Premier1 Lithium (ASX:PLC) has returned a maiden gold resource estimate at the Wadgingarra prospect within the Yalgoo Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia, as the company assesses joint venture options aimed at commercial development.
The Wadgingarra area hosts a JORC-compliant inferred resource of 150,000 tonnes @ 2.7 grams per tonne gold for 13,000 ounces of gold, marked above a 0.5g/t gold cut-off, constrained in an optimised pit shell using mining, processing, and financial parameters.
Pit optimisation produced shells less than 50m deep, which the company considers conservative and constrained solely by the limited extent of historical drilling available.
Premier1 engaged independent mining consultancy Snowden Optiro to complete the resource estimate on its behalf, employing both historical drilling and recent workings to return the current estimate.
The company intends to validate historical datasets with further drilling, testing extensions at depth and along strike, before progressing with metallurgical testwork in parallel with preparation to apply for a mining lease.
The Western Australian Government will partially fund drilling through its Exploration Incentive Scheme grant, valued at $180,000 to test ‘high-priority’ targets at Yalgoo.
Premier1 is also looking to engage a services partnership to strengthen the commercial pathway for the Wadgingarra prospect, which will provide access to mining and processing experts and create development option frameworks to push the prospect towards production.
Managing Director Jason Froud says the return of a maiden resource for Wadgingarra marks an important milestone for the company that was designed to assess the economic viability of the area.
“While modest at 13,000 ounces, it sits at surface, is constrained using relatively conservative assumptions, and it remains entirely open at depth and along strike. This gives us great confidence in the growth potential and represents the first commercial opportunity within the company’s portfolio,” Froud says.
“The outcome confirms the presence of a genuine open pit gold resource at favourable grades providing a tangible foundation for near-term development. With historical drilling averaging only 46m depth over a limited area, the upside for expansion through further exploration is clear.”
Premier1 returned assays from its first drilling campaign at the greater project in May this year, targeting structural extensions to the already known mineralisation with a reverse circulation program spanning 27 drillholes for 3,126m.
Intercepts include 7m @ 4.3g/t gold from the Carlisle prospect and 3m @ 31.5g/t gold from the Crescent South prospect, which Premier1 believes indicates potential for the known mineralisation to host ‘high grade’ gold.
Premier1 Lithium is a mineral explorer focused on unlocking the potential of Western Australia’s resources.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Premier1 Lithium
