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Astral Resources NL (ASX: AAR) (Astral or the Company) is pleased to report assay results for the final three RC holes from a recently completed 26-hole (2,808 metres) RC drilling program at the Kamperman Prospect, part of the 100%-owned Feysville Gold Project (Feysville), located approximately 14km south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia (Figure 1).
Highlights
- Assay results for the final three holes from the 26-hole (2,808 metres) reverse circulation (RC) infill and extensional drilling program at the Kamperman Prospect (Feysville Gold Project) have been received, with best results including:
- 10 metres at 5.04g/t Au from 99 metres in FRC350; and
- 32 metres at 2.13g/t Au from 125 metres in FRC360.
- In-fill results continue to support the interpretation of a very continuous, steeply west-dipping, zone of high-grade gold mineralisation in the southern part of the deposit.
- A maiden Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) for Kamperman is scheduled to be reported in the September Quarter as part of an updated MRE for the broader Feysville Gold Project.
Astral Resources’ Managing Director Marc Ducler said: “We had already considered this 26-hole drill program to be the most successful program completed to date at Kamperman, and when you include these final three holes – we are now certain of it!
“These latest results strengthen our geological interpretation of a broad, 30-metre-wide zone of consistent high-grade gold mineralisation across multiple sections in the southern part of the Kamperman Deposit. This bodes well for the upcoming maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Kamperman as part of the wider Feysville Gold Project.
“The exploration focus has now returned to the Theia deposit, the cornerstone of our flagship Mandilla Gold Project, where the first phase of a new infill RC drilling program commenced early this month.
“On completion of the phase one program, Astral will return to Feysville for further in-fill and extensional RC drilling at Kamperman, as well as follow up on two significant greenfield gold anomalies announced in July 2024 to the north-west of Kamperman.”
Figure 1 - Map illustrating location of Mandilla and Feysville Gold Projects.
FEYSVILLE GOLD PROJECT
The Feysville Gold Project is located within the north-north-west trending Norseman – Wiluna Greenstone Belt, within the Kambalda Domain of the Archean Yilgarn Craton, approximately 14km south of the KCGM Super Pit in Kalgoorlie.
Significant gold and nickel mineralisation occurs throughout the belt, including world-class deposits such as the Golden Mile Super Pit in Kalgoorlie owned by Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX: NST) and the St Ives Gold Mine south of Kambalda owned by Gold Fields Limited. The area also hosts the substantial Beta Hunt Gold Mine owned by Westgold Resources Limited (ASX: WGX).
Feysville hosts an MRE of 3Mt at 1.3g/t Au for 116koz of contained gold1 at the Think Big deposit, providing a foundation for the project to potentially become a source of satellite ore feed for a future operation based on Astral’s flagship Mandilla Gold Project.
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This article includes content from Astral 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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Astral Resources
Investor Insight
Astral Resources presents a compelling investment case as an ASX-listed gold explorer with a 1.46 Moz resource base in Western Australia's premier Kalgoorlie region, anchored by its flagship Mandilla project which demonstrates robust economics with an AU$442 million NPV and 11-year mine life.
Overview
Astral Resources (ASX:AAR) is a gold mineral exploration company with three gold projects in tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Western Australia. The three assets are the Mandilla gold project, the Feysville gold project, and the Carnilya Hill gold project. The flagship and 100 percent owned Mandilla gold project has a mineral resource containing 1.27 million ounces (Moz) of contained gold. The other key project, 100 percent owned Feysville, hosts an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 5.0 Mt at 1.2g/t gold for 196 koz of contained gold . Feysville could potentially become a satellite source of high-grade ore feed for the flagship Mandilla gold project.
The scoping study completed at Mandilla unveils robust project economics. The cornerstone of the scoping study is the Theia deposit, which alone accounts for 81 percent of the total Mandilla mineral resource estimate. The deposit hosts a mineral resource estimate of 29 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold for 1.02 Moz of contained gold in one large open pit. The scoping study indicates a mine life of 11 years with an annual production of 100,000 oz in the first seven and a half years, dropping to 41,000 oz for the remaining three and a half years. The study outlines compelling financial metrics, including NPV@8 percent of AU$442 million, free cash flow of AU$740 million, and a payback period of nine months.
Astral benefits from a team of professionals boasting extensive expertise in geology and mining.
The company is led by managing director Marc Ducler, who has more than two decades of experience in the mining industry. The management team has a proven track record of executing several successful exploration and development projects, as well as M&A.
Company Highlights
- Astral Resources is an ASX-listed gold exploration company in the Kalgoorlie region of Western Australia, a tier 1 jurisdiction and a mature mining region with a successful development history and granted mining leases.
- The company has three assets - the Mandilla gold project, the Feysville gold project, and the Carnilya Hill gold exploration project.
- The focus is on advancing its flagship Mandilla gold project, with a mineral resource estimate of 37 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold for 1.27 Moz.
- The scoping study at Mandilla highlights the project’s robust economics with a mine life of 11 years, NPV@8 percent of AU$442 million, and free cash flow of AU$740 million.
- Mandilla’s cornerstone Theia deposit comprises 81 percent of the project’s resources, contains 29 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold, with 1.02 Moz of contained gold in one large open pit.
- Updated JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the Feysville gold project is 5.0Mt at 1.2g/t gold for 196koz of contained gold.
- Including the Mandilla MRE of 37Mt at 1.1g/t gold for 1.27Moz of contained gold, Astral’s total gold MRE is now calculated to be 42Mt at 1.1g/t gold for 1.46Moz of contained gold (Group MRE).
- The company is led by an experienced team with a proven track record of advancing projects to development and M&A.
Key Projects
Mandilla Gold Project
The Mandilla gold project is located within the northern region of the Widgiemooltha greenstone belt, approximately 70 kilometers to the south of the prominent mining hub of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Mandilla includes four deposits namely, Theia, Iris, Eos and Hestia. The cornerstone of the project is the Theia deposit, constituting 81 percent of Mandilla's resources, totaling 29 Mt at a grade of 1.1 g/t gold, amounting to 1.02 Moz of contained gold in a single open pit. Mandilla has a total mineral resource estimate of 37 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold for 1.27 Moz.
The scoping study indicates a mine life of 11 years with an annual production of 100,000 oz in the first seven and a half years, dropping to 41,000 oz for the remaining three and a half years. Astral estimates the pre-production capital spend at AU$191 million, and the project is anticipated to generate a free cash flow of AU$740 million (assuming a gold price of A$2,750/oz). The project’s NPV @8 percent is estimated at AU$442 million, and the IRR at 73 percent.
Drill collars at Theia deposit
Astral continues to advance exploration and resource expansion efforts at Mandilla. The company recently completed a four-hole 1,762-metre in-fill diamond drilling program at the Theia deposit late last year. Best results included: 28 metres at 2.63 g/t gold, 15.5 metres at 1.81 g/t gold, 9.6 metres at 27.6 g/t gold, 2.4 metres at 169.1 g/t gold, 24.9 metres at 4.14 g/t gold and 72.2 metres at 1.15 g/t gold.
Astral has commenced work on a pre-feasibility study at Mandilla, which is due in the June quarter 2025.
Feysville Gold Project
The Feysville project is situated in Australia's premier gold belt, merely 14 km south of the Golden Mile deposit, which boasts 70 million ounces, located in Kalgoorlie. The project's updated JORC 2012 MRE indicates 5.0 Mt at 1.2 g/t gold for 196 koz of contained gold. Including the Mandilla MRE of 37 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold for 1.27 Moz of contained gold, Astral’s total gold MRE is now calculated to be 42 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold for 1.46 Moz of contained gold (group MRE).
At Feysville, Astral is focusing on the high-grade Kamperman prospect. A recent 31-hole (3,834 m) reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Kamperman returned encouraging assay results. The latest drilling program returned best assay results of 33 metres at 3.75 g/t gold, 22 metres at 5.21 g/t gold, and 22 metres at 4.44 g/t gold. This high success rate continues to indicate that Kamperman has the potential to be a substantial source of high-grade satellite ore for the Mandilla processing plant.
Carnilya Gold Project
The Carnilya Hill gold project is situated about 20 kilometers south-southeast of the company's Feysville project and approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The project encompasses various tenements – M26/047-049, M26/453 – spanning approximately 2.65 sq. km. Astral holds rights for gold mining, while Mincor Resources NL (ASX:MCR) holds rights to nickel and other minerals.Management Team
Mark Connelly – Non-executive Chairman
Mark Connelly is a mining industry veteran who has held positions of CEO and managing director with several multinational companies across many jurisdictions, including Australia, North America, South America, Africa and Europe. He has a proven track record in deal making and was principally responsible for the merger of Papillon Resources and B2 Gold Corp in October 2014 (value US$570 million), as well as the key person responsible for the merger of Adamus Resources and Endeavour Mining for US$579 million. He is currently the non-executive chair of Calidus Resources, Omnia Metals Group, Alto Metals, Warriedar Resources and Nickel Search.
Marc Ducler – Managing Director
Marc Ducler has more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry. He has held senior operational management roles with GoldFields, BHP, Fortescue Metals, MRL and Roy Hill. He was also the managing director of Egan Street Resources (a gold exploration and development company) until it was acquired by Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR).
Peter Stern – Non-executive Director
Peter Stern has experience in corporate advisory, specializing in M&A and capital raising. He has spent six years with Macquarie Bank and three years with UBS and Deutsche Bank. He is a graduate of Monash University with a Bachelor of Science (geology major). Stern is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the chairman of Troy Resources.
David Varcoe – Non-executive Director
David Varcoe is a mining engineer with over three decades of experience. He has extensive operational and managerial experience across various commodities, including gold, iron ore, copper, diamonds, coal, uranium and rare earths. His expertise spans board positions, operations management, project management and consulting. Varcoe is a principal consultant with the leading Australian firm AMC Consulting.
Justin Osborne – Non-executive Director
Justin Osborne is a geologist with over 30 years of experience in exploration. He was previously the executive director at Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), where he played a crucial role in developing the world-class Gruyere gold deposit (6.6 Moz gold). Osborne also held senior positions on the exploration executive team at Gold Fields. He was instrumental in developing the Damang Superpit project in Ghana and achieved significant discovery success at the St Ives gold mine.
Brendon Morton – Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
Brendon Morton has over 20 years of experience, particularly in the global resources sector across Australia, Africa and Asia. He has held several executive financial and company secretarial roles with ASX-listed and unlisted companies in the resources industry.
Steve Lampron – Technical Services Manager
Steve Lampron is a mining engineer with more than 20 years industry experience. As well as having worked in production roles for companies such as Placer Dome, Barrick and North American Palladium he has also worked as a Consultant for over 10 years.
Julie Reid – Geology Manager
Julie Reid has 36 years of experience working across Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, covering a variety of commodities in diverse geological terrains. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from Curtin University of Technology.
AI Defines 18 New Gold Targets at Music Well
SensOre consultants have applied artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other processing techniques using both public and proprietary datasets over the Music Well Project.
- Cutting edge AI/ML algorithms targeting areas with minimal outcrop or under cover.
- Integration of geological, geochemical and geophysical data sets into the AI process to define digital mineralisation fingerprints and generate AI-enhanced gold discovery predictions.
- The AI SensOre study concluded that “Application of ML algorithms were found to model +1m oz Au potential with a high degree of predictability, and a total of 18 targets were identified within the Music Well project”:
- Target 1 has the highest priority and is in the central north of the project with a strike length of 8km.
- Target 1 trends NNW parallel to the general geological fabric as well as being intersected by several WNW trending cross structures.
- Target 2 is located 4km east of the Wonder Deeps mine of Northern Star and is adjacent to a parallel WNW trending structure hosting Vault Minerals Great Western mine.
- Target 2 is 1.4km in strike and 800m wide.
- No historic drilling has been recorded at any of the target areas, highlighting the underexplored nature of the Music Well project.
- Next Steps
- Geological mapping and sampling over these new targets are scheduled for the next two weeks to gain further insight into the new targets.
- Results from the January rock chip sampling program are expected shortly.
Andrew Ford, GM Exploration
“The work by SensOre has focussed our attention from areas of outcrop, toward regional targets which are obscured in many cases by thin cover and sheetwash. By applying groundbreaking technologies such as artificial intelligence has enabled the rapid prioritization of multiple targets. The definition of targets reflecting a specific geophysical and geochemical response which also focuses on key mineralised structural trends provides encouragement as to the robust nature of the targeting process”.
Figure1: Regional Tenement Packages and Gold Projects
Background:
Augustus Minerals Limited( ASX: AUG) holds the exploration licenses and applications comprising the Music Well Gold Project (“Project”) located 35km north of Leonora in the Leonora/Laverton Greenstone Belt of Western Australia.
Music Well comprises ten exploration licences covering an area of 1,345km2, making the Project one of the largest exploration packages in the region (Figures 1 and 2).
The outstanding gold endowment of the Leonora-Laverton District of >28M ounces3 is illustrated by the numerous operating gold mines including the Darlot Gold Mine (~12km to the north), the King of the Hills Mine (~20km to the west), the Leonora Gold Camp (~30km to the southwest), and the Thunderbox Gold Mine (~20km to the west).
AI Enhanced Gold Exploration
The Company commenced a gold targeting exercise with SensOre_X Pty Ltd (SensOre) in November 2024, using their Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to allow predictive analytics to generate targets for discovery of gold systems at the Music Well project.
SensOre is an industry leading technology services provider of AI/ML applications to the minerals exploration and mining industry. SensOre’s technologies have been developed over many years and involve the application of new computer assisted statistical approaches and ML techniques across the mineral cycle to provide the next generation of exploration discoveries. SensOre aims to become the top global minerals targeting company through deployment of big data, AI/ML technologies and geoscience expertise.
The Company committed to this new technological approach to gold exploration at Music Well to reinforce the existing generative exploration undertaken by the Company and deliver new “out of the box” targets for gold mineralisation over the project area, which has minimal historic exploration and limited outcrop.
In addition, the Company has inherited a large and impressive database of geological, geochemical, and geophysical information since acquiring Music Well Gold Mines Pty Ltd in late 2024. Having a variety of good quality datasets is considered a key attribute for the application of the AI/ML technology to accelerate the discovery process. The data layers used in the AI/ML processing include results from 2,478 Ultra fine fraction soil samples, 18,042 soil samples and 155 rock chip samples, in addition to detailed aeromagnetic and gravity data.
The Music Well project is contained within an area of influence (AOI) where a “data cube” was constructed covering the four 100k scale regional map sheets containing 80m x 80m cells. This data cube contains 1,440,000 cells x 1,618 variables where the AI/ML technology was applied.
Figure 2: SensOre geophysical predictions identifying multiple intrusion types and an area of probable mafic/ultramafic rocks in the SE of the project
The application of the machine learning approach applied by SensOre to the database of geochemical, geological and geophysical information compiled over the Company’s AOI has demonstrated the highly gold prospective nature of the Music Well project. Application of the machine learning algorithms modelled the probability of gold systems within the AOI and more specifically the Music Well project. This required 107 variables for discrimination that were applied to the 80m by 80m cells within the AOI.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Augustus Minerals, 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.
Astral Resources Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects