Minerals 260 doubles flagship gold resource
Minerals 260, chaired by Tim Goyder, has mapped a 4.5 million ounce reserve, doubling the mineral resource at the Coolgardie gold project it acquired from Norton Gold Fields in January.
The Bullabulling gold project has a mineral resource of 130 million tonnes worth 4.5 million ounces at 1 gram gold per tonne in 2023, an increase of 2.2 million ounces from the last updated estimate.
The estimate includes 3 million ounces in the higher confidence indicated category and includes a maiden resource for the Gibraltar deposit of 5.4 million tonnes at 1g/t for 180,000 ounces.
That’s based on 90,000 meters of drilling carried out by Minerals 260 at Bullabulling since the Brownfields project officially changed hands in April.
Minerals 260 managing director Luke McFadyen said the result was a validation of the intensive exploration approach at the mine site, where production dates back to 1988.
“When we acquired this asset, we believed there was a significant opportunity to grow MRE and improve our understanding of geology through an aggressive drilling campaign,” he said.
“By doing this we were able to add 2.2 million ounces and confirm the previous MRE, doubling the MRE to 4.5 million ounces and establishing Bullabulling as one of Australia’s leading gold projects.”
The company expects to complete pre-feasibility for Bullbulling in mid-2026, with first production targeted for late 2028, Mr. McFadyen said.
The resource estimate is measured at an assumed gold price of $4,500 per ounce, well below current spot prices, with a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t.
Minerals 260, led by Messrs. McFadyen and Goyder, acquired the Bullabulling project for $156.5 million in cash and $10 million in promissory notes in an agreement made in January.
The project has been dormant since 2014, when its previous owners were acquired by China’s Zijin Mining Corporation in a hostile takeover of the ASX.
During a site visit in May, Mr McFadyen said: Business News the project was a quality asset in the wrong hands.
“He was in the wrong company,” he said.
“It’s a hundred billion dollar Chinese company that doesn’t do any research.
“It’s very similar to my experience buying other projects from other companies; they just don’t see it.”
Shares of Minerals 260 were up 22 per cent to 41.5 cents at 1.45pm.
