Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP), the precious and base metals exploration and development company, has started drilling under the Juri Joint Venture (“Juri JV”) with partner Newcrest Mining. The Juri JV is in the highly prospective Paterson province of Western Australia and these activities mark the start of its work programme, the miner confirmed this morning.
Drilling of high-priority targets has commenced across the Paterson Range East licence, starting at Goliath. The drill camp and infrastructure have been established with field activities underway.
Greatland Gold said that ground electromagnetic (“EM”) surveys to be conducted in the coming weeks will help to better define priority drill targets. All heritage clearances and government approvals have been received ahead of commencing drilling campaign.
Paterson Range East licence
The Paterson Range East licence lies approximately 25 kilometres north of Greatland Gold’s Havieron gold-copper project and covers 224 square kilometres of Proterozoic basement rocks prospective for Havieron style gold-copper mineralisation.
Under the Farm-In announced on 30 November 2020, Newcrest has the right to earn up to a 75% interest in the licences covering the Juri JV by spending up to A$20m as part of a two stage Farm-In over five years. Greatland is currently the manager of the Juri JV.
“It is very pleasing to announce the commencement of our maiden drilling campaign under our second joint venture with Newcrest in the Paterson region,” said Shaun Day, CEO of Greatland Gold. “Six months ago, we entered the Juri JV to accelerate Greatland’s exploration activity and maximise the value of the Paterson Range East and Black Hills licences. The start of this programme is an important step towards achieving that goal.”
The Greatland Gold geology team has identified a set of high-priority targets to be drilled across this programme that display many similar geophysical characteristics to the Havieron gold-copper deposit. With the drill rig now on site, and all necessary camp infrastructure safely established, drilling has commenced at a large ’bulls-eye‘ magnetic anomaly known as Goliath.
The Juri JV campaign forms part of Greatland’s multifaceted exploration strategy for 2021 in the highly prospective Paterson region. This work complements the substantial progress at Havieron, where an ongoing 65,000 metre growth drilling programme is presently underway, together with exploration activities at our 100% licences across the region.”
More on the Juri JV and Newcrest involvement
The Juri JV comprises the Paterson Range East and Black Hills licences covering an area of approximately 249 square kilometres in the Paterson region of north-western Australia. The Farm-In commenced on 29 November 2020. Newcrest has the right to earn up to a 75% interest in the licences by spending up to A$20m as part of a two-stage Farm-In over five years. Stage 1 minimum commitment by Newcrest is A$3m within 24 months of commencement, and Stage 2 contemplates an additional A$17m over a further three years (total A$20m over five years). Newcrest currently hold a 25% interest in the JV.
Greatland is the manager of the Juri JV. Newcrest has the right, but not the obligation, to be appointed manager from 1 January 2022.
Exploration work at the Juri JV licences is focussed on the discovery of intrusion related gold-copper deposits similar to Havieron, Telfer and Winu. The 2021 Work Programme for the Juri JV will include drill testing of several high-priority targets across the Paterson Range East licence, including Goliath, Outamind and Los Diablos and drill testing of the Parlay target, a discrete magnetic anomaly with coincident gravity response in the south-west of the Black Hills licence.
Greatland Gold also said that ground EM surveys will help it to better define and prioritise multiple additional targets throughout the Paterson Range East and Black Hills licences.
