Odyssey Gold has made a statement, delivering a significant maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Tuckanarra gold project in the Murchison region of WA.
The Tuckanarra MRE totals 5.32 million tonnes (Mt) at 2.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 376,000 ounces (oz) of gold (above a 0.9–2g/t gold cut-off grade) and includes a high-grade subset of 2.13Mt at 3.5g/t gold for 238,000oz.
Given shallow nature of the MRE, Tuckanarra is firming up to be a potential open pit mining opportunity.
The MRE is derived from more than 82,000m of drilling completed across 18 months. This spans 5212m of aircore, 15,780m of diamond core and 61,150m of reverse circulation drilling.
“We are pleased to have delivered this significant milestone for Odyssey Gold, an achievement that reflects the success of our targeted drilling programs at Tuckanarra over the past 18 months,” Odyssey Gold managing director Matt Briggs said.
“This maiden resource is a significant step forward as it provides a very high-quality gold resource in the heart of the Murchison gold district surrounded by 7.5 million tonnes per annum of processing capacity.”
Briggs said Tuckanarra is unique in its high-grade profile, something which could be amenable to other mid-tier gold miners in the Murchison region.
“It is uncommon to find an open-pit resource averaging over 2g/t gold in a district such as the Murchison that is not in production, so we believe this resource has significant value and puts Odyssey Gold in a very good position,” Briggs said.
“Tuckanarra is known for its high-grade oxide mineralisation and this resource clearly supports this theme.”
The Tuckanarra MRE is complemented by the emergence of the Highway Zone, which has demonstrated future underground mining potential at the project. A high-grade shoot over 150m at the Highway Zone has delivered assays such as 11m at 7.8g/t gold and 12m at 6.5g/t gold.
Odyssey will continue targeted drill programs to further unlock more resources at Tuckanarra.
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