Maximus Resources focused on finding next Wattle Dam gold operation

Maximus Resources Limited (ASX:MXR) has refocused its efforts on the 48 square kilometres of granted mining licences held across the Spargoville Shear Zone, which hosts the high-grade historic Wattle Dam gold mine. Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS) mined the high-grade Wattle Dam mine from 2008-2012 with historical production open pit production of 52,700 ounces at 5.3 g/t and underground production of 213,650 ounces at 14.9 g/t for a total of 266,350 ounces at 10.6 g/t “Super high-grade tenements” Managing director Tim Wither said that the assets had been sitting idle since 2010. He said: “A lot of the work that we are doing now has been sitting there wanting to be done for a very long time and now we’ve got the money and the focus to do the work. “We’ve got about 48 square kilometres of tenements in Spargoville, 25 kilometres from Kambalda, and it's an amazing jurisdiction, we’re very close to everything. “It’s a rare find to have these super high-grade brownfield tenements sitting on the deposit of Wattle Dam and not much high-level works been put into them.” Capital raising kickstarts programs At the start of the year, Maximus raised some money to turn the lights back on at Wattle Dam and to secure a new management team, with Withers coming on board. More recently the company completed a strongly supported bookbuild raising $3.18 million via a placement of 31,578,947 fully paid ordinary shares to institutional, sophisticated and existing shareholders. Funds will accelerate exploration program at prospects around Wattle Dam Gold Mine, allow further exploration across the company’s Spargoville tenements and the completion of studies required for the Larkinville and Eagles Nest resources approved for mining. The timeline of events for the asset since 2010. Drilling plans The company will be drilling at the Redback prospect, which is 600 metres south of Wattle Dam mine site and east of the Spargoville Shear Zone. Withers said: “Our main focus is Redback which has all the indications that it potentially is another Wattle Dam by having strong alterations around the main mineralisation zones and sporadic hits of super high-grade and broad, modest grades too. “It’s got a resource grade of around 440,000 tonnes at 3.02 g/t for 42,900 ounces so we’ve got a lot more drilling to be done there.” The company will also conduct aircore drilling on the S5 target, which previously reported 3 metres at 83.3 g/t from 25 metres including 1-metre at 235 g/t and sits between Wattle Dam and Redback. Wither said: “In the next month or so we’re going to do 500-700 metres of RC drilling at the S5 target. “We’ll be doing some AC at Wattle Dam West and then we’ll be doing some additional extension drilling at the Core Farm paleochannel which is quite shallow and has some spectacular grades 15 metres below surface.” Scoping studies There are also some internal high-level scoping studies underway at the company’s Larkinville and Eagles Nest projects. The Larkinville gold project has a mineral resource (JORC 2012) of 19,700 tonnes at 3.02 g/t for 11,600 ounces and drill results including 13 metres at 5 g/t containing, fine, free gold. The Eagles Nest project has a mineral resource (JORC 2012) of 679,900 tonnes at 1.95 g/t for 42,600 ounces. Wither said: “[Pit optimisation] was originally done at $1,500/ounce so the price has made those shells a little bit bigger so we’ll be continuing with that. “The resource drilling at Larkinville will be done towards the end of the year, if not the start of 2021, and we’ll be doing some resource drilling there or extensional drilling and to build up the resource there.” The company has started environmental permitting at both mining licences as a spring and autumn flora and fauna survey are required. Wither said: “The idea is to get those two projects up to a position to mine. “We’ve then got the paleochannel which is quite small but low cost, quite simple mining and is all free gold. “Those three projects we’re looking at for near term production.” The Redback prospect is just 600 metres from the historic mine. Nickel opportunities Notably, the Spargoville shear is also quite prolific with nickel and the company’s tenements also hold some historical but not high-grade nickel deposits. Wither said: “We’ll be putting a bit of effort into the nickel opportunities through the tenements. “Plus, we’ve got another 16 kilometres south of the same shear zone for gold rights so we’ve got quite a large package of opportunities within the Spargoville area. “We’ve got now the cash to go and do the drilling and our focus is to develop the gold the resource around our main tenement and also at the same time have a look at some more unloved tenements to our north for nickel opportunities. Looking forwards The company’s strategic objectives over the next six months are: Drill near-mine targets at S5 target and Core-Farm paleo-channel; Resource extension and infill drilling at Redback Deposit; Target generation from geophysics and geochemical data review; Opportunity for lowcost near-term gold production at core-farm paleo-channel; Mining approval Flora and Fauna surveys at Larkinville and Eagles Nest; Rationalisation of tenement holdings and gold and nickel rights; and Further drilling at Hilditch gold and nickel prospects.