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Brightstar Resources Limited (ASX: BTR) (Brightstar or the Company) is pleased to announce the second round of non- priority assay results from sixteen Geotechnical diamond drillholes at Cork Tree Well (CTW) within the Laverton Gold Project (LGP). These sixteen holes were part of a broader 20-hole diamond drilling program2 designed for metallurgical and geotechnical purposes.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Assays received from eight geotechnical diamond holes completed at Cork Tree Well with gold assays up to 40.15g/t Au, located near CTWMET003 which returned 27.6m at 17.77g/t Au from 51m1
- Intercepts returned include 4.0m @ 17.32g/t Au from 78.0m (CTWGT004), including:
- 1.0m at 40.15 g/t Au from 78.0m, and
- 0.59m at 37.4 g/t Au from 81.0m, and
- 0.41m at 11.62 g/t Au from 81.59m
- Additional lode within CTWGT004 returned 3.0m at 3.46 g/t Au from 68m including 1.0m at 8.48 g/t Au from 70m
- Shallow intercept returned from CTWGT003:
- 2.6m at 1.74g/t Au from 33.0m
- High-grade results at the base of current pit shell design provides confidence for continuous mineralisation extensions at depth with historically defined significant intercepts
- CTWGT003 and CTWGT004 were drilled into the unmined material north of the historically mined northern pit at Cork Tree Well, with the gold mineralisation entirely contained within a sheared mafic/ultramafic sequence
Brightstar’s Managing Director, Alex Rovira, commented “It is pleasing to see further high-grade assays continuing from geotechnical holes from the diamond drilling program that was completed at Cork Tree Well earlier this year. CTWGT004 returned a significant high-grade intersection of 4.0m @ 17.32g/t Au from 78.0m, which complements the previously announced1 intersection of 27.6m @ 17.77g/t Au (CTWMET003) drilled 200m to the north.
The sixteen Geotechnical drillholes (CTWGT001 – CTWGT016) were drilled into the current optimized $2,750/oz pit- shells generated in the 2023 Scoping Study3 with these holes designed by Brightstar’s independent geotechnical consultants targeting structural and rock mass data for the definitive feasibility study. Both CTWGT003 and CTWGT004 were drilled perpendicular to the orebody and thus reported intersections represent estimated true widths of significant mineralised intercepts.
Given the quality of the assays received from the drilling to date, Brightstar is excited to build on the existing 303koz @ 1.4g/t Au Mineral Resource4, which is open both at depth with high-grade plunging shoots and along strike targeting the structurally-controlled mineralised trends. The high-grade results returned to date are significantly higher than the current 1.4g/t Au head grade of the Mineral Resource (and 1.85g/t mine grade from the 2023 Scoping Study), representing significant upside to both metrics.”
Table 1 - Significant Intercepts (>1g/t Au) for Cork Tree Well geotechnical diamond drilling
Figure 1 - Q1/24 Diamond Drill Program – Section A-A’ displayed in Figure 3
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This article includes content from Brightstar Resources, 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.
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Overview
The price of gold stays strong. In April 2024, the yellow metal’s price passed US$2,400 per ounce for the first time. The reason is multifaceted. The world teeters on the brink of a severe recession while some markets attribute the increase to safe haven rush. Amidst ballooning interest rates, bank failures and falling bond yields, demand for gold continues to rise. At this precise moment, gold is simultaneously an excellent portfolio diversifier and a compelling hedge against ongoing inflation — particularly if one invests in the right company.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) aims to be that company. An emerging mining and development company, Brightstar occupies a strategic land position of roughly 300 square kilometers in the Laverton Tectonic Belt and 80 square kilometers of the Menzies Shear Zone.
The company also owns an existing processing facility that can potentially provide tremendous shareholder value in a low-capital cost restart scenario.
That plant, once fully refurbished and operational, could prove a key differentiator for the company, enabling fast gold production at a low capital cost. This is especially noteworthy given that many other gold companies trading on the ASX are largely focused on greenfield exploration and development. Even once those companies discover a promising resource, mining and processing facilities would still need to be built, undertakings which can incur significant upfront capital costs and take several years.
Brightstar's Laverton gold assets are all centered on a 100 percent-owned 300-square-kilometer tenure in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and all within 70 kilometers of the Laverton Processing Plant. Additionally, all resources within this zone are open along strike and at depth. Only minor drilling programs have been conducted in recent years, paving the way for significant exploration upside with the potential for further regional and greenfields discoveries.
Brightstar also owns 100 percent of the Menzies Gold Project, a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of roughly 20 kilometers along the Menzies Shear Zone and adjacent to the Goldfields Highway.
In 2023 and 2024, the company announced a mineral resource upgrade to the Cork Tree Well deposit (Laverton gold project) and also delivered two maiden mineral resource estimates at the Link Zone and Aspacia deposits (Menzies gold project). This has grown the total group MRE by approximately 150 koz gold through organic exploration.
The company has also acquired a relevant interest in 96.75 percent shares and 96.81 percent optionshares and 96.81 percent option of Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district. Brightstar’s MRE has reached 1.1 Moz gold across the Menzies and Laverton projects, with an additional 0.35 Moz gold in resources added after the successful acquisition of Linden Gold Alliance. Brightstar has commenced the compulsory acquisition process for the remaining Linden shares and options in respect of which it has not received acceptances under the agreemnt.Company Highlights
- Brightstar Resources is an ASX-listed mining and development company with more than one million ounces of gold resources and an on-site processing infrastructure.
- Brightstar's mineral assets are situated across roughly 300 square kilometers of 100-percent-owned land in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and ~80 square kilometers in the high-grade Menzies Shear Zone.
- The Laverton Gold project has a mineral resource of 9.7 Mt @ 1.6g/t gold for 511 koz gold and the Menzies gold project has 13.8Mt @ 1.3g/t gold for 595 koz gold. This is a total combined existing mineral resource of 23 Mt @ 1.5 g/t gold for 1.1 Moz of gold
- In 2023, the company completed a scoping study into the development of its Menzies and Laverton gold projects and the refurbishment and restart of its processing plant in Laverton.
- The scoping study produced robust operating outcomes and compelling financial outputs, including:
- 322 koz of gold recovered over eight years (40 koz per annum)
- Net present value of AU$103 million (using a gold price of AU$2,900/oz)
- Internal rate of return of 79 percent
- Pre-production capital requirements of AU$22 million
- All-in sustaining costs of A$2,041/oz
- Once refurbished, this infrastructure will allow Brightstar to fill a growing investment void for near-term gold developers in Western Australia, producing large quantities of gold at low capital cost.
- In 2023 and 2024, Brightstar completed a small-scale mining joint venture with BML Ventures which involved a 50/50 profit-sharing agreement to exploit the Selkirk deposit at Menzies. In April 2024, Brightstar announced that this joint venture delivered a net profit to Brightstar of $6.5 million.
- In June 2024, the company successfully acquired all of the issued ordinary shares and options in Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district.
- Linden is currently a gold producer, mining 15-20 koz pa from its high-grade underground Second Fortune Mine south of Laverton.
- Brightstar’s total MRE across the Menzies and Laverton gold projects increased to 1.45 Moz gold after acquiring Linden. All of the mineral resources are located on granted mining licenses.
- As part of the merger with Linden Gold, Brightstar released a scoping study into Linden’s development-ready Jasper Hills gold project, which delivered key metrics including:
- 140 koz mined over 3.75 years (35 koz pa)
- Net present value of AU$99 million
- Internal rate of return of 736 percent
- Pre-production capital requirements of $12 million
- All-in sustaining costs of AU$1,972/oz
- Jasper Hills is located just 50 km SE of Brightstar’s processing plant in the Laverton gold project
- Brightstar plans to continue generating shareholder value through a combination of development and strategic acquisitions along with some exploration.
Key Projects
Brightstar Processing Facility
Situated close to Brightstar's existing mineral assets at Laverton, the Brightstar Processing Plant provides the company with a considerable operational head start over its peers.
Highlights:
- Extensive Infrastructure: Current facilities at the plant include two ball mills, a power station and gravity and elution circuits. Other infrastructure includes:
- A tailings storage dam
- An on-site process water pond
- An operational 60-person accommodation camp
- An airstrip at the nearby Cork Tree Well Project
- Vehicles and equipment include a forklift, bobcat, two loaders, multiple light vehicles and a 30-tonne crane.
- A Leg Up Over Competitors: The presence of pre-existing processing infrastructure represents significant time savings compared to greenfields development. Brightstar had an independent valuation completed which valued the processing plant at AU$60 million in replacement value.
- Low Upfront Capital Cost: As part of the scoping study released in September 2023, GR Engineering estimated a capital cost requirement to refurbish and expand the milling capacity would cost just AU$18.5 million.
- Close to Existing Assets: Brightstar's major development projects — Cork Tree Well, Jasper Hills, Beta and Alpha — are all close to the plant.
Gold doré bars (BTR005 – BTR016) poured on 9 March 2024
Cork Tree Well
Cork Tree Well is a formerly operating mine, producing 45 koz of gold over its lifespan. Located roughly 35 kilometers north of Laverton on Bandya Station Road, the project’s JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t for 303 koz of gold.
Highlights:
- Promising Drilling Results: Two 6,000-meter drill programs were completed in late 2022, and in the first quarter of 2023 delivered an uplift in tonnages and ounces at a discovery cost of AU$30 per ounce. In 2023 the JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate increased by 20 percent to 303 koz, representing a 65-percent increase to the indicated ounces to 157 koz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
- Upcoming Feasibility Studies: The drilling program will underpin several feasibility studies that Brightstar intends to conduct later this year. At present, Brightstar has defined a resource envelope over a strike length of approximately 1 kilometer and down to 200 meters.
- Area Geology: The Cork Tree deposit is situated along the western limb of the Erlistoun synclical structure, a sequence which includes mafic volcanic lavas, tuffs and tuffaceous sediments alongside minor interflow graphitic shales and banded iron formation. The mine itself consists of chlorite schist-altered high-magnesium basalt footwalls overlain by graphitic shales containing banded iron and chert beds. Gold mineralization is contained within sediments intruded by concordant porphyry sills spanning the length of the mineralized zone.
- High-grade Assays from the 2024 Drill Program: First round of assay results from 20 diamond drill holes at Cork Tree Well were extremely positive, with intercepts returned including 34.4 metres @ 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 metres (CTWMET004) and 27.6 metres @ 17.8 g/t gold from 51 metres (CTWMET003).
Second Fortune Gold Mine
Second Fortune is an operating underground gold mine owned and run by Linden Gold, which is the subject of an off-market takeover by Brightstar announced in March 2024. Second Fortune has produced +14,000oz gold in FY24 year to date and is run under an ‘owner operator’ model.
Second Fortune has a high-grade MRE of 165kt @ 10.9 g/t gold for 58 koz. Limited modern and systematic exploration has occurred across the ~20km of strike length of prospective geology at Second Fortune. This presents a superb opportunity to leverage existing team, camp & related infrastructure to rapidly assess targets and conduct efficient drilling programs to further grow the MRE and extend the mine life at Second Fortune.
Menzies Gold Project
Situated 130 kilometers north of the globally significant Kalgoorlie gold deposit, Menzies represents one of Western Australia's leading historic gold fields. The project, fully owned and operated by Kingwest before its merger with Brightstar, consists of a contiguous land package of a strike length above 20 kilometers. All deposits are now 100 percent owned by Brightstar and lie within granted mining leases.
Brightstar intends to leverage existing processing infrastructure in the district to monetise the high-grade open pit ounces produced by this mine.
Highlights:
- Significant Historical Production: Menzies has hosted multiple historically mined high-grade gold deposits which together produced a total of over 800,000 ounces at 19 g/t gold. This includes 643,000 oz @ 22.5 g/t gold from underground.
- Profit Sharing: Brightstar and BLM Ventures had a 50/50 profit-sharing joint venture agreement to exploit the Selkirk deposit at Menzies. In March 2024, Brighstar announced the successful completion of all the ore processing from the Selkirk JV, with a total of 430.7 kg of gold doré poured which netted Brightstar $6.5 million as part of its profit share.
- Area Geology: The Menzies Gold Project is hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone in the western margin of the Menzies greenstone belt. It displays a geologic setting similar to the Sand Queen Gold Mine at Comet Vale.
LAVERTON GOLD PROJECT – OTHER RESOURCES
Beta
Located immediately adjacent to the Brightstar Plant, the Beta Project includes a 60-person camp. It contains a combined JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 1,882 kt at 1.7 g/t for 102 koz of gold. The deposit occurs along the Eastern Margin of the Laverton Tectonic Zone, notable for hosting multiple major gold occurrences including Granny Smith, Keringal, Red October and Sunrise Dam.
Alpha
Hosting a combined JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 1,452 gold at 2.3 g/t for 106 koz, the Alpha Project. Future exploration programs and feasibility studies will seek to potentially capitalize on Alpha's close proximity to Beta.
Management Team – Post Completion of Linden Merger
Alex Rovira - Managing Director
Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.
Richard Crookes – Non-executive Chairman
Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.
Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.
Andrew Rich - Executive Director
Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
Ashley Fraser - Non-executive Director
Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.
Jonathan Downes - Non-executive Director
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.
Dean Vallve – Chief Operating Officer
Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).
High-Grade Focus Delivers 2.48MOZ @ 4.79g/T – 47% Increase in Ounces and 91% in Grade
HIGHLIGHTS
- Updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) completed for the Dalgaranga Gold Project, located on granted Mining Leases and within 2km of the 2.5Mtpa processing plant:
- 16.1Mt @ 4.79g/t gold for 2,482,200 ounces, comprising:
- 5.72Mt @ 8.07g/t gold for 1,485,200 ounces – Never Never Gold Deposit
- 1.78Mt @ 7.66g/t gold for 438,100 ounces – Pepper Gold Deposit
- 8.63Mt @ 2.01g/t gold for 558,900 ounces – “Other” Underground MRE
- 16.1Mt @ 4.79g/t gold for 2,482,200 ounces, comprising:
- Resource Classification breakdown for the updated Dalgaranga Gold Project MRE:
- 8.70Mt @ 4.98g/t gold for 1,392,800 ounces (56%) classified as Indicated;
- 7.44Mt @ 4.56g/t gold for 1,089,400 ounces (44%) classified as Inferred.
- Resource Classification breakdown for the Underground Never Never Gold Deposit MRE:
- 3.88Mt @ 8.74g/t gold for 1,091,200 ounces (76%) classified as Indicated;
- 1.08Mt @ 9.95g/t gold for 346,200 ounces (24%) classified as Inferred.
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the Underground Pepper Gold Deposit:
- 1.78Mt @ 7.66g/t gold for 438,100 ounces (100%) classified as Inferred.
- Combined high-grade underground MRE for the Never Never and Pepper Gold Deposits:
- 6.75Mt @ 8.65g/t gold for 1,875,600 ounces (58%) classified as Indicated.
- The ounces per vertical metre (“ozpvm”) for the updated high-grade underground MRE has increased 24% to 2,284ozpvm, from 1,690ozpvm. Between 450mbsl and 650mbsl, through both Never Never and Pepper, the ozpvm averages 3,796ozpm.
- A focus on delineating higher grade underground Mineral Resources for the Four Pillars and West Winds gold prospects, as well as the nearby Sly Fox and Plymouth gold deposits has underpinned the “Other” Underground MRE of:
- 8.63Mt @ 2.01g/t gold for 558,900 ounces:
- Updated Spartan Group Mineral Resources for the Dalgaranga and Yalgoo (“Murchison”) and Glenburgh and Egerton (“Gascoyne”) Projects now stand at:
- 39.15Mt @ 2.62g/t gold for 3,302,000 ounces (61% or 2.01Moz Indicated)
This latest MRE update is a pivot towards Dalgaranga as an emerging high-grade underground gold mining operation, and comprises Never Never, Pepper, Four Pillar, West Winds, Applewood, Plymouth and Sly Fox deposits. MRE details are shown in Tables 1 to 4:
Table 1. Dalgaranga Gold Project Combined Resources at 30 June 2024*
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This article includes content from Spartan Resources, 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.
Aurum Resources: Game-changing Gold Exploration at Prolific Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa
Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) offers a compelling value proposition by primarily focusing on gold through its flagship Boundiali gold project located in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. Côte d'Ivoire's gold mining sector is experiencing significant growth and development as its political, legal, tax and operational risk metricsout performs most developing countries in the world.
The Boundiali gold project in Cote d’Ivoire is located within the Boundiali Greenstone Belt, which hosts Resolute’s Syama gold operation (11.5 Moz) and the Tabakoroni deposit (1 Moz) in Mali. Neighbouring assets also include Barrick’s Tongon mine (5 Moz) and Montage Gold’s Kone project (4.5 Moz).
The Boundiali gold project comprises four contiguous granted licenses: PR0808 (80 percent interest), PR0893 (80 to 88 percent interest), PR414 (100 percent interest), and PR283 (70 percent interest).
Company Highlights
- Aurum Resources is a precious metals company with exploration prospects in the same greenstone belt as the Syama (11.5 Moz), Sissingué (1.0 Moz), Tongon (5.0 Moz) and Kone Gold (4.5 Moz) deposits of West Africa.
- Upcoming catalysts include a maiden mineral resource estimate expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The company believes mineralization is open at depth and along strike and highlights the existence of numerous gold mineralization targets within the large land holding of Aurum’s Boundiali Gold Project.
- Aurum operates its own drill rigs, allowing the company to significantly reduce its exploration costs relative to peers.
- Management has a track record of creating value for shareholders from exploration through to project development, mine construction and gold production.
- Strong leverage to increasing gold prices that will benefit from a declining interest rate environment and rising global geopolitical risk factors.
- Well funded for greater than 12 months and over 100,000 metres diamond drilling programs and metallurgical study
This Aurum Resources profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*
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