Riversgold earns 80% stake in Kalgoorlie Gold Project’s Northern Zone
Riversgold Ltd has exercised its option to secure an 80% interest in the Kalgoorlie Gold Project’s Northern Zone in WA after surpassing the required minimum exploration expenditure. The company has formally notified Oracle Power Plc (LON: ORCP) of its decision, fulfilling the conditions outlined in their Heads of Agreement (HOA).
This comes with the drill booked to start the 2025 drill program.
About the earn-in
The option was originally signed in May 2023 through a binding HOA and granted Riversgold the exclusive right to earn an 80% stake in the Northern Zone (P25/2651) by investing A$600,000 in exploration by May 9, 2025. Having met this expenditure threshold, the company can now assume full operational responsibility for the tenement’s management and exploration activities until a joint venture agreement is formalised later this year.
Exploration efforts have confirmed a significant blind porphyry gold system with widths of up to 600 metres and gold mineralisation extending beyond 400 metres in depth.
Recent shallow drilling has further identified gold grades starting from approximately 30 metres below surface. Additionally, initial metallurgical testing has delivered an average gold recovery rate of 92.9% through a 24-hour bottle roll extraction process.
Getting on with it
“We have spent more than the minimum dollar commitment required to exercise our exclusive option to acquire 80% of the Kalgoorlie Gold - Northern Zone Project – and therefore we have now taken steps to formally notify Oracle that the 80% expenditure hurdle has been exceeded and we have exercised our option,” RGL chairman David Lenigas said.
“We are now looking forward to getting on with further drilling, upgrading the tenement status to a Mining Lease and making plans to deliver significant value for shareholders.
“With the new Black Cat Syndicate Myaree Gold Mine and the methodology they used to put that into production, just to the north of the Northern Zone porphyry, and with the +$4,500 gold price, this project is also looking a potential candidate for a contract mining, trucking and toll milling operation.
“Our task now is to build a robust MRE in the upper section of the porphyry to see if we can get an economic starter pit and I look forward to getting the drills turning again in the coming weeks.”
Looking ahead
Riversgold and Oracle have agreed to extend the deadline for formalising their joint venture agreement to December 31, 2025.
The extension aims to facilitate the conversion of the tenement into a Mining Lease.
Meanwhile, a drill rig has been secured for Riversgold’s 2025 exploration program, marking the next phase of development for the Northern Zone Project.
The contractor will mobilise to site next month to commence the next phase of drilling. The program aims to target and extend previous higher-grade intercepts through a series of southwest-northeast (SW-NE) oriented extensional lines with nominal 20-metre spacing.
Concurrently, the Mining Lease application M25/389 has been submitted to the Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) to convert the Northern Zone to a Mining Lease.
Riversgold stated that securing a Mining Lease for the tenement was a strategic step to support potential future operations, should economic assessments justify development.
Source: https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au