Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) has changed lanes from greenfields exploration to resource development, launching a fresh bout of drilling at the Tregony deposit within its Tanami North Project in the Northern Territory.
The company says this drilling work is designed to increase its confidence in the resource estimation of the deposit and potentially grow its size, with some step-out holes planned for around the area.
As it stands, the Tregony deposit hosts a mineral resource estimate of 1.44 million tonnes @ 1.16 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 54,000 ounces of gold.
Prodigy says due to an ‘unseasonal rain event’ in the Tanami region, drilling is currently paused until road access is once again deemed safe for heavy machinery.
Speaking on the planned work at the Tregony deposit, Prodigy Gold Managing Director Mark Edwards says: “The Tanami North project area is strategically important to Prodigy Gold, and the company’s main objectives for this year are to grow confidence in and work to grow the mineral resources in this area.
“…the Tregony and Hyperion deposits will form a large part of the drilling programs to be completed during the remainder of this exploration season
This means the Tregony and Hyperion deposits will form a large part of the drilling programs to be completed during the remainder of this exploration season.”
The shift in focus to resource development comes after the company had to cut short an exploration program at its Boco North prospect in the region due to ‘much thicker than expected’ overlying cover hindering Prodigy’s drilling efforts.
The company says it originally planned to drill reverse circulation (RC) 20 holes at Boco North, but the thick cover meant none of the first 9 holes drilled was able to fully penetrate through to the underlying prospective Tanami Group rocks. As such, after drilling 9 holes for 1,647m, Prodigy made the call to cut the program short and move its RC rig over to Tregony.
Prodigy says this Boco North drilling work downgrades the prospectivity of the northern section of its exploration licence EL31331, but the unexpected thickness in the area could suggest the presence of a previously unknown regional structural feature, such as a thrust fault.
“While the first drilling program did not go as planned, with the thickness of the Suplejack Downs Sandstone much thicker than expected, it was good to finally drill test this area of the Suplejack Shear Zone,” Edwards says.
“The assessment to move the drill rig from Boco North and commence our program at the Tregony deposit was driven by these results. This Boco North program was part of the Round 15 Resourcing the Territory Initiative, and we are pleased to report that we received the co-funding drilling grant from the NT Government.”
Prodigy Gold is a listed gold explorer with a ‘unique’ suite of brownfields and greenfields assets in the Northern Territory’s Tanami region.
As of 31 March, the company had $6.5 million cash at hand and zero debt, according to its latest quarterly report published on 18 April.
Write to Joshua Smith at Mining.com.au
Images: Prodigy Gold NL
