Newcrest Mining is looking to increase its holding in the Havieron joint venture gold-copper project in Western Australia.
The major miner, which owns 60 per cent of Havieron, is in discussions with Greatland Gold regarding an additional 5 per cent interest in the project.
The current joint venture agreement enables Newcrest to earn up to 70 per cent in Havieron through the total expenditure of $88 million and a series of development milestones. The four-stage earn-in spans a six-year period, beginning in May 2019.
Newcrest also acknowledged Greatland Gold’s updated mineral resource and ore reserve statement release last week, stating it had not reviewed or verified the analysis completed by the UK-based mining company.
Greatland Gold released a statement on Thursday indicating a 53 per cent increase in Havieron’s total gold content to 5.5 million ounces (oz) of gold. Havieron’s indicated mineral resource had also increased by 63 per cent to 3.1 million oz of gold.
Greatland Gold suggested it was an “independently assessed update” of a “point in time” on Havieron’s mineral resources and ore reserves.
The company said the results are derived from a further 87 drill holes (59,270m of drilling) completed since the last resources and reserves update published in October’s pre-feasibility study (PFS), which incorporated drilling results up to February 2021.
“This mineral resource and ore reserve update represents a considerable increase on that which was defined in the stage one PFS,” Greatland Gold chief executive officer Shaun Day said.
“The update has unearthed further aspects of the Havieron system and validates that Havieron is a world-class deposit with significant growth potential. Through an independently verified analysis, the total mineral resource at Havieron has increased to 6.5 million oz of gold equivalent, an increase of almost 50 per cent in 10 months of drilling.”
Greatland Gold said a further 40,000m of growth drilling is planned for the remainder of the 2021–22 financial year.