And while Ramelius has gone onto different projects in the decade since – namely operating its 6Moz Mt Magnet gold mine – there is an emerging understanding that it left plenty of potential in the ground at the Coogee project near Kalgoorlie.
Junior explorer Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) now believes the project, located on the doorstep of Gold Fields’ St Ives gold mine and its hungry mill as well as Red 5’s (ASX:RED) Mt Monger gold complex, hosts a score of priority targets that could breathe new life into the forgotten gold mine.
Drilling is set to begin in the next quarter at Coogee, located just 20km north-east of Kambalda and 55km south of the gold Mecca of Kalgoorlie in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
And Javelin says it has a string of geophysical targets across its M26/477 and E26/177 tenements that warrant “immediate follow-up drilling” with historic drilling only completed to shallow depths despite the mine’s legacy as a significant gold producer.
“We know Coogee hosts a gold system in a world-class address on the edge of the famous St Ives goldfield,” Javelin executive chair Brett Mitchell said.
“But despite these outstanding credentials, there has been little or no drilling on so much of the tenure. These geophysical results highlight the huge upside at Coogee, with numerous compelling targets identified below and around the Coogee deposit.”
Javelin has looked into open file aeromagnetic data as well as reports from the WAMEX and MAGIX databases in WA to collate eight priority geophysical targets at Coogee, where shallow drilling in the past barely pierced a layer of cover that disguised mineralisation close to surface.
The explorer has engaged Core Geophysics to review open file geophysical data including gravity, magnetic, EM, IP and DHEM surveys at Coogee, with renowned rock kicker Peter Langworthy’s OmniGeoX engaged as technical consultant for the drilling push.
Some of the top priorities include one target on the granted mining lease where Javelin plans to test the down-dip potential of mineralisation at the Coogee North area, while another will test mineralisation beneath the deposit.
Other top priority gold and copper targets include magnetic anomalies at Coogee West and infill drilling on the lake target to the south.
Mineralised trends at Coogee are open to the north-west, with Javelin postulating a large gold-copper system could be found at depth.
The top anomaly, known as CG-01, is located some 300m north of the Coogee gold pit that was previously mined by Ramelius starting from 175m deep, with gold and copper already found in drilling closer to surface by previous owners.
Javelin has recently raised more than $2 million from investors to put into the drillbit. The raising coincides with an update to the company’s leadership team, including the appointment of experienced mining engineer Andrew Rich as non-executive director.
“With the new Board and Management team in place and the recent fund raising completed, we are on track to start drilling these targets next quarter,” Mitchell said.
“At the same time, we are completing an update of the existing resource, which will give us a solid foundation as we seek to build a substantial gold inventory in one of the world’s great gold mining provinces.”
The project is located not far from the St Ives plant, where global major Gold Fields is known to be hungry for mill feed, with Red 5 and Westgold Resources also among the big players in the neighbourhood.
Gold prices, sitting around $1,300/oz when the mine wrapped up in late 2013, are now trading above $3,700/oz.
