Located near Mt Magnet, Youanmi now has a total mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 2.3 million ounces at 4.4 grams per tonne gold.
This new MRE also delivers a 20% increase in the indicated resource category, which now stands at 1.56Moz at 4.5g/t.
In addition, the Youanmi underground indicated resource is up 48%, to 1.1Moz at 6.1g/t, an increase from the previous 359,000oz estimate.
Rox managing director Robert Ryan said various studies including metallurgy, geotechnical, mining, environmental, infrastructure and hydrology are well under way.
“While we expect the PFS will confirm Youanmi to be a long-life asset, we see tremendous potential for future growth,” he added.
This is backed by the “significant” near-mine exploration targets.
Rox says the increased understanding — both structural and geological — of the Youanmi deposit has allowed the determination of near-mine exploration targets of between 6.9Mt and 8.4Mt, with grades ranging from 4.7g/t to 7.0g/t gold.
This would deliver contained gold estimates of between 1.1Moz and 1.8Moz.
The company believes that these near-mine targets “clearly demonstrate” Youanmi has upside potential in terms of scale and size.
Drilling has focused on in-fill operations carried out in the first half of 2023.
Mr Ryan said this latest update to the MRE set a “landmark” for the company.
Rox assumed full ownership of Youanmi in July last year after absorbing the 30% stake held by Venus Metals (ASX: VMC) in return for an in-specie share issue.
The Youanmi mining centre has historically produced an estimated 667,000oz of gold (at an average 5.47g/t) since its discovery in 1901.
It has been mined over three periods: 1908-21, 1937-42, and 1987-97.
Most of that gold was produced from the Youanmi mine itself, with 96,000oz of the total produced from various satellite prospects.
