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Murray Ward
Forrestania Resources has bolstered its gold inventory at the company’s namesake hub in Western Australia, delivering updated mineral resource estimates of 72,500 and 213,200 ounces of gold respectively for its Lady Ada and Lady Magdalene deposits, collectively known as “The Ladies”, which sit less than 100 metres apart.
The new estimate totals 4.89 million tonnes grading 1.82 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for an impressive 285,700 ounces, using a 0.5g/t cut-off grade. The two deposits are just 17 kilometres from Aztec Mining’s historic 1.3-million-ounce Bounty gold mine and 80 kilometres by road from the company’s Lake Johnson processing plant.
The key takeaway for the Forrestania from the update is the potential to significantly de-risk the project, with ahefty 43 per cent increase in the higher-confidence measured and indicated categories lifting the combined resource to 1.69 million tonnes grading 1.85g/t for a healthy 100,400 ounces of gold.
Broken down further, the measured component weighs in at 158,000 tonnes at a solid 3.04g/t gold for 15,400 ounces, while the indicated portion adds a further 1.53 million tonnes at 1.73g/t for 85,000 ounces. The balance sits in the inferred category.
‘We believe this resource will play an important role in Forrestania’s strategy of establishing long-term gold production.’
Forrestania Resources chairman David Geraghty
Mineralisation at Lady Ada and Lady Magdalene is typical of Archaean-aged, shear-zone hosted deposits that have made the Yilgarn region famous. The gold is concealed beneath a shallow 8-metre to 12m of cover and is hosted primarily in a quartz dolerite unit.
The company says the upgrade reflects the successful conversion and expansion of the mineral resource base. Interestingly, the update also resulted in a minor four per cent decrease in the total ounce count following a re-estimation by independent consultants Widenbar and Associates. This touch of geological housekeeping lends a higher degree of confidence to the new numbers.
Forrestania Resources chairman David Geraghty said: “With The Ladies located within our broader Forrestania Hub, we believe this resource will continue to play an important role in Forrestania’s strategy of establishing long-term gold production supported by multiple deposits located within haulage distance of existing processing infrastructure.”
The Ladies has a rich pedigree. The Lady Ada deposit was previously mined as a shallow open pit by Sons of Gwalia between 2002 and 2003, producing 27,154 ounces of gold from just 95,865 tonnes of ore at a stunning reconciled head grade of 8.81g/t.
The historical operation adds serious weight to the project’s potential, as does metallurgical test work from the same era, which demonstrated exceptional gold recoveries of more than 97 per cent from oxide, transitional and fresh ore using a conventional processing route.
The project is likely to be a key plank in the company’s ambitious two-hub production strategy. Forrestania is running a textbook hub-and-spoke playbook, consolidating a portfolio of satellite gold deposits to send ore to two key processing engines: the 2.9-million-tonne-per-annum Edna May plant and the 3.2-million-tonne-per-annum Lake Johnston facility, both slated for an early 2027 start-up.
Anchoring the company’s plan is the Edna May project, where a recent prefeasibility study outlined a robust 10-year operation underpinned by a maiden 402,800-ounce ore reserve, projected to spin off a hefty $728.7 million in pre-tax free cash flow.
The resource update at The Ladies adds to a growing portfolio of projects defined by other economic studies. At its British Hill deposit, recent findings point to a maiden ore reserve of 71,900 ounces capable of generating $104.8 million in pre-tax free cash flow. That study was punctuated by a spectacular 59-metre drill hit grading 2.38g/t gold.
Evaluation of the smaller Tycho and Johnson Range projects also adds to the pipeline, projecting pre-tax free cash flows of $9.9 million and $60.1 million, respectively.
While the growing, de-risked resource at The Ladies is a great win, it’s the bigger picture at Forrestania that is likely to turn heads. The company is rapidly assembling the assets, infrastructure and economics of a multi-hub gold producer.
With the Edna May project providing a robust foundation, a conga line of satellite deposits such as The Ladies, British Hill, Tycho and Johnson Range lining up a potential feed for two refurbished mills and the recent backing of the influential VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF joining the register, Forrestania appears to be building a compelling case that will likely demand attention from savvy punters in a bullish gold market.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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