ASX-listed gold explorer Musgrave Minerals (ASX:MGV) has completed a ‘significant’ amount of drilling as part of a stage two Prefeasibility Study (PFS) for its Cue Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company reports this drilling aims to convert inferred resources to a higher-confidence category at the Break of Day and White Heat deposits, underpinning a mineral resource update expected in late-2023. The stage two PFS will focus on adding mine life and further enhancing the ‘attractive’ economics of the project.
Musgrave says as part of its current program, 46 infill and extensional reverse circulation (RC) drillholes were completed for 2,799m at the Leviticus deposit. The results from this drilling have highlighted the ‘high-grade’ nature of the mineralisation in the area. The company says the infill drilling aims to convert the resource into a higher confidence category, while extensional drilling aims to add tonnes for the stage 2 PFS.
New intersections recorded outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) but within the current stage one PFS pit design include 23MORC012 with 2m @ 41.5g/t Au from 22m, including 1m @ 79g/t Au from 22m; while 23MORC084, which was drilled within the MRE and stage one PFS pit design, returned 4m @ 20.9g/t Au from 38m.
Additionally, 23MORC087, which was drilled at a high angle to the known mineralisation at Leviticus, intersected a new lode. This hole was drilled outside the stage one PFS and current open pit design, is open in all directions, and is situated within the ‘favourable’ and ‘high-grade’ titanium basalt unit that hosts the Break of Day and White Heat deposits.
Musgrave says follow-up drilling is currently being planned and notes all new discoveries and mineralised lodes could potentially add tonnes to feed into the stage two PFS.
Commenting on the results, Musgrave Minerals Managing Director Rob Waugh says: “The strong gold results continue at Cue, with this drilling at the Leviticus deposit aimed at extending the mineralisation and converting the inferred resource to the higher-confidence indicated category.
“The strong gold results continue at Cue, with this drilling at the Leviticus deposit aimed at extending the mineralisation and converting the inferred resource to the higher-confidence indicated category“
The Leviticus deposit is only 1.5km south of White Heat and is being considered as an early mining option to enable the pit to be utilised for either water storage or in-pit tailings in the subsequent years of development, thus reducing capital costs.”
Musgrave reports the Leviticus deposit hosts a total MRE of 42,000 tonnes @ 6g/t Au for 8,000 ounces of gold, while the Cue Gold Project hosts a total MRE of 12.3 million tonnes @ 2.3g/t Au for 927,000 ounces of gold.
Musgrave Minerals is an Australian gold explorer and developer focused on advancing its Cue Gold Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The project’s stage one PFS was released in April 2023, outlining an initial 5-year life-of-mine producing 337,000 ounces at an all-in-sustaining-cost of $1,315 per ounce.
Write to Harry Mulholland at Mining.com.au
Images: Musgrave Minerals Ltd
