Barton Gold Holdings Limited (BGDFF) New Area 51 Resource Lifts Tunkillia to 1.5 Million oz Gold
Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX:BGD) (FRA:BGD3) (OTCMKTS:BGDFF) is pleased to announce an updated JORC Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) for the Tunkillia Gold Project (Tunkillia).
Approximately 8,663m of drilling by Barton has delivered a new 115,216koz Au Area 51 Deposit to the northwest of the 223 Deposit. Total Tunkillia JORC (2012) Mineral Resources are now estimated at 1,493,000 ounces Au (51.3Mt @ 0.91 g/t Au), with ~55% classified in the 'Indicated' category.
Commenting on the latest Tunkillia JORC Resources update, Barton MD Alex Scanlon said:
"Barton has now grown Tunkillia's JORC Mineral Resources three times during the past 12 months, with around 530,000 ounces of gold added through the systematic, cost-efficient identification and conversion of new zones.
"The updated 1.5Moz Au Resource provides a critical mass on which to now model baseline economic analyses, while pursuing neighbouring high-grade targets like Tunkillia's Area 191 and Tarcoola. These have significant potential to enhance overall project economics and support Stage 1 development leveraging our existing mill."
Continued growth of Tunkillia JORC MRE
An updated Tunkillia map showing the March 2024 MRE outlines, and regional targets Area 191 and SE Offset, is shown at Figure 2* below. The updated Tunkillia MRE includes a new MRE at Area 51 located northwest of the 223 Deposit. This is the Company's 4th MRE update for Tunkillia since late 2020, and the 3rd delivered during the past ~12 months for aggregate growth of ~530,000oz Au in that time.
New Area 51 JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)
Drilling has defined a new 115,216koz Au MRE at Tunkillia's Area 51 zone (4.98Mt @ 0.72 g/t Au). JORC MRE modelling has been restricted to ~150m depth from surface at a 0.5 g/t Au cutoff grade, with a further broad, continuous halo of surrounding mineralisation (modelled on a 0.4 g/t Au cutoff grade).
Drilling in new Area 51 MRE The Area 51 Deposit MRE has been informed by a total of 72 drill holes, including 6,058m of reverse circulation (RC) and 2,605.4m diamond drilling (DD) (total 8,663.4m) completed by Barton.
Continued efficient Tunkillia growth
- Estimated ~A$2.05m 'all in' cost at Area 51, averaging ~A$18 / new oz
o Past 12 months: ~530,000oz Au added for average ~A$15/oz (all in)
Shallow bulk mineralisation
- Broad (50 - 100m wide) and shallow (~25m - 150m deep) mineralisation
- Potential source of bulk-efficient mineralisation for later production years and/or blending operations
Background & updated Tunkillia MRE
In 2022 Barton completed 1,926m of RC drilling at Area 51, announcing a new ~500m long gold zone in September 2022 with results including 17m @ 3.20 g/t Au from 77m and 25m @ 1.51 g/t Au from 81m.
In early 2023 Barton completed a further 2,118m RC and 856.9m DD drilling, announcing the extension of Area 51 to ~700m length in April 2023 with key results including 28.55m @ 1.32 g/t Au from 91.45m.
During late 2023 Barton completed another 1,700m RC and 1,748.5m DD drilling, intersecting broad mineralisation with results including 44.6m @ 1.81 g/t Au from 64m and 22m @ 1.33 g/t Au from 158m.
Updated Global JORC MRE Statement
Further to the new MRE detailed in this announcement for Tunkillia's Area 51 Deposit, Barton's total attributable JORC (2012) Mineral Resource endowment has grown by approximately 8% to a total 1,575koz Au (52.2Mt @ 0.94 g/t Au). Figure 6* below provides the full details of Barton's global MRE endowment.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/T066XG85
Alexander Scanlon Managing Director E: a.scanlon@bartongold.com.au T: +61 425 226 649 Shannon Coates Company Secretary E: cosec@bartongold.com.au T: +61 8 9322 1587
News Provided by ABN Newswire