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Bill McConnell
Freshly cashed-up with a new $1.8 million war chest, PLC Resources has wasted no time putting the drill bit to work, kicking off a maiden reverse circulation drilling program at its Rochefort gold prospect in Western Australia’s prolific Murchison region.
The move comes on the same day the company announced it had received firm commitments for the $1.8 million placement at $0.008 per share, leaving it well-capitalised with about $3 million in the bank.
The company, which recently changed its name from Premier1 Lithium to PLC Resources to better reflect its pivot to gold and copper, is now set to drill up to five holes for 1000m at Rochefort. The program marks the first time a drill rig has ever tested the prospect, which is a rare thing in a gold-soaked district like the Murchison.
The Rochefort prospect, part of PLC’s Abbotts North project 35km north of Meekatharra, has been methodically brought to a drill-ready stage. It boasts all the geological hallmarks of a serious gold target. These include a large and coherent 400m-by-350m gold-in-soil anomaly with peak values up to 30 parts per billion gold and subsequent UltraFine soil sampling, which returned up to 42.9 parts per million (ppb) gold.
‘This maiden program is a genuine test of what we believe could be a meaningful gold discovery.’
PLC Resources managing director Simon Phillips
Adding fuel to the fire, rock chip sampling from north-south trending quartz-hematite veins has yielded high-grade results of up to 11.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
PLC Resources executive director Simon Phillips said: “With high-grade rock chips, a coherent gold-in-soil anomaly and a favourable structural setting all aligned, this maiden program is a genuine test of what we believe could be a meaningful gold discovery on PLC’s ground in the Murchison.“
The structural setting appears particularly enticing. Recent gravity and magnetic surveys confirmed that mineralisation at Rochefort sits at the junction of several major interpreted structures and lithological contacts. This type of structural complexity is often the perfect plumbing for depositing gold.
Notably, the mineralisation is hosted in fractionated and altered quartz dolerites, a rock type consistent with hosts of major Yilgarn gold systems such as the legendary Golden Mile in Kalgoorlie.
Adding a bit of nearology to the story, Rochefort lies 20km north of New Murchison Gold’s producing Crown Prince deposit, which holds a resource of 2.2 million tonnes at a solid 3.9 g/t gold for 279,000 ounces.
New Murchison also recently hit high-grade gold at its Lydia prospect, just 2km west of Crown Prince, with intercepts including 3m at a stellar 32.9g/t gold. PLC is keen to emphasise the compelling structural and lithological similarities between Lydia and its Rochefort target.
The broader Abbotts Greenstone Belt is itself no slouch, having historically produced about 41,000 ounces of gold at an exceptional head grade of 31g/t from high-grade quartz reefs.
While the drill rig turns at Rochefort, PLC also has its Yalgoo gold project ticking over further south. Recent drilling at its Carlisle prospect there hit high-grade gold outside the existing resource, including a 1m slice grading 5.28g/t gold from just 44m.
The company believes it may have defined a new volcanic-hosted massive sulphide, or “VMS” corridor at Carlisle, opening up yet another exploration front.
With its coffers replenished, a new name more aligned with its strategy and a drill rig spinning on a compelling, undrilled target in a tier-one gold district, PLC Resources looks set to generate plenty of newsflow.
The company expects first assay results from Rochefort during the third quarter, which could make for some interesting reading.
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