Like many of the bigger gold mines in Chile, Pantanillo is a porphyry deposit with a thick oxide layer overlying a sulphide base.
While the mineralisation is already well mapped, Flagship says the project still has plenty of upside, with scope to grow both its oxide and high-grade sulphide gold zones.
The company says the newly acquired information will help it zero in on seven priority targets that could pack a serious punch. Recent groundwork has flagged strong oxide gold along strike north and south of Pantanillo Central, while major alteration zones have emerged at Pantanillo Norte to the northwest.
And with fresh mineralisation hosting magnetite and pyrite – prime geophysical markers – Flagship intends to remodel Anglo’s magnetic data to fine-tune more targets across its 110-square-kilometre landholding.
The company also plans to use the fresh data to supercharge the project’s metallurgical and feasibility credentials, with the numbers already stacking up nicely. A 2012 study outlined 47.4 million tonnes of oxide and mixed ore at 0.69 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 1.05 million ounces, with an 85 per cent recovery rate.
The ore was deemed ideal for low-cost open pit mining, but with 46 per cent oxide and 52 per cent mixed material, heap leaching is also firmly on the cards.
The process involves stacking ore on a lined pad and soaking it with a gold-leaching solution and is rare for big Australian deposits. In Pantanillo’s case, it could possibly be used to mirror the success of Canadian-listed Rio2 Limited’s nearby Fenix Gold Project, 40km north.
Oxide ore grading 0.48g/t gold at Fenix is expected to deliver 75 per cent recoveries through heap leaching. Flagship believes Pantanillo’s similar geology could yield equally strong results at a fraction of the traditional processing costs.
Armed with a stack of new data, Flagship says it’s now primed to quickly and cheaply build enough JORC-compliant resources to consider a long-life, low-cost open-pit or heap leach mine plan capable of pumping out 100,000 ounces of gold a year for at least 10 years.
And if the incoming data lives up to expectation, Flagship and its Pantanillo gold play could become one of the fastest and most cost-effective gold resource growth stories of the year.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
