Infill Results Build On Upcoming Resource Release
Wiluna Mining Corporation Limited (ASX:WMX) (formerly Blackham Resources) has received more exceptional high-grade results from resource development and infill drilling at the Wiluna Mining Centre in Western Australia.
Executive Chair, Milan Jerkovic, said this will enable the company to complete detailed Mineral Resources and Reserves estimates as part of the Stage 1 sulphides expansion project.
At this stage, the company intends to provide its update to its Mineral Resource estimation in September 2020 and Reserves in December 2020.
The company is well progressed in its initial 45,000-metre drilling program at the Wiluna Mining Operation with the primary focus on drilling the sulphide ore bodies in support of the proposed mine development sequence at the Wiluna Mining Centre with the intention to achieve the following;
1. Significantly increase the confidence in the sulphide resources from inferred to indicated category which will in turn underpin the Stage 1 Reserve estimation.
2. Add valuable tonnes and ounces to the company’s overall Mineral Resources; and
3. Find new, high grade shoots that will enhance the ounces per vertical metre and, more importantly, increase the grade. This will help consolidate Stage 1 and enhance the transition into Stage 2 which has the plan to increase production to +200kozpa of gold dore and gold in concentrate over a long mine life.
These latest results relate mainly to the Essex deposit. Essex is the second target in the sulphides to be drilled along with Bulletin with excellent results received from both these programmes. The drilling is now taking place concurrently at third and fourth targets Calvert and East West. We expect results here in the next month. This will round out the first stage of the sulphide drilling by the end of June 2020.
Mr Jerkovic said that along with the high-grade results released on 26 May 2020 for the Bulletin programme, these results are extremely encouraging to support the company’s plans to commence underground mining of sulphide ore to achieve its 750,000 tonnes of ore per annum for the Stage 1 processing sulphide expansion which is expected to produce between 110-120kozpa in gold dore and gold in concentrate from September 2021.
“These ongoing outstanding results ‘under the headframe’ are continuing to deliver into our Stage 1 sulphide strategy as we initially pursue shallow high-grade sulphides targets,” Mr Jerkovic said.
“The fact that we have now had exceptional drilling results from both Essex and Bulletin is exciting. Our plan to convert the large sulphide Inferred Resources at Wiluna into Indicated Resources continues to gather significant momentum and confidence with every new hole. These results will lead to new resource and reserves updates and mine planning work scheduled over the coming months.
“Wiluna Mining is a development and growth Company currently focused on Stage 1 Sulphide development by September 2021, as well as expanding our Mineral Resources and increasing grade to feed into Stage 1 and to make new discoveries.
“The current underground sulphide resource at Wiluna averages 4.8 g/t but historically the average grade mined was between 7 to 8g/t, and the Bulletin shoot alone produced 900,000oz @ 8 g/t.
“We’re targeting high-grade shoot discoveries because every 1 g/t increase in the grade in the sulphides, could result in an additional 25kozpa of production in Stage 1 and 50kozpa under our Stage 2 scenario so grade is obviously extremely important to the project’s economics.
“Our 4-5-year goal with the development of Stage 2 is to become a Tier 1 gold mine in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.”
