Western Australia’s mineral abundance is no secret.
With iron ore and gold among the most relevant minerals within the state’s endowment, Western Australia is so often described as a nationwide powerhouse for the mining sector.
And in one region, the name says it all.
The Goldfields-Esperance region is located in Western Australia’s most southeast corner, spanning 770,488km2.
The region is mostly known for its major mining town, Kalgoorlie, where gold was first found in 1893, setting off a gold rush in the area.
However, 236km to the north sits another historic gold mining town, Leonora.
The town is appearing more frequently in mining news at the moment, following the major merger between Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) and Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU), which is set to create a top three Australian gold producer with between 600,000–700,000 ounces of immediate annual gold production in Leonora.
In FY24, Vault’s Leonora operations delivered around 212,000 ounces of total gold sales at an all-in sustaining cost of $2,043 per ounce.
Adjoining Vault’s operations is Genesis’ Gwalia gold mine, just one operation within Genesis’ Leonora package.
The Gwalia gold mine retains a multi-million ounce resource base and has produced more than 6 million ounces of gold since it was discovered by Welsh miners in the late 19th century.
Just south of Gwalia sits CGN Resources’ (ASX:CGR) Panhandle Project — one exploration asset within the company’s Leonora Gold Project.
CGN Resources describes the Leonora Gold Project as located within a “highly fertile geological setting”, comprising the Christmas Well and Panhandle projects.
The company says the Christmas Well Project provides exposure to a large, underexplored gold system where modern geophysics has revealed strong litho-structural targets concealed beneath shallow cover.
Earlier this week, CGN Resources announced it had completed heritage surveys across the Leonora Project, clearing the way for drilling.
Drilling will begin this week, with heritage surveys conducted over priority targets including Ox Tongue, Lambs Fry, Sweetbread, Rocky Mountain Oyster, and Pelican targets.
The program will comprise around 4,000m of reverse circulation drilling, following Impact Drilling’s arrival on site.
As of 15 July, CGN Resources has a market capitalisation of $6.33 million, with shares trading at $0.085 on the ASX.
CGN Resources is focused on unlocking Western Australia’s mineral potential through a portfolio of assets across the state.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Western Australian Government
