Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) has completed the acquisition of the Peak Hill Gold Project in Western Australia’s Northern Murchison Goldfields from Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX), with maiden drilling set to commence shortly.
The addition of Peak Hill marks a second ‘major’ gold asset in Great Boulder’s project portfolio, joining the Side Well Project which hosts an existing resource of 1.02 million ounces (Moz) of gold (Au).
Peak Hill previously produced in excess of 900,000 ounces Au, with four historical open pit mines and seven granted mining leases.
The project hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 9.4 million tonnes @ 1.6 grams per tonne Au for 481,000 ounces.
Great Boulder has begun installing an exploration camp at Peak Hill, with drilling set to begin this month.
The company plans to complete 40,000m of drilling at Peak Hill in the next six months before a resource update in preparation for the terms of the ore purchase agreement with Westgold.
As reported by Mining.com.au, Great Boulder raised $40 million in capital to acquire and advance Peak Hill.
Great Boulder Managing Director Andrew Paterson says the completion of this acquisition “marks the start of transformational growth for Great Boulder” by providing the company with two gold projects in Western Australia.
“We believe there is every potential to rapidly grow the 481,000 ounce resource at Peak Hill, hence we are installing an exploration camp in preparation for the imminent start of a very aggressive resource drilling campaign over the next six months,” Paterson says.
“We are focused on being mining-ready at Peak Hill as soon as possible.
“This means we’ll be aiming to move quickly into feasibility studies and approvals in early 2027 while simultaneously building the team to complete our transformation from explorer to miner by year’s end.”
Westgold CEO Wayne Bramwell says the sale of Peak Hill is consistent with the company’s strategy to streamline its portfolio while focusing on larger, core operating hubs.
“The sale to Great Boulder is transformational for them and the upfront cash payment and equity exposure delivers immediate value for Westgold shareholders,” Bramwell says.
“Our shareholders also retain exposure to the project’s upside potential through a 1% NSR [net smelter return] royalty, whilst Great Boulder gains access to a processing solution through Westgold’s Murchison hubs.
“We look forward to the Great Boulder team rapidly advancing Peak Hill and a longer-term relationship across the broader Murchison region.”
Meanwhile, drilling is ongoing at Side Well, where 20,000m of drilling is planned in the next six months.
The company recently returned multiple ‘high-grade’ gold hits outside the resource area at Side Well, extending the known mineralisation within the current 1Moz gold resource.
Great Boulder Resources is a mineral explorer with gold and base metals projects in Western Australia.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Great Boulder Resources
