Well‐funded mid-tier gold development and exploration company, Gold Road Resources has updated its Attila Open Pit Mineral Resource, lifting its ounces by 46% to 6.6Mt at 1.55 g/t Au for 327,300 ounces of gold. The work completed on the upgrade also refined the geological interpretation, while the Inferred Resource converted to Indicated Resource with minimal variance. The mineralisation remains open, with further extensional drilling planned, along with a Maiden Reserve evaluation during the September 2017 quarter.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Attila Open Pit Mineral Resource increases by 46% to 327,300 ounces of gold
- 6.6 Mt at 1.55 g/t Au for 327,300 ounces of gold(1)
- Geological interpretation refined and mineralisation extended based on 2016 drilling(2)
- Inferred Resource converted to Indicated Resource with minimal variance
- Modifying factors updated
- 0.45 g/t Au cut-off and A$1,850 per ounce Au (previously 0.70 g/t Au cut-off and A$1,600 per ounce Au(3) )
- Resource remains open with further extensional drilling planned
- Maiden Reserve evaluation planned for completion September 2017 quarter
Gold Road Resources Limited (Gold Road or the Company) is pleased to announce the completion of an update to the Attila Open Pit Mineral Resource estimate in accordance with the 2012 JORC Code. The Attila Deposit is located on the Gruyere Joint Venture (Gruyere JV or Joint Venture) tenements, a 50:50 Joint Venture with Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields), and situated approximately 30 kilometres west of the Gruyere Gold Project (Figure 1). The new Mineral Resource totals 6,570,900 tonnes at 1.55 g/t Au for 327,300 ounces of gold (Table 1). This represents an addition of 103,200 ounces (+46%) compared to the 2015 Resource, with 91% of the Mineral Resource being classified in the Measured or Indicated categories.
The updated Mineral Resource includes new information derived from the 2016 diamond and Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programmes which contributed to the refinement of the geological understanding at Attila (Figures 2, 3, 5 and 6). Modifying factors used in reporting the Mineral Resource include lowering the cut-off grade in line with mining cost estimates derived from the Gruyere Feasibility Study (Gruyere FS4 ), and an increase in the gold price to reflect the change in gold price since the previous Mineral Resource was declared.
Gold Road Executive Director – Exploration & Growth Justin Osborne said: “This update reflects the great work of the Gold Road exploration team in application of smart geology and efficient drilling to extend this historic resource. We have more than 14 kilometres of known mineralisation along the Attila-Alaric Trend of which we are developing a much more detailed understanding. Given the success at Attila, and further north at Alaric, we have a high level of confidence that other recognised zones along this Trend may offer similar upside exploration potential. It is an exciting time for the Joint Venture as these deposits have the potential to add significant value to the Gruyere Project. Additionally, we have identified more than 150 kilometres along this same Trend extending into our own 100% owned North Yamarna Project, and the South Yamarna Project (a joint venture with Sumitomo). Our 2017 exploration programmes will be aggressively testing this well-endowed Trend over the coming months.”
(1) Calculated on a 100% basis
(2) ASX announcement dated 1 November 2016
(3) ASX announcement dated 16 September 2015 4 ASX announcement dated 15 November 2016
Mineral Resource Update
The Attila Deposit is situated on granted mining leases owned by the Gruyere JV and is included in the Gruyere and Central Bore Native Title Agreement. The updated Mineral Resource now totals 6.6 Mt at 1.55 g/t Au for a total of 327,300 ounces of gold, which represents a 48% increase in tonnes (2.1 Mt), a 1% decrease in grade and a 46% increase in gold (103,000 ounces) compared to the 2015 Mineral Resource (Table 1). A total of 91% of material within the new Resource optimised pit shell is classified as Measured or Indicated.