Brightstar hooks numerous 20g/t gold intercepts at Fish deposit

Drilling at Brightstar Resources’ Fish deposit at the Jasper Hills project has turned up numerous >20g/t gold hits which could contribute to early cash flows.

High-grade gold hits at Fish are reinforcing early cash flows from gold production at Jasper hills. Pic: Getty Images.

• Multiple >20g/t gold hits intercepted from RC drilling at Brightstar’s Fish deposit

• Results are crucial to the Stage 1 conceptual underground mining plan

• Gold hits at Cork Tree Well add weight to open pit mining potential

 

Special Report: RC drilling at Brightstar Resources’ Fish deposit at the Jasper Hills project has turned up numerous >20g/t gold hits, a sign that it will be a key contributor to early cash flows.

A top hit of 45g/t demonstrated the potential for the deposit to deliver high-grade pockets as the growing gold explorer and miner firms up its next stage of growth.

Initial results from infill and extensional drilling of the 293,000oz Jasper Hills project has added weight to Brightstar Resources' (ASX:BTR) conceptual Stage 1 underground mine design for the Fish deposit.

The Fish deposit ceased open-pit mining operations in 2012, with Crescent Gold digging up 350,000oz at 3.83g/t gold (~40,000oz) from a single pit.

Back then it was processed through the Granny Smith processing plant. It is now seen as crucial to adding ounces to the Jasper Hills project plan, with a definitive feasibility study on the horizon.

Best intersections include:

• 7m at 9.5g/t gold from 176m, including 1m at 45.3g/t from 177m, and 2m at 6.74g/t from 195m at hole FHRCD2403; and
• 8m at 8.01g/t gold from 180m, including 1m at 36.4g/t from 186m and 4m at 11.9g/t from 259m, including 1m at 37.4g/t from 260m down hole FHRCD2420.

The Jasper Hills scoping study has outlined a Stage 1 model that will produce ~200,000t at 4.4g/t gold for over 26,000oz within the first 14 months, all from measured and indicated resources.

BTR managing director Alex Rovira says the assays returned from Fish confirm the high-grade nature of the resource with “consistent mineralisation over several metres providing support for conventional underground mine designs and stoping widths at shallow depths”.

Plan view map of Fish drill collar locations. Pic: BTR

Drilling at Cork Tree Well

Within the broader Laverton gold project, further assays from two geotechnical diamond holes from Cork Tree Well have been received with individual results of up to 5.59g/t gold, including:

• 3.95m at 1.25g/t gold from 50–55.6m (including 1.65m of core loss), and 2m at 1.21g/t from 100m at hole CTWGT015
• and 9m at 0.77g/t gold from 93m, including 2m at 0.94g/t Au from 69m at hole CTWGT016.

“While drilling at Jasper Hills, we also took the opportunity to process two Cork Tree Well geotechnical holes for gold assays, with pleasing results being returned given the focus of these holes were for gaining geotechnical data for open pit mining,” Rovira said.

“CTWGT015 and CTWGT016 were drilled at the northernmost (Delta) deposit at Cork Tree Well in January 2023, within an optimised $2,750/oz pit shell generated during our 2023 scoping study for the broader Laverton gold project.

“The geotechnical information is being utilised by our mining consultants ahead of re-optimisations and the associated new pit designs for our definitive feasibility study presently underway.”

Next steps

Jasper Hills and the broader Laverton project is just one of several prospects being assessed by the soon to be 3Moz gold explorer, developer and miner.

M&A activities over recent months have established Brightstar as a big time player in the Menzies and Sandstone gold fields of WA as well.

“With the current Jasper Hills drilling program ending within a week, on-going geological interpretations are being completed ahead of resource upgrades across the Brightstar portfolio, with our field team mobilising to conduct a RC program at the Montague East project in Sandstone in a months’ time,” Rovira says.

“We look forward to sharing ongoing results as they are received, with assays still pending from Second Fortune (surface and underground DD drilling), Lady Shenton RC (Menzies), Cork Tree Well DD (Laverton), and both RC and diamond programs at Jasper Hills generating valuable information for MRE updates and various technical aspects of the DFS.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Brightstar Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.