PLC Resources has initiated a government-backed airborne geophysical survey at its Abbotts North Gold Project, setting the stage for new target identification while awaiting assay results from its maiden drilling at Rochefort.
- Airborne magnetic and radiometric survey underway at Abbotts North
- Survey co-funded by WA Government grant
- Rochefort maiden RC drilling assay results expected soon
- Survey targets underexplored ground beyond Rochefort
- Potential link to nearby Crown Prince and Lydia deposits
Dual Exploration Tracks at Abbotts North
PLC Resources Limited (ASX:PLC) has kicked off a high-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric survey at its Abbotts North Gold Project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The timing is strategic: assay results from the company’s maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Rochefort Gold Prospect are expected within weeks, while the new survey aims to build a fresh pipeline of targets across largely underexplored ground.
This dual approach reflects a confident push to expand the project’s footprint beyond Rochefort, where early-stage surface sampling has already yielded high-grade gold indications. The airborne survey is co-funded by a $35,888 grant from the Western Australian Government’s Co-funded Geophysics Program, significantly reducing exploration costs for PLC.
Unlocking Underexplored Ground in the Abbotts Greenstone Belt
The survey covers a largely unsurveyed portion of the Abbotts Greenstone Belt, a geological setting with a history of high-grade gold production and close proximity to New Murchison Gold’s Crown Prince deposit (2.2 million tonnes at 3.9 g/t Au for 279,000 ounces) and the Lydia Prospect. Unlike Rochefort, where WA open-file magnetic data was sufficient to guide drilling, this new area lacks equivalent modern magnetic datasets.
PLC’s earlier exploration at Rochefort, including rock chip sampling with assays up to 11.7 g/t Au and soil sampling defining a ~400m by 350m gold-in-soil anomaly, has demonstrated the belt’s prospectivity. The upcoming airborne data will provide critical structural and lithological insights to identify drill targets, potentially unlocking significant new discoveries in this underexplored terrain.
Survey Execution and Strategic Implications
MagSpec Airborne Surveys is conducting the survey, expected to be completed within about five days, weather permitting. Executive Director Simon Phillips emphasised the momentum: “We are about to find out what our first drill program has returned, while simultaneously building the target pipeline for what comes next.”
PLC’s recent maiden RC drilling at Rochefort, consisting of five holes totaling 1,018 metres, was designed using previous gravity and magnetic survey data. This drilling tests a large gold-in-soil anomaly with encouraging surface results, and its assay outcomes will be pivotal in validating the project’s near-term potential.
With the airborne survey extending well beyond Rochefort into virgin ground, the company is effectively layering exploration efforts to both confirm existing targets and discover new ones. This approach could position Abbotts North as a more significant player in the Murchison goldfield, a region with established high-grade deposits but many underexplored belts.
Bottom Line?
PLC’s simultaneous drilling results and airborne survey data will soon clarify Abbotts North’s exploration upside, setting the stage for targeted follow-up and potential resource growth.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Rochefort’s maiden drilling assays confirm high-grade mineralisation consistent with surface sampling?
- What new structural targets will the airborne magnetic survey reveal in the underexplored areas?
- How might discoveries at Abbotts North compare or connect to nearby Crown Prince and Lydia deposits?