Premier1 readies rigs for high-priority WA gold play
Brought to you by BULLS AND BEARS
Rowena Duckworth
Premier1 Lithium is preparing a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program to ground drill steel at the Mt Kersey gold mine in the Murchison region of Western Australia and one of the highest priority targets within the newly merged Yalgoo Gold Project.
The drilling follows Premier1’s recent acquisition of 100 per cent of the Yalgoo project, which encompasses 266 square kilometers of prime Yalgoo greenstone belt real estate. The ground currently hosts the first mined resource at the company’s 150,000 tonne Wadgingarra prospect, valued at 2.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 13,000 ounces.
Particularly at Wadgingarra the shallow, near-surface resource remains open throughout the intrusion and at depth, providing a solid base for further growth.
Mt Kersey lies just east of Wadgingarra and is considered one of the most challenging, untested targets in the region. The planned drilling will focus on a preserved hydrothermal system that extends more than 1 km along strike and coincides with strong gold and multi-element soil anomalies including molybdenum, bismuth, tellurium, tungsten and arsenic.
Surface work has already shown encouraging signs; High-grade rock fragment samples reached values of 26.4 g/t gold and 14.2 g/t gold, close to historical studies. These results indicate the potential for higher-grade mineralization at depth in a structurally complex environment.
The Yalgoo region is a proven gold country, located within trucking distance of the established processing centers of Ramelius Resources and Capricorn Metals. Ramelius’ Mt Magnet mill and Capricorn’s nearby operations underscore the region’s production credentials and highlight the potential development option should Premier1 identify a viable resource at Mt Kersey. Access to existing infrastructure not only de-risks future development scenarios, but also strengthens Yalgoo’s reputation as a thriving gold center in WA’s Murchison region.
Geologically, Mount Kersey is hosted within a series of sediments, banded iron formations, gabbro, komatiitic basalts, and late-stage intrusive units. Mineralization appears to be focused along secondary structures developed in the hanging wall of a major deep-dent reverse fault, a classic setting for Murchison gold systems.
Historical drilling in the area has barely scratched the surface, often stopping close to 40 meters and missing both the key structural targets and the core of the hydrothermal system that Premier1 is currently targeting.
Subsequent drilling by other explorers also moved away from the core geochemical anomalies, leaving much of Kersey Mountain effectively untested at meaningful depths. This severe lack of drilling is something Premier1 now wants to change.
Premier1 managing director Simon Phillips said: “The successful completion of the 100 per cent acquisition of the Yalgoo Gold Project provides Premier1 with full ownership and visibility of the potential in and around Mt Kersey. These targets are located in an emerging large-scale mineralized center.”
The upcoming RC program will include approximately 15 drill holes totaling 3,700 m targeting key structural corridors and geochemical highs identified through geological mapping, reinterpretation of historical data and analysis of the company’s 2024 drone magnetic survey.
Strike Sondaj received the drilling tender and the rods will start turning in the middle of the month. Importantly, drilling costs will be partially offset by up to $180,000 in co-financing from the WA Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) and an existing $176,000 drilling loan, significantly reducing cash outlays.
With Ramelius Resources and Capricorn Metals already operating in the area, Yalgoo is becoming one of Murchison’s most tightly held gold corridors.
Any drilling success at Mt Kersey would not only add ounces, but would also drop Premier1 into a region where mills, haul roads and hungry processors already exist, giving the company multiple ways to quickly turn discovery into value.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
