Corazon puts 132,000-ounce bullseye on WA gold play

Corazon Mining has put some serious numbers on the board at its Two Pools gold project in Western Australia, delivering a maiden exploration target of between 1.4 million and 2.15 million tonnes at a grade of 1.6 to 1.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for between 72,000 and 132,000 ounces of contained gold.

The milestone comes just 10 months after project acquisition following some smart geological reinterpretation by Corazon, which identified a previously unrecognised 20-kilometre-long and 3km-to-6km wide greenstone belt, in an area previously mapped as granite.

The Two Pools project covers 537 square kilometres within the prospective Plutonic-Marymia greenstone belt in WA’s Gascoyne region.

The company’s maiden exploration target has been defined across three areas – Northern, Central, and Southern – and is underpinned by a wealth of historical drilling results, including some impressive high-grade hits.

The Northern target is the most advanced of the three, with an interpreted mineralised system extending east-west for 540 metres and defined by an estimated 92 drillholes. Corazon says that within the better-drilled portions, reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drill intersections are spaced as close as 15m to 30m apart.

Importantly, the company says the Northern target remains open, with one historical drillhole returning 5m at 3.61g/t gold from 236m, about 200m outside the modelled target envelope, highlighting significant upside further down-dip.

The Central and Southern target areas are described as being materially under-drilled with a drill spacing of up to 200m, providing what Corazon calls “substantial upside” which it plans to test in future infill drilling.

The entire exploration target is supported by a string of solid historical drill results, including a standout 12-metre intercept grading 8.89g/t gold from 79m, which included a higher-grade 3-metre section going a stellar 34.25g/t gold.

This maiden exploration target is a significant milestone for Corazon and the first quantification of the Two Pools gold system since acquisition. The range (up to 132,000 ounces of contained gold) is a conservative starting point rather than a ceiling and is underpinned by standout historical intercepts.

Corazon’s maiden diamond drilling program at Two Pools, completed in April, confirmed a coherent orogenic gold system which, crucially, resulted in the revision of the previously interpreted gold-bearing vein orientation to an east–west direction. The company’s geos now believe much of the historical drilling may have missed the mark, with earlier explorers targeting a different vein orientation and potentially leaving key mineralised structures poorly tested.

With a maiden target now in hand, Corazon is planning a follow-up 5000m RC drilling program across all three areas in the next six months. The campaign is designed to infill the current drill spacing, test for possible target extensions and lay the groundwork for a future mineral resource estimation.

While Two Pools is shaping up to be a significant district-scale opportunity, Corazon is also advancing its other WA gold assets. At its most advanced Chalice project, 50 kilometres northwest of Norseman in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, the company expects to release a maiden exploration target and kick off a 10,000m resource growth drilling program in the coming weeks.

At its earlier-stage Feather Cap project in the Bryah-Padbury Basin in WA’s Eastern Gascoyne region, the company has completed a maiden RC drilling program, with assay results pending.

It seems Corazon’s contrarian punt on a patch of ground long overlooked as just boring granite is starting to pay dividends. By applying fresh geological thinking, the company has not only defined a new greenstone belt, it has also swiftly delivered handsome grades, followed by a respectable maiden exploration target.

With a 5000m drilling campaign in the wings and set to launch in the next few months, the real test of Corazon’s exploration target is about to begin.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au