Platina Resources has fired up the drill rig for a second time, kicking off an aircore drilling campaign at its Granite Well East prospect, which forms part of the company’s Mt McKenna gold project just 13 kilometres east of Laverton in Western Australia.
asserted
which → fire → Australia
The 53-hole, 3200-metre program is designed to follow up highly encouraging gold mineralisation hits from a previous campaign and will test strike continuity and the system’s lateral extent.
asserted
program → design → continuity
The new work at Granite Well East follows an earlier phase-three program that unearthed multiple mineralised zones, including a notable one-metre hit of a hefty 7.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 40m.
asserted
that → follow → m.
Several intercepts from that campaign either finished in mineralisation or near the bottom of the hole, hinting the system remains open at depth.
asserted
system → finish → depth
Other encouraging results from the earlier drilling included a 4-metre section grading 1.11g/t gold from just 12m, associated with a strong arsenic anomaly and a separate 7-metre intercept going 0.61g/t gold from 36m that continued to the bottom of the hole.
asserted
that → include → hole
A further hole delivered 4m grading 0.93g/t gold from 52m, also ending at the bottom of the hole.
asserted
hole → deliver → hole
‘This drill program is designed to test the potential strike continuity and lateral extent of the gold mineralisation.
asserted
program → design → mineralisation
The company is well-funded for the push after banking the final US$2 million (A$2.9M) payment from the sale of its Owendale scandium project to mining goliath Rio Tinto.
asserted
company → fund → Tinto
The deal, which closed in stages over three years, delivered a whopping US$14 million (AU$20M) into Platina’s coffers.
asserted
which → close → coffers
Platina Resources managing director Dr Paul Polito said: “The results of the program will assist in determining the scale, continuity and significance of mineralisation and guide subsequent exploration, such as reverse circulation drilling or induced polarisation surveys.”
The project’s address has a rich pedigree, sitting adjacent to Genesis Minerals’ 3.9-million-ounce Laverton project and just 20km north-east of Gold Fields’ 3.9-million-ounce Granny Smith gold mine.
asserted
address → say → mine
The Granite Well East target itself lies at what is interpreted to be the intersection of two major structural corridors, a setting often favourable for trapping gold-bearing fluids.
asserted
what → lie → fluids
Notably, the Laverton district remains a hive of exploration activity, with nearby explorers continuing to deliver positive news flow - a backdrop further enhanced by a robust Australian-dollar gold price, currently sitting around the A$6000-per-ounce mark.
asserted
explorers → remain → mark
The company’s savvy exploration model of advancing early-stage projects before monetising them to fund the next generation of opportunities looks to be paying dividends.
asserted
model → advance → dividends
The Owendale scandium sale to Rio proved a textbook example, shifting the capital and development risk of a specialist critical minerals project to a major with the balance sheet to handle it, while leaving Platina cashed-up to chase gold.
asserted
sale → prove → gold
The company has also demonstrated its willingness to take the tin-snips to its portfolio, having previously sold its Xanadu project, relinquished Challa and farmed out Brimstone to other explorers.
asserted
company → demonstrate → explorers
Beyond Mt McKenna, Platina still holds its Sunrise Bore project, 44km south of Laverton, which previously delivered a solid 29m at 3.38g/t gold from just 11m.
asserted
which → hold → m.
That hit included an 11-metre core grading an eye-catching 8.62g/t alongside further intersections of 18m at 1.12g/t and 37m running 0.43g/t.
asserted
hit → include → /
The first campaign tested just 200m of a much bigger 1.2km mineralised trend sitting within a broader 3.6km structural corridor, leaving plenty of untouched ground for the drill bit to chew through.
asserted
bit → test → ground
Platina’s portfolio also includes the earlier-stage Mt Morgans South prospect, 35km south-west of Laverton.
asserted
portfolio → include → Laverton
The 126.4-square-kilometre patch of ground sits near Genesis Minerals’ three-million-tonne-per-annum Mt Morgans processing plant and its 1.4 million-ounce Westralia gold deposit, highlighting the strategic nature of the address.
asserted
patch → sit → address
With the Rio Tinto deal now financially complete, a healthy bank balance, and the drill rods turning in one of WA’s most productive and richly endowed gold districts, Platina’s focus now appears to be shifting squarely to unearthing a meaningful discovery.
asserted
focus → turn → discovery
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting?
asserted
company → list → something
The Aporia
