Pantoro uncovers golden bonanza
Pantoro has progressed its growth program at the Norseman gold project in Western Australia, with the gold miner unveiling the initial drilling results from the Butterfly area.
Under the strategy, which involves expanding Norseman’s underground mining operations and scaling production initially from 100,000 ounces per annum to over 200,000 ounces per annum, Pantoro commenced drilling at Butterfly in September 2024.
An initial 35,000m surface drilling program was scheduled and reverse circulation and diamond drilling planned for the near future. Now, results from the first phase of the program have been revealed.
Over 5000m of diamond drilling has been completed at Butterfly so far, with the focus centred on the unmined southern extensions of the Mararoa Reef, Butterfly NW structures, the Royal Standard Feed and the Pascoe’s Cross Link structure.
Pantoro has uncovered high-grade mineralisation in all lodes drilled to date at Butterfly, which is part of the Southern Mainfield reef system at Norseman.
The company has drilled an intercept of 3m at 485.43 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, including 1m at 1420g/t at Mararoa Reef, a result Pantoro described as “a bonanza gold intersection”.
“These initial results from the Butterfly area mark an important step in advancing our understanding and development of multiple structures in the Southern Mainfield,” Pantoro managing director Paul Cmrlec said.
“Importantly, these structures are accessible from the historic Viking Decline, providing a clear pathway for future underground development and production. This drilling program is a key element of our growth strategy to develop at least two additional underground mines at Norseman in the medium-term.”
Follow-up diamond drilling is ongoing across all lodes at Butterfly, with approximately 60 per cent of the first planned drilling phase now completed.
“With drilling ongoing, we are confident that further results will reinforce the scale and quality of the opportunity in the southern part of the Mainfield, supporting our long-term vision for Norseman,” Cmrlec said.
Source: https://www.australianmining.com.au/