Astral Resources has announced an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Spargoville Gold Project in Western Australia (WA), now reporting 139,000oz of contained gold.
This update is part of a series of acquisitions, including the Spargoville, Mandilla and Feysville gold projects near Kambalda, that have expanded Astral’s gold resources to a consolidated 1.76 million ounces (moz).
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The Spargoville Gold Project, located 70km south of Kalgoorlie, has been integrated into Astral’s portfolio following the company’s takeover of Maximus Resources.
Located in the Coolgardie Domain of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, the Spargoville Gold Project is positioned strategically near the St Ives gold camp.
The project’s MRE has been recalculated using the financial assumptions from its recent Mandilla update, resulting in a revised estimate of three million tonnes (mt) at 1.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
Independent consultancy Widenbar and Associates prepared the updated MRE in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition).
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By GlobalDataThe estimate includes the Wattle Dam Gold Project, Eagles Nest, Hilditch, Larkinville and 5B deposits.
Astral plans to commence drilling in the area surrounding the Hestia deposit at Mandilla this quarter, with a more extensive drilling programme set for the September quarter of 2025.
The revised figures are based on a lower cut-off grade of 0.39g/t gold, constrained within pit shells determined by a gold price of A$3,500 ($2,265)/oz.
Additionally, the updated MRE reflects the same cost assumptions that will be used in an upcoming Mandilla pre-feasibility study (PFS).
The acquisitions have, together, significantly bolstered Astral’s Group MRE to 50mt.
Astral Resources managing director Marc Ducler said: “With compulsory acquisition of the outstanding shares in Maximus having now been completed, we considered that it was important to set our own baseline for the recently acquired Mineral Resources at the Spargoville Gold Project.
“Astral’s standard approach when testing the Mineral Resources for reasonable prospects for economic extraction (RPEE) includes a first step of regularising the block model, which is the process of varying the size of the block model shapes to approximate the size of the earth-moving machinery likely to be used in open-pit mining.
“This serves to more accurately reflect the amount of dilution likely to be experienced during open-pit mining and provides a good base for the subsequent optimisations used to identify the potentially economic portion of the mineralisation models.”
Astral Resources secured A$25m in funding last September through a two-tranche placement, with the first tranche already raising A$21m.
The funding is intended to support the company’s advancements of its gold projects in WA.
