Kalamazoo Resources (ASX: KZR) has banked the maximum $126,625 in funding from a Western Australian Government co-funded exploration drilling grant to boost exploration efforts at its Mallina West gold project in the Pilbara.
The cash will be used to support the hunt for another major WA gold discovery, the company hopes will be similar to De Grey Mining’s world-class Hemi deposit, 50km to the northeast.
Awarded under the state’s competitive Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), the funds will be tipped in to drill 1,400m of combined reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling at the Wattle Plains prospect, an area within Malina West and which previously jagged a hit of 1m at 10.35 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 99-100m.
The gold project lies within the same geological corridor as De Grey’s Hemi gold discovery, a world-class deposit hosting more than 10 million ounces. Recent geophysical surveys at site have identified several gold targets with similar characteristics to the big deposit including Wattle Plains which Kalamazoo is now keen to follow up.
The EIS grant is a co-funding scheme which started in 2009 under the Barnett WA State Government and is designed to provide funding to kick off greenfields WA exploration, typically in remote areas that are expensive to access.
Cashed up with the $126,625 of direct drilling costs, which Kalamazoo must match and $10,000 reimbursement for rig mobilisation, planning and permitting is in already in train as the company aims to launch a new drill program before year’s end.
The award of this EIS grant supports our ongoing exploration program which has delivered several high-quality Hemi-style drill targets through recent magnetic and gravity geophysical investigations.
Kalamazoo Resources CEO Dr Luke Mortimer
The Mallina West project cover four tenements, spanning 118 square kilometres with exploration focused on the gold-rich Wohler Shear Zone which runs central to the Mallina Basin. The region is known for its gold-bearing intrusions as witnessed by the company’s proximity to De Grey’s Toweranna gold deposit which hosts 500,000 ounce, only 15km away. Although a baby when compared to Hemi, Toweranna was the initial find made by De Grey that ultimately led to the discovery of its bigger brother.
Kalamazoo first started drill work in 2022 on five priority targets at Mallina based on strong geochemical signatures and aeromagnetics. After just 23 reverse circulation holes down to 100m the program was halted due to poor weather but not before the 1m at 10.35g/t hit was recorded.
In May, detailed gravity surveys were completed and 3D modelling of the data revealed a 1.5-kilometre-long magnetic structure beneath the surface. The anomaly closely matches a 200-metre-wide chunk of diorite rock at surface, which could be an indication of a big, brittle diorite body prospective for mineralisation, similar to Hemi.
Three spots within the magnetic zone have now been chosen for drilling based on how close they are to the surface, key geological structures and signs of gold found in earlier drill holes and soil samples.
Mallina has been tantalising Kalamazoo for some time now with its prospectivity to unearth a Hemi lookalike. With goverment cash now in its back pocket to drill the exploration metres needed to unlock some answers, the company may well have something to shout about in the new year if, as management believe, the geological indicators are confirmed by the rotary truth detector.
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