Red 5 (ASX:RED) has planned 17,500m of resource extension drilling for the rest of FY24 to test several areas of interest within its Darlot Gold Mine in Western Australia.
The $1.1 billion market capitalisation company plans to extend active mining areas and define future ore sources from this drilling work.
At the Burswood North area, Red 5 aims to target the Burswood orebody on the north side of the regional lamprophyre and within magnetic dolerite. In this area, Red 5 says there is the potential to establish a new mining area accessible from the base of the established Thomson Decline.
This news comes after Red 5 received a new round of drilling results that confirm additional mining areas and further de-risk its FY2025 and FY2026 mine plans for Darlot.
Red 5 completed underground grade control and resource extension drilling, which resulted in additional development levels in the Middle Walters South mining area.
Some of the ‘outstanding’ intersections include hole CAD0825 with 1.8m @ 15 grams per tonne (g/t) Au from 128.6m; and hole CAD0827 with 4.6m @ 30.7g/t Au from 61.8m, including 0.43m @ 322g/t Au.
The company says these results provide ‘strong’ evidence of Darlot’s ability to deliver new mining areas to replace mining depletion.
Red 5 Managing Director Mark Williams says over its production life so far, Darlot has proved to be an ‘exceptional’ gold system, and the ongoing drilling programs are increasing the company’s confidence in its FY24 mine plan while de-risking the mine plan for FY25 and FY26.
“We are particularly pleased to see such strong results from the Middle Waters South mining area, which is expected to contribute approximately 37% of the total contained ounces mined at Darlot in FY24.
Underground diamond drilling has re-commenced targeting down-dip extensions of the current mining areas where we are hopeful of further increasing mine life.”
“Underground diamond drilling has re-commenced targeting down-dip extensions of the current mining areas where we are hopeful of further increasing mine life”
Red 5 reports the recent drilling has generated a 117% increase in contained ounces within the Darlot underground ore reserve since 30 June 2023, demonstrating the orebody’s ongoing potential to deliver mine life extensions.
Mining at Darlot in FY23 totalled 702,270 tonnes @ 2.49g/t Au from 56,105 ounces for processing at the company’s King of the Hills processing hub.
The Darlot Gold Mine lies 900km northeast of Perth in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Red 5 is an ASX-listed gold-focused explorer and producer. As of 30 September 2023, the company had $44.6 million cash and bullion at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Red 5
