Drilling Expected To Take At Least Six Months To Complete
Lefroy Exploration Limited (ASX: LEX) has revealed that Gold Fields Limited is due to commence a major aircore (AC) drilling programme on the company’s tenements at Western Lefroy.
The programme is part of the $25million Farm-In and Joint Venture (FIJV) agreement between Lefroy and South African based Gold Fields.
The tenements form part of the Western Lefroy tenement JV package that cover 372 sq. km adjoining the St Ives gold camp. Western Lefroy is part of the wholly owned greater Lefroy Gold Project (LGP) located 50km south east of Kalgoorlie.
The programme will involve completing approximately 1318 vertical holes spaced 400m apart on traverses 400m apart to cover most of the land area of the Western Lefroy tenement package. This programme will yield foundation geological and geochemical information that will be interrogated in conjunction with the geophysical data to deliver specific targets for AC, RC and diamond drilling.
The air core programme is expected to take six months to complete, but dependent on land access. Results material to the company will be reported to the market as the programme progresses.
While waiting on final land access clearance to commence the FFAC programme, a phase of close spaced AC drilling is underway at Paddy’s Secret, to the north of Lake Lefroy.
Paddy’s Secret is the site of an alluvial gold find in 2013-2014, where several large (plus 10oz) gold nuggets were discovered in a 400m by 200m area. The AC drilling is a reconnaissance technique, searching for both geochemical anomalies and geology from the bedrock or top of fresh rock (TOFR) beneath the surface and oxidised rock that comprise the regolith. The depth of the regolith and TOFR is highly variable, ranging from 5m to 100m vertical and averaging 35m.
The variability in the depth to TOFR is also controlled by the distribution and thickness of palaeochannels (ancient river channels) that mask the underlying older bedrock. The interface between the palaeochannel material and bedrock can have a variable thickness of pebble gravels and or sand that can be mineralized. The gold bearing gravels and sands can be used as a vector to locate the primary source in the bedrock.
The Western Lefroy tenement package is a Joint Venture with Gold Fields which commenced on June 7, 2018.
Gold Fields can earn up to a 70% interest in the Western Lefroy tenements by spending up to a total of A$25million on exploration activities within six years of the commencement date in two stages.
On July 30, 2021 St Ives provided Hogans with the Stage 1 Satisfaction Notice to confirm;
1. St Ives had satisfied the Stage 1 Farm In requirement by. a. Payment of one half of the shortfall amount (plus GST), being $1,518,797.50 paid by funds transfer to Hogans on 24 June 2021, and b. Excising the Excluded Area from the Principal Agreement from the effective date of the Side Deed, being June 18, 2021.
2. St Ives provided Hogans with an itemised breakdown of Direct Expenditure incurred by St Ives during the Stage 1 Farm in Period 3. St Ives elects to earn the Stage 2 Participating Interest. The Stage 2 earn-in allows St Ives to sole fund a further $15 million of expenditure over 3 years to earn an additional 19% interest to bring its total interest to 70%.
For further information please visit: https://lefroyex.com/
