersecting multiple gold-bearing structures beyond the historic mine footprint.
Results included 30m at 0.47g/t gold from 84m, including 5m at 1.79 g/t gold, supporting further investigation of a possible connection between Ironclad and Consols.
Although the continuity and economic significance of the wider system remain to be established, early-stage metallurgical testing at Consols has returned gold recoveries of 89–93 per cent using gravity and conventional cyanide leaching.
Further test work is underway to develop a processing flowsheet for Spur and Consols, while follow-up drilling at Ironclad, Alpine and Gazzards is planned for the December quarter.
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