Separate from exploration at Kurundi Main, King River’s regional exploration program is also starting to bear fruit. At the Millers prospect, 20km north of Kurundi, geochemical testing has picked up positive early signs of mineralisation.
With values running at 0.7pc copper 1pc sulphur, and 40ppm bismuth in ironstones, the target bears all the hallmarks of a Tennant Creek iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) style of mineralisation.
At Tarragans, another regional target, drilling touched on multiple gold-mineralised structures, with grades reaching up to 1.17g/t gold.
Moving forward, the next exploration campaign is being planned to identify more high-priority targets and grow the known mineralised zone at Kurundi. The company says ongoing interpretation of geophysical and geochemical data will also guide its hand for further exploration and resource expansion.
Tennant Creek is historically known for its world-class gold and copper deposits with mines such as Peko, which produced 150,000 tonnes of copper grading 4 per cent and 410,000 ounces of gold running at 3.5g/t.
Additional examples of similar discoveries in the area include the White Devil mine which produced 760,000 ounces of gold at 14.6g/t in the 1990’s and Nobles Nob – considered the richest mine for its size in Australia – which produced 1.17 million ounces of gold at a bumper grade of 17g/t during its mine life to 1985.
In total the region has unearthed more than 5.5 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.9g/t and more than 700,000 tonnes of copper averaging 2.8 per cent grades making it one of the most profitable mining regions in Australia.
With the gold price seemingly on an unstoppable journey towards US$3000 per ounce, King River appears to be in the right place at the right time. Its chosen exploration grounds in the Tennent Creek region have already proven a rich hunting ground for explorers and the company appears to be well and truly picking up on that scent. Given a little time and patience, King River could be on the verge of adding its name to the storied history of successful exploration companies in the region.
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