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Ora Gold Limited (“Ora” or the “Company”, ASX: OAU) is pleased to report exploration results from RC drilling at the Crown Prince Prospect (M51/886) part of Ora’s Garden Gully Gold Project (Figure 1).
Highlights
- Initial assay results from the start of 2024 RC drilling at Southeastern Zone (SEZ) has delivered further high-grade gold mineralisation down dip from previously reported intersections.
- Recent new intercepts include:
- 15m at 9.91g/t Au from 88m including 2m at 54.17g/t Au from 100m and 5m at 6.60g/t Au from 31m in OGGRC662
- 1m at 8.67g/ t Au from 276m in OGGRC541
- 4m at 1.72g/t Au from 172m in OGGRC663
- The results in this announcement relate to the first batch of assays received from drilling which commenced in early February 2024.
- Results are pending for 39 holes totaling 4,151m drilled in February and March 2024.
The advanced Crown Prince Prospect (“Crown Prince”) continues to be a focus as a key growth area for gold resources. The prospect predominantly comprises the Southeastern and Main Zones. High-grade gold assay results discussed in this release include results from OGGRC662. Importantly this hole successfully targeted depth extensions of the eastern area of Southeastern Zone mineralisation. The intersection sits just within the resource block model (northeastern end of the deposit) and is likely to result in a grade uplift and strike extensions when incorporated into future models.
Assay results discussed in this announcement are shown in Appendix 1 & Figures 2-5. RC hole details are included in Table 1.
Alex Passmore Ora Gold’s CEO commented: “We are very pleased with the initial assay results from Ora’s RC drilling program targeting growth at Southeastern Zone which continues to demonstrate high-grade gold mineralisation at depth. We look forward to following up with further drilling which is focused on adding to the known strike and depth extent of Crown Prince.”
Figure 1. Ora Gold Regional Tenements - Crown Prince located 21km north of Meekatharra
Figure 2. Significant gold intercepts from the recent deep RC holes with the new interpreted structural setting at Southeastern Zone and Crown Prince East
The best intersection returned in the initial results from RC drilling was returned in OGGRC662 being 15m at 9.91 g/t Au from 88m including 2m at 54.17g/t Au from 100m (Figures 2-5 and Appendix 1). The intersection is at the eastern end of the existing resource model (Figure 3) and is expected to increase the grade profile in this area (Figure 4).
This is down dip of the previously intersected high grade within OGGSRC563 (12m at 8.26g/t Au from 28m, refer OAU ASX release 21 September 2023).
Assays received from OGGRC663 further down dip from OGGRC662 (around 75m away) intersected the mineralised structure at depth, albeit at a lower grade (4m @ 1.72g/t Au). Refer Figure 5. Follow up drilling to confirm grades in this deeper area is planned.
This article includes content from Ora Gold Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
OPINION — Goldenomics 103: Gold Protects and Performs
By Darren Brady Nelson
US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs certainly caused quite the stir in the markets on April 2.
Gold dropped about 6 percent, and silver 12 percent. A week later, a pause was announced, which ended on August 1. Gold and silver have since risen approximately 11 percent and 24 percent, respectively.
Six month gold and silver price performance.
Source: Trading Economics (gold) and (silver).
Unless you are a professional, or even amateur, trader, it is best to look at gold and silver investment with a perspective of years or decades, rather than just days, weeks or even months. Since the start of the COVID-19 panic in March 2020, gold and silver have exploded 123 percent and 192 percent.
10 year gold and silver price performance.
Source: Trading Economics (gold) and (silver).
In the shorter term, the gold price is driven by what economist John Maynard Keynes called “animal spirits.” In the longer term, it is driven by “monetary spirits.” And not just as protection, but also for performance. The Presidential Gold Guide highlights both in chapters four and five.
Source: Fisher Liberty Gold.
Gold unsurprisingly protects
Economist and investor Mark Skousen has wisely noted that: “Since we left the gold standard in 1971, both gold and silver have become superior inflation hedges.” Gold has more than countered the results of inflation, as measured by CPI, and the drivers of inflation, as measured by M3.
And the numbers back that up. The Gold Protects chart below compares the gold price, CPI and M3 in terms of cumulative growth of each from 1971 to 2025. That is throughout the whole era of gold as an investment, which officially started in 1974 once private ownership was restored.
During this era, gold grew by 541 percent, CPI by 214 percent and M3 by 384 percent. Annual average growth for gold was 10 percent, CPI at 4 percent and M3 at 7 percent. Maximums were 92 percent, 14 percent and 29 percent, respectively. CPI only failed to grow twice, ie. 0 percent in 2009 and 2015. M3 decreased twice, by -4 percent in 2023 and -6 percent in 2024.
Gold surprisingly performs
The highly respected In Gold We Trust (IGWT) report states: “When dealing with the specific level of gold allocation, it is advisable to differentiate between safe-haven gold and performance gold. The Big Long strategy emphasizes the potential of performance gold in the coming years.”
IGWT thus recommends an investment portfolio "rule of thumb" that includes 15 percent in “safe-haven gold” and 10 percent in “performance gold.” The Gold Performs chart below compares gold price, S&P 500 and nominal GDP in terms of cumulative growth of each from 1971 to 2025.
Gold grew by 541 percent, the S&P 500 by 484 percent and GDP by 339 percent. Annual average growth for gold was 10 percent, with the S&P 500 at 9 percent and GDP at 6 percent. Maximums were 92 percent, 45 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Gold did have a higher standard deviation of 27 percent, compared to 17 percent for the S&P 500 and 3 percent for GDP.
Animal and monetary spirits
Gold protects as a hedge or safe haven, not just from inflation, but from the flip side of that same coin of the boom-bust cycle. Both are driven, in the longer term, not by “animal spirits,” but by “monetary spirits.”
Inflation is when money inflation has a widespread impact as price inflation. A bubble is when money increases have a more concentrated impact such as in certain asset values. The bubble eventually bursts when “monetary spirits” are finally reined in by monetary realities.
I say “monetary spirits” because of the role of fiat money, as indicated by, say, M3. When money supply outstrips money demand in a localized way, then that is a bubble, and when in a general way, that is inflation.
The former shows up in certain asset, wholesale and/or producer prices, whilst the latter shows up in CPI. Asset prices include the S&P 500. But nominal GDP is also "ginned up" as it is ultimately a price times quantity measure as well. Price is expressed in money terms.
Conclusion
Gold can have ups and downs, as standard deviation indicates, due to the “animal spirits” of fear and uncertainty, that tend to be daily, weekly or monthly. Yet gold both protects and performs due to the “monetary spirits” of inflation and boom-bust, which tend to be decennially.
In particular, gold performs when the S&P 500 does not, like in the aftermaths of the 2001/2002 dot-com collapse, the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and 2020/2021 COVID-19 lockdowns.
Therefore, when it comes to gold, “follow the money” of central bank “money printing” and fractional reserve bank “fountain pen money,” for both superior inflation protection and boom-bust performance.
And besides, Skousen rightly "begged the question" as follows: “Gold and Silver have always had value, never gone to zero. Can you say the same for stocks and bonds?”
About Darren Brady Nelson
Darren Brady Nelson is chief economist with Fisher Liberty Gold and policy advisor to The Heartland Institute. He previously was economic advisor to Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts. He authored the Ten Principles of Regulation and Reform, and the CPI-X approach to budget cuts.
Click here to read Goldenomics 101: Follow the Money, and here to read Goldenomics 102: The Shadow Price of Gold.
