These new targets add to the earlier mafic-intermediate contact already linked to high-grade gold at Horse Well, 4 kilometres to the southeast. The discoveries back up Gateway’s theory that the late-stage intrusion created the structural twists and breaks that allowed gold to form along the splay corridor.
The company believes the broader surface gold anomalism now spans an impressive 11.5 kilometres.
Gateway Mining executive chairman Andrew Bray said: “This latest round of nugget discoveries further enhances what is rapidly becoming our highest priority target area and follows on from the extensive gold-in-soil anomalism we announced in October. It is remarkable to think that a target this large and anomalous on one of Western Australia’s premier greenstone belts has never been drilled before.”
Management says the Great Western prospect’s lack of cover gives it a big exploration leg-up. With gold expected at or near surface, any find here should be faster, simpler and far cheaper to uncover than the deeper deposits hidden elsewhere along the belt.
Gateway has now kicked off a high-resolution gravity survey and detailed structural mapping to sharpen its view of the splay corridor. The data will pave the way for two diamond holes next month, designed to peer beneath the surface, test the geological model and set the stage for a much larger reverse-circulation drilling blitz across the promising new corridor.
Meanwhile, the company’s other field activities are also ticking along. An aircore rig is currently churning through the dirt at a solid clip, and a diamond rig is nearing completion of its second hole at the Haflinger prospect on the Mustang-Pony trend.
Gateway Mining first picked up the Great Western prospect in 2018, when it purchased Croxford Mining Limited, the private company that held the tenements covering the Great Western gold deposit within its Yandal gold project.
The company has since gone on to extend its control across the region, recently picking up Strickland Metals’ adjoining 400,400 ounce Yandal gold project in an all-scrip deal worth $45 million.
The market liked what it saw, pushing Gateway’s share price more than 400 per cent higher to a whopping 10.5 cents a share over the following three months.
Management says the company remains well-funded to keep up its aggressive exploration push, ending the September quarter with $13.1 million in cash and liquid ASX securities topped up with a fresh $22.5 million capital raising after the quarterly cutoff.
Gateway’s momentum at Great Western shows no sign of slowing. With nugget hauls piling up, surface anomalies expanding and fresh drilling on the horizon, the company is now zeroing in on what could be a major near-surface gold system hidden in plain sight.
Fully funded and armed with new data, Gateway looks poised to turn the Yandal Belt’s most exciting prospect into what could be a defining new discovery
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
