Rox Resources (ASX: RXL) and JV partner Venus Metals (ASX: VMC) have delivered an 81% increase in the total mineral resource estimate for the Youanmi Gold Project near Mt Magnet, Western Australia.
The result comes on the back of a 156% rise in contained gold within the Youanmi Deeps resource across both indicated and inferred categories, and sees the project’s total resource increase to almost 3 million ounces.
Importantly, the result was achieved without an update to the Near Surface resource, which is due to be updated before the end of 2022.
Commenting on the result, Rox Resources Managing Director Alex Passmore said: “We are delighted to announce this substantial upgrade to the Youanmi Gold Project Mineral Resource Estimate following the successful execution of our targeted infill, extensional, and discovery drilling strategy.
This resource update sees a tripling of the 2018 Deeps Resource with more drilling from the last few months of 2021 still to be incorporated in the overall resource.
Youanmi mine feasibility studies continue with early mine planning results feeding back into targeted infill drilling areas for continued conversion of inferred material into indicated categories. We also continue to work on grass roots exploration activities in areas outside the immediate Youanmi mine area with the intent of making new discoveries in the region.”
“This resource update sees a tripling of the 2018 Deeps Resource with more drilling from the last few months of 2021 still to be incorporated in the overall resource.”
The result at Youanmi Deeps follows seven months of intensive infill and extensional diamond drilling totalling 35,000m, which succeeded in defining a series of new targets including Link, Junction, and mineralisation-parallel hanging-wall lodes.
Both JV partners noted that the ‘significant’ increase in gold ounces per vertical metre is expected to result in more-favourable economics using the preferred Albion processing method to extract ‘high-grade’ sulphide-associated ore bodies at the project. This method is expected to achieve an average of 92.2% metallurgical recoveries for underground.
Chart displaying the increase in contained metal for the Youanmi Deeps mineral resource since 2018Following the resource upgrade, the JV partners will now undertake open pit and underground mining studies including detailed mine design and optimisation.
Metallurgical testwork also continues which is being utilised in plant design work, at scoping study level.
Further planned work in 2022 includes digitisation of the limited historical underground mapping, cutting of unsampled historical core to add additional intersections to the interpretation, the use of the historic stope pickups to refine the interpretation locally, and additional infill and extensional drilling in inferred resource areas to upgrade resources to indicated category and target high grade zones identified in the resource model.
The project’s next mineral resource estimate update is expected in the June 2022 quarter, after incorporating additional drilling results from November and December 2021.
Images: Rox Resources Limited
