Horizon Minerals kicks-off largest ever drilling program of at least 70,000 metres at Goldfields tenements

Horizon Minerals Ltd (ASX:HRZ) has begun its largest-ever drilling program of at least 70,000 metres across its entire 850 square kilometre gold prospective tenement package in WA's Goldfields.

The primary objectives of the fully funded $7 million aircore, reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling program include:

· Converting existing measured and indicated resources to a maiden ore reserve and upgrade existing inferred resources to a higher confidence JORC category for inclusion in the consolidated feasibility study;
· Testing lateral and depth extensions to known mineralisation at the core Boorara, Rose Hill, Binduli and Teal gold project areas for the longer-term production profile; and
· Testing high priority new discovery targets defined at Lakewood, Kanowna South, Yarmany, Windanya/Baden Powell, Gunga and Balagundi.

Shares have been as much as 11% higher this morning to 16 cents.*"Reserve and resource growth plans"*

Horizon managing director Jon Price said: "We are pleased to be commencing the company's largest-ever drilling program which will feed into our reserve and resource growth plans as part of the feasibility study for the larger-scale development supporting a proposed standalone processing plant at Boorara.

"In addition, the company has refined a suite of walk-up new discovery targets that will be tested as we continue the search for new large-scale deposits in this prolific gold producing region.

"Horizon is now well funded, producing gold and generating cash, assessing a larger scale production profile and exploring for growth and new discoveries."