In its June 30 update on the size and potential of its reserves at the King of The Hill and Darlot operations in the Leonora district of Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, emerging gold miner Red 5 (ASX:RED) revealed impressive triple-digit increases in estimated reserves for both sites.
Overall, Red 5 reported a mineral resources estimate of 6.2 million ounces of contained gold and 2.6 million ounces of contained gold at the end of June.
At King of the Hills (KOTH), there was a remarkable 185% increase in open pit measured resources and a 102% increase in underground indicated resources, resulting from extensive drilling efforts conducted in 2022-23.
KOTH now boasts a total measured, indicated, and inferred Mineral Resource of 96.5 million tonnes at 1.4 grams (g/t Au) per tonne of gold, accounting for 4.5 million ounces of contained gold. This includes a notable +185% increase in contained ounces in the important measured resource category for the open pit resource.
The underground resources at KOTH totaled 16.6 million tonnes at 2.3g/t Au, contributing to 1.2 million ounces of contained gold and reflecting a +102% increase in contained ounces in the indicated resource category.
Additionally, there was an estimated 4.2 million tonnes at half a percent of gold to the tonne in stockpiles, run-of-mine, and broken stocks, resulting in 100,000 ounces of contained gold.
Red 5 reported a 117% increase in the Darlot underground ore reserve post-depletion over the year (from mining). The measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resource at Darlot totaled 16.6 million tonnes at 3.3g/t Au, equating to 1.8 million ounces of contained gold. This includes the Darlot regional underground resources, open pit resources, and stockpiles.
Mark Williams, Red 5’s CEO, stated, “The updated Reserve and Resource Statement for 2023 provides further strong support for the Company’s ongoing mine plans in the Leonora District, as well as highlighting the exceptional quality of the King of the Hills (KOTH) orebody. Across our KOTH and Darlot operations, total Mineral Resources now stand at 6.2 million ounces, and Ore Reserves at 2.6 million ounces at 30 June 2023, after accounting for mining depletion. KOTH continues to demonstrate exceptional capacity for Resource and Reserve growth, with surface and underground drilling to continue throughout the year to continue increasing the definition, understanding, and size of the orebody, which remains open in all directions.”