Overview
Siren Gold (ASX:SNG) is an exploration and development company focusing on gold assets at its 1,100-square-kilometer tenement package located on the historic, high-grade Reefton, Lyell and Sams Creek goldfields in New Zealand.
Reefton Goldfield was first discovered in 1866 with total current recorded production of 11 million ounces (Moz) of gold, consisting of 2 Moz @ 16 grams per ton (g/t) gold from underground, 0.7 Moz from open pit and ~8 Moz gold from alluvial mining.
Mining and the local communities thrived in the region during the early 1900s, but most of the 94 underground mines closed by 1942 during WWII, and the Blackwater mine, which produced 740 koz @ 19 g/t down to more than 700 meters below the surface, finally shut down in 1951 bringing the entire field to a close. The gold price in 1951 was US$35 per ounce.
The district is widely known for producing gold, antimony and coal. A crucial aspect of the Reefton Goldfield is the significant occurrence of antimony, a rare thermal-resistant metal and a poor conductor of electricity. These attributes make it ideal for flame retardants, paints and various industrial applications to improve thermal tolerance. Additionally, antimony is a critical element in lithium-ion batteries and next-generation liquid metal batteries utilized for energy storage systems. The presence of antimony in the goldfield creates additional value for Siren’s projects as exploration continues.
Siren currently has seven projects, many of which were active sites that were closed during WWII despite encouraging exploration or production. Now, the company has built an expansive portfolio of projects and will undergo systematic exploration of its assets using leading-edge technologies and techniques.
With seven projects under its belt, Siren is primarily focused on Sams Creek, Alexander River, Big River and Auld Creek. These four projects are slated for future exploration and potential development to improve the assets’ value.
A skilled management team leads the company towards fully exploring its promising portfolio, with diverse expertise in geology, corporate administration and finance.
Company Highlights
- Siren Gold is an exploration and development company focusing on gold assets in the high-grade, historic Reefton Goldfield and Sams Creek in New Zealand.
- Siren owns seven highly prospective projects throughout the region, each with the potential for gold and antimony, a rare metal used in various thermal-resistant applications.
- The company’s global mineral resource is currently at 1.33 million ounces at 3.3 g/t AuEq (gold equivalent), with significant potential to increase as exploration continues.
- The Reefton Goldfield historically produced over 11 million ounces of gold before the entire field closed after WWII.
- Siren’s assets within the Reefton Goldfield are highly prospective but have yet to be fully explored through modern exploration techniques, creating significant blue-sky potential.
- A management team with a range of expertise in the natural resources industry leads the company towards fully realizing the potential of its highly prospective portfolio.
Key Projects
Sams Creek Gold Project
The Sams Creek Gold Project is located 140 kilometers northeast of Reefton and 100 kilometers northeast of Lyell.
The Sams Creek porphyry dyke-style gold deposit is equivalent in geology deposits to the Australian Eastern Lachlan fold belt that contains very large porphyry copper-gold and porphyry gold-style deposits like at Cadia and Ridgeway in New South Wales.
Siren believes there is significant potential at Sams Creek for a very large underground mining operation as the orebody is over 60 meters thick, has a vertical extent of 1 kilometer and has been traced for more than 7 kilometers along strike.
To date, around 127 diamond holes have been drilled at Sams Creek and the blue-sky project already contains an impressive resource estimate, with much of the asset remaining unexplored.
Project Highlights:
- Prolific Resource Estimate: The asset’s newly updated JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate (MRE) describes 8.9 million tonnes at 2.82 g/t gold for 808 koz of contained gold. However, there is still tremendous potential for expansion as work continues.
- The main mineralization at Sams Creek is open at depth and will be further drill-tested as the deposit is open in all directions and has significant potential for increased gold resources from additional exploration drilling.
- Siren has an access agreement with the Department of Conservation that allows up to 100 drill sites within EP40338.
- Additional drilling will also be focused on infilling any new mineralized zones discovered, so an updated MRE can be completed, feasibility studies can be commenced, and a mining permit application can be advanced in 2024
Alexander River Gold Project
The Alexander River project covers 16.75 square kilometers and is 100 percent owned by Siren Gold. The asset is located 15 kilometers away from the prolific Blackwater Mine, a vital sign of what’s possible at Alexander River.
Project Highlights:
- Encouraging Resource Estimate: The project’s inferred mineral resource estimate is currently 1.07 million tonnes at 5 g/t gold for 170 koz at a 1.5 g/t cut-off. Encouragingly, this is a substantial increase of 30 percent and a grade increase of 22 percent from previous estimates.
- Past-producing Project: Operations at the project closed in 1942; before shuttering, they had historical production of 41 koz at 24.6 g/t gold at a cut-off grade of 15 g/t gold. Now, Siren is using modern techniques to explore and develop the project further.
- Exploration Targets: Currently, the company focuses on a 1.2-kilometer-long outcropping quartz reef with mineralization defined by surface trenching over 800 meters long and 4 meters wide at 8g/t gold. The width of the outcropping is well-suited for efficient mechanized mining.
Big River Gold Project
The Big River project covers 44.87 square kilometers and is considered a highly prospective exploration target of 100 to 125 koz at 7 to 9 g/t gold. The company will continue exploring to determine the asset's depth and gold grade.
Project Highlights:
- 4-kilometer Anomalous Strike Length: The Big River project contains a significant 4-kilometer strike length. Sampling along this strike hosts massive stibnite veins with high-grade gold deposits, with results up to 82 g/t gold.
- Encouraging Drill Results: Completed drill campaigns have produced high-grade near-surface assays, with the best drill holes including:
- 6.6 meters at 21.4 g/t gold
- 3 meters at 18.5 g/t gold
- 6 meters at 5.1 g/t gold
- 5.2 meters at 6.3 g/t gold
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate: Siren recently announced the asset’s Maiden JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate with a total indicated and inferred estimate of 11 million tonnes at 3.11 g/t with a cut-off of 1.5 g/t.
Auld Creek
The Auld Creek project contains an epizonal mineralization that extends over 2 kilometers and contains high-grade gold and massive stibnite veins. Nearby mines have produced over 400 koz of high-grade gold, which indicates what’s possible at the company’s asset.
Five diamond holes have been completed at Auld Creek with all five holes intersecting significant mineralisation in the Bonanza East Shoot.
The company provided a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Auld Creek Prospect which includes 132 koz @ 7.1 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) containing @ 3.5 g/t gold and 8,700 tons of antimony @ 1.5 percent antimony. The MRE includes the following significant intersections;
- 35 meters @ 4.1 g/t gold, 2.9 percent antimony or 35 meters @ 11 g/t AuEq
- 6 meters @ 4.1 g/t gold, 4.1 percent antimony or 6 meters @ 13.8 g/t AuEq
- 34 meters @ 1.6 g/t gold, 0.7 percent antimony or 34 meters @ 3.3 g/t AuEq
- 20.7 meters @ 5.9 g/t gold, 2.6 percent antimony or 20.7 meters @ 12 g/t AuEq
With a global MRE of above 1.3 Moz, Siren is on track to achieve its vision of being a multiple-million-ounce, high-grade gold and antimony producer.
Additional Projects
Siren owns additional gold assets that are being systematically explored to increase shareholder value further.
Project Highlights:
- Lyell Goldfield: The 100-percent owned project spans 54.25 square kilometers north of the Alpine United Mine. The project has historical production of 91 koz at 1.84 g/t gold with a cut-off grade of 15 g/t gold. Early trenching indicates grades up to 13.8 g/t gold.
- Cumberland: The company’s Cumberland tenement package is in the center of a 35-kilometer-long structure corridor that hosts some of the most significant projects in the Reefton Goldfield. The project has historical production of 45 koz at 14.2 g/t.
- Reefton South: The Reefton South asset covers 333 square kilometers and is considered a 20-kilometer extension of the Reefton Goldfield. The underground nature of possible deposits hid them from past explorers but created significant potential for applying modern technologies.
Management Team
Brian Rodan – Non-executive Chairman
Brian Rodan is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with 45 years of experience. He is the managing director and owner of Australian Contract Mining, a mid-tier contracting company that successfully completed $1.5 billion worth of work over 20 years. ACM was sold to an ASX-listed gold mining company in 2017. Rodan is the founding director of Dacian Gold, which purchased the Mt Morgans Gold Mine from the administrator of Range River Gold. After listing on the ASX in 2012, Rodan became Dacian’s largest shareholder. He had a 15-year tenure with Australia’s largest full-service ASX-listed contract mining company with an annual turnover of more than $850 million.
Victor Rajasooriar - Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Victor Rajasooriar is a highly experienced Australian mining executive and board director who has more than 25 years of operational and technical experience across both underground and open pit mining operations. Rajasooriar’s distinguished career has seen him hold senior roles with major resource companies, including managing director and CEO of Echo Resources (ASX:EAR) until the completion of a takeover by Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST). Before joining Echo, Rajasooriar was chief operating officer for leading underground mining contractor Barminco and has held senior technical roles with Gold Fields and Newmont Mining. At Newmont, this included operational responsibility for the Waihi Gold Operation in the North Island of New Zealand between 2006 – 2008. He holds a bachelor of engineering (mining) from the WA School of Mines and is a member of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Paul Angus - Executive Technical Director
Paul Angus is a New Zealand-based exploration geologist with more than 30 years of mining and geology experience in New Zealand. He graduated from Otago University and has held senior management roles with OceanaGold. While he was an exploration manager, Angus discovered more than 3 Moz at Macraes, Reefton and Sams Creek.
Keith Murray - Non-executive Director
Keith Murray is a chartered accountant with 40 years of experience at the general manager level in audit, accounting, tax, finance, treasury and corporate governance. During the 1990s, Murray was group accounting manager, corporate and taxation joint company secretary for Eltin Limited, a leading Australian-based international mining services company. Murray is currently general manager corporate and company secretary for the Heytesbury Group.
Sebastian Andre - Company Secretary
Sebastian Andre is a chartered secretary with over 10 years of experience in corporate advisory, governance and risk services. He has previously acted as an adviser at the ASX and has a thorough understanding of the ASX Listing Rules, specializing in providing advice to companies and their boards for capital raisings, IPOs, backdoor listings, corporate compliance and governance matters. Andre holds accounting, finance, and corporate governance qualifications and is a member of the Governance Institute of Australia.
Table 1. Siren’s Reefton Mineral Resource Estimate.
Table 2. Siren’s Global Mineral Resource Estimate.
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Figure 1 – Project Location Map