Black Dragon Gold has fired up a maiden drilling program over an unexplored patch at its Padbury gold project in Western Australia’s illustrious Murchison goldfields.
A total of 10 reverse-circulation (RC) holes will probe the bedrock source of an impressive clutch of gold nuggets unearthed by local prospectors through an 8km strike length. The company says extensive surface gold is housed in a suite of granitic intrusions, which exhibit striking geological similarities to De Grey’s 8.5-million-ounce Hemi gold deposit that is considered an intrusion-related gold system (IRGS).
The ASX-listed company entered WA’s exploration scene last July, picking up three prospective tenements over two projects – Padbury and Ivan Well – through the acquisition of private company Marlee Gold.
Black Dragon Gold has fired up a maiden drilling program over an unexplored patch at its Padbury gold project in Western Australia’s illustrious Murchison goldfields.
A total of 10 reverse-circulation (RC) holes will probe the bedrock source of an impressive clutch of gold nuggets unearthed by local prospectors through an 8km strike length. The company says extensive surface gold is housed in a suite of granitic intrusions, which exhibit striking geological similarities to De Grey’s 8.5-million-ounce Hemi gold deposit that is considered an intrusion-related gold system (IRGS).
The ASX-listed company entered WA’s exploration scene last July, picking up three prospective tenements over two projects – Padbury and Ivan Well – through the acquisition of private company Marlee Gold.
The Padbury gold project sits 90km north-west of Meekatharra, teetering on the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. Despite the abundance of shallow gold nuggets and specks, the area has seen no historic exploration, mainly due to its underlying granitic geology.
Prior to De Grey’s Hemi gold discovery in 2019, explorers in the region focused their efforts in and around the mapped-out greenstone belts known to host gold deposits. The unearthing of gold at Hemi kicked off a modern-day gold rush, with vacant land over granites previously considered to be barren, pegged out in the blink of an eye.
Marlee Gold was a first mover in the region, pegging out its Padbury tenements in early 2020.
Since laying claim to the project, Black Dragon has been quick on the uptake, completing an extensive soil-sampling program across a 15km trend etched out from historical stream-sediment sampling and prospector scratchings.
Using the innovative CSIRO “Ultrafine” technique, which is capable of detecting gold anomalies in areas of transported cover, the company outlined a trio of high-priority targets at Fenceline, Ross’s Bore and Honey Pot Hill, with the former pair now set to feel the bite of the drill bit.
This is the first time a drill hole will be drilled at our Padbury Gold Project and we’re looking forward to testing our theory that an IRGS gold structure is hosted via a deeper bedrock source, accounting for the surface gold occurrences and nuggets collected over several years by prospectors. Black Dragon Gold chief executive officer and managing director Gabriel Chiappini
Outside of Australia, Black Dragon lays claim to one of Europe’s biggest undeveloped gold deposits at its wholly-owned Salave project in northern Spain. Salave boasts a mineral resource estimate of 11.3 million tonnes grading 4.27 grams per tonne for 1.5 million ounces of the precious yellow metal using a conservative 2 g/t cut-off. Bringing the cut-off grade down to 1 g/t boosts the estimate up to 2.2 million ounces contained within 25.7 million tonnes averaging 2.66 g/t gold.
A preliminary economic assessment tabled in 2019 forecasted an annual production of 79,000 ounces over a 14-year mine life. The study projected an after-tax net present value of US$230 million (AU$346 million), with an internal rate of return ringing in at 25 per cent using a 2019 base case gold price of US$1250 (AU$1879) per ounce. The company says the project would require a capital cost of US$95.3 million (AU$143.2 million) and a payback period of just 3.8 years.
Fast forward four years and the tides have turned in a post-Covid economy. While increased widespread inflationary pressures will undoubtedly impact Black Dragon’s projected CAPEX input, wobbles in the global banking sector have seen a bounce in the gold price to hover around US$2000 (AU$3006) per ounce – an astounding 60 per cent improvement in four years.
Black Dragon is backed by a multinational board boasting more than 100 years of experience within Australia and across the European subcontinent. At the helm, and with 10 ASX IPOs under his belt, Mr Chiappini is well-versed in the fine art of raising a buck or two.
Sitting on a first-class gold deposit in the mining-friendly Spanish jurisdiction and an intriguing patch of unexplored territory in WA’s Murchison goldfields, the hard work is all but done as the company now looks to fast-track exploration and development with its evolving gold portfolio.
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