Source : BUSINESS NEWS
South Perth gold junior Astral Resources has boosted its total gold inventory to 1.76 million ounces soon after bringing Maximus Resources’ Spargoville Gold Project into the fold.
The company updated the Spargoville resource to 3 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne gold for 139,000 ounces, reflecting Astral’s own economic assumptions and mining methodology (which differ from those previously used by Maximus).
Maximus’ gold camp, located 70 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie and adjacent to Astral’s flagship Mandilla project, brings the group’s consolidated resource base to up 50 million tonnes at 1.1g/t gold. The figure includes 1.43 million ounces at Mandilla and 196,000 ounces at Feysville.
Astral managing director Marc Ducler said the revised Spargoville resource was developed using the same parameters as those underpinning the Mandilla pre-feasibility study, which is due in the June quarter.
“With the compulsory acquisition of the outstanding shares in Maximus now completed, we considered it important to set our own baseline for the recently acquired resources,” Mr Ducler said.
Astral’s process included regularising the block model to dimensions suitable for likely open-pit mining equipment — a step aimed at improving accuracy around the resource’s dilution and mineability.
“This serves to more accurately reflect the amount of dilution likely to be experienced during open pit mining and provides a good base for subsequent optimisations,” he continued.
Notably, the new Spargoville resource estimate represents a sizeable reduction from Maximus’s previously reported 335,000 ounces.
But Mr Ducler said the downgrade was expected and had been priced into the acquisition.
“Due diligence prior to the Maximus transaction identified that further technical work would be required to align the resource with Astral’s approach. The reduction was anticipated and factored into our offer,” he said.
Despite the decrease in ounces, Astral emphasised the strategic rationale for its recently completed Maximus deal.
According to Astral, the acquisition enhances its development footprint at Mandilla, particularly around the Theia deposit, and opens new ground for near-mine exploration.
“The Maximus transaction was very important for Astral,” Mr Ducler told investors on Wednesday.
“It not only contributes a further 139,000 ounces to the group total, but it also provides the necessary tenure to optimise site infrastructure and future mining plans.”
The Spargoville tenements include the historic Wattle Dam deposit, Eagles Nest, Larkinville and others, with drilling already scheduled for this quarter.
A larger reverse circulation drill program is also under consideration for the September quarter.
Astral has invested heavily in recent years, including two capital raises totalling $32 million, to fund feasibility studies and accelerate exploration.
The company sees Spargoville’s proximity to Mandilla as offering processing and operational synergies.
Ducler pointed to Astral’s discovery costs at Mandilla — below $18 per ounce — as a benchmark for what Spargoville could deliver with further drilling.
“This underlines the strategic value of the acquisition, despite the revised resource ounces,” he said.
“We’re confident in the exploration potential of the new ground.”
Astral shares are trending 3.23 per cent higher in late afternoon trade, changing hands for 16 cents per share in a $226 million market cap.
