Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) has enjoyed a successful year in 2022, progressing its unique greenfields and brownfields exploration portfolio based in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in its search for gold and base metal discoveries.
The Darwin-based exploration company has conducted drilling campaigns alongside its joint venture (JV) partner IGO (ASX:IGO) at the Lake Mackay Project.
Strategically located 400km northwest of the township of Alice Springs, adjacent to the Western Australian border, the Lake Mackay Project has been described by the company to have a consolidated tenure over the favourable Proterozoic margin between the Aileron and Warumpi Provinces.
Prodigy starts 2022 with rapid portfolio exploration
In February this year, the company continued to advance a scoping study to evaluate a potential low-cost, heap leach gold operation at the Buccaneer Gold deposit.
The company followed this up with conducting metallurgical testwork, including column leach test work on oxide, transition and fresh material from the Buccaneer tenement.
Other highlights include the return of assays from un-sampled zones from earlier reported diamond holes conducted at the project included BCDD2104 with 1.0m at 5.1g/t Au from 26m; and BCDD2105 with 9.8m at 2.1g/t Au from 33.6m.
Prodigy Gold, as reported by Mining.com.au, stated that these results confirmed the presence of relatively narrow zones of moderate to ‘high-grade’ gold mineralisation within quartz veins, which are enveloped by wider zones of lower grade gold mineralisation.
Also, during Q1 the company returned assays from a historical diamond core that was reported to contain visible gold at the Golden Hind Gold deposit.
Hole GHDD100001 intersected 22.5m at 25.2g/t Au from 11m including 16.5m at 34g/t Au from 14m including 0.9m at 347g/t Au from 19.1m.
These early months also witnessed the divestment of the Barrow Creek Project, with Australasian Metals acquiring up to 90% interest in selected tenements through the signing and completion of a binding Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
To round out the first half of 2022, Prodigy worked to restructure its joint venture with IGO , in order to receive an additional 40% interest in the gold tenements of the Lake Mackay Project.
During this time, planning for a reverse circulation (RC) drilling was underway to further test the historical resource at the Tregony prospect.
The company also received confirmation from the Northern Territory State Government for drilling to be conducted at the Boco North prospect and signed an agreement with private entity Stockton Mining for another divestment, this time of its Old Pirate Gold Project and 23 surrounding exploration tenements.
It was also at this time that Mark Edwards stepped up and commenced his role as Managing Director following the resignation of former Managing Director Matt Briggs.
Prodigy Gold shines in 2H 2022
In August this year, Prodigy delivered ‘highly’ anomalous copper and gold results from diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Phreaker prospect within its Lake Mackay Project in the Northern Territory.
Hole 21PHDD002 intersected 4.5m at 3.03% Cu, 1.78g/t Au and 14g/t Ag from 562m and 17.47m at 2.13% Cu, 0.21g/t Au and 9g/t Ag from 575.23m.
The results, as Mining.com.au reported, highlighted the potential for additional polymetallic occurrences throughout the project and also opened the possibility for further mineralisation to exist closer to the surface than any previous results indicated.
The company also decided to launch a $11.65 million rights issue in September in order to help fund exploration across its portfolio of projects.
New shares in the fully underwritten renounceable rights issue were issued at a price of $0.01 per new share and offered shareholders the right to take up 2 new shares for every 1 share held.
It was during this endeavour that major shareholder, APAC Resources committed to sub-underwrite the offer to about $9.71 million to bring the maximum funds that could have been raised to about $11.653 million. The rights issue closed on 26 September.
Following the successful capital raising, Prodigy Gold recommenced diamond drilling within the Lake Mackay Project in November in order to follow up on the previous drilling campaign conducted at the Phreaker prospect.
Drilling was designed to test down-plunge of ‘high-grade’ interval drillhole 21PHDD002, as well as an electromagnetic plate previously identified by IGO along strike from the drillhole.
Prodigy Gold Managing Director, Mark Edwards, said at the time that the program was anticipated to complete the restructuring of the joint venture agreement with IGO Limited, giving Prodigy Gold the majority interest in the gold tenements while retaining its 30% position in the base metal tenements.
Results from the follow-up diamond drilling, which were announced to be returned during the Northern Territory’s wet season, are yet to be received by the company.
In conjunction with diamond drilling at Lake Mackay, the company continues its focus on additional exploration activities across its Boco North, Tregony and Hyperion prospects for the first half of 2023.
