Havilah Resources enhances open pit starter mine potential with more high-grade gold hits

Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) (FRA:FWL) is higher after revealing further positive results from the West Kalkaroo Gold Project within the broader Kalkaroo project in South Australia’s northeast, including up to 65 metres at 1.2 g/t from 77 metres. The results come from an ongoing shallow gold resource drilling program aimed at defining a gold resource as the company investigates a gold-only starter open pit operation. Aircore method This drilling is being carried out by Havilah’s drilling crew using the aircore drilling method, which is suited to clayey material and soft decomposed rock. Assays for the saprolite gold zone continue to exceed the resource grade in many drill holes and include several long ore-grade intersections. Shares have been up more than 36% to 13.5 cents intra-day, its highest price since mid-September 2019. Havilah’s technical director Dr Chris Giles said: “There is good continuity of gold mineralisation in the base of Tertiary clays over a large area of the proposed gold-only startup open pit. “This shallow gold mineralisation is of key importance in generating potential early revenue for the Kalkaroo project from what was previously classified as barren overburden.” Area of drilling within the confines of the West Kalkaroo conceptual starter open pit in relation to the greater Kalkaroo copper-gold deposit. Specific objectives of the drilling are to define a gold resource in Tertiary age Namba Formation clays and to better define the underlying saprolite gold mineralisation within the confines of the conceptual starter open pit. Base of Tertiary clay results Widespread base of Tertiary gold mineralisation has been confirmed with results of up to 5 metres of 4.84 g/t gold from 49 metres. Other strong new base of Tertiary gold assay results include: 4 metres of 2.47 g/t from 26 metres; 2 metres of 3.23 g/t from 53 metres; 11 metres of 1.51 g/t from 51 metres; 4 metres of 3.07 g/t from 62 metres; 2 metres of 4.25 g/t from 55 metres; and 2 metres of 4.79 g/t from 54 metres. Most aircore drill holes were continued into the underlying saprolite gold zone until the rock became too hard for the aircore blade bit to penetrate further. Saprolite zone results The 65-metre intersection, which was in the saprolite gold zone and native copper zone, ended in mineralisation and also included 20 metres of 1.77 g/t from 98 metres. Other saprolite gold zone results include: 11 metres of 1.68 g/t from 71-82 metres and 31 metres of 2.60 g/t from 92 metres in the native copper-gold zone; 23 metres of 2.17 g/t from 60-83 metres; 6 metres of 5.26 g/t from 81 metres, ended in mineralisation; 34 metres of 1.77 g/t from 91 metres; 15 metres of 3.87 g/t from 85 metres; and 8 metres of 2.33 g/t from 73 metres, ended in mineralisation. The results continue to enhance Havilah’s prospects for a viable gold-only startup open pit. Assays show frequent long runs of in excess of 1.5 g/t, which is more than double the 0.74 g/t average gold resource grade of the saprolite gold (oxide gold cap) zone. Many holes ended in gold mineralisation at bit refusal, indicating the gold mineralisation continues on into the underlying native copper zone. “Positive for economics” Giles added: “The trend of better than published resource grades for the saprolite gold zone in recent drill holes continues and is also positive for the conceptual starter open pit economics. “Our senior mine planning engineer Richard Buckley is presently compiling all drilling, resource and mining data in order to generate an optimum design for the gold-only startup open pit.”