Legend Mining clears path for Pyrophyllite Hill gold drilling

Pyrophyllite Hill drilling moves into position

Legend Mining Limited (ASX:LEG) is moving its Pyrophyllite Hill prospect from target generation to drill testing, with a maiden aircore campaign scheduled for late October. The planned program covers 50 holes and approximately 2,500 metres across a 1-kilometre by 500-metre area in the Pinnacle Well project near Leonora, Western Australia.

The campaign is designed to map the geology and alteration system, collect multielement geochemistry and guide any follow-up reverse-circulation drilling. The target combines an extensive area of pyrophyllite alteration, elevated gold results in rock-chip samples, a hydrothermal soil anomaly and a chargeable-resistive feature identified by PDIP surveying. That feature extends for about 600 metres of strike. Earlier work had identified the 600m geophysical anomaly as a key Pyrophyllite Hill drill target.

Heritage clearances remove a near-term hurdle

Heritage clearance surveys were completed at Pyrophyllite Hill and Alpha North on 16 and 17 July. Legend said the surveys were area clearances, allowing drilling at both prospects without further heritage surveys. The final heritage report was still imminent when the quarterly report was released, with the company saying the remaining statutory approvals were expected before the planned drilling.

The clearances follow the company’s earlier plan to progress drilling after its July heritage surveys, which had been scheduled ahead of testing the gold targets. Legend also completed field reconnaissance and ground-truthing during the quarter, with further work on newly identified geochemical and geological targets recommended for the December quarter.

Cash position supports the exploration program

Legend held $9.242 million in cash and cash equivalents at 30 September, down from $9.740 million at the previous quarter-end. Exploration and evaluation expenditure was $363,000 during the quarter, while net operating cash outflow was $109,000 and financing outflow was $26,000, largely reflecting lease payments.

On the quarter’s relevant outgoings of $474,000, the Appendix 5B calculated 19.498 quarters of funding. That figure is a mechanical estimate based on the current period’s spending and does not account for the cost of the proposed drilling or any later RC campaign. It is therefore a measure of present cash coverage, not a forecast of how long the exploration program will run.

Rockford remains constrained by access negotiations

There was no field exploration at Legend’s Rockford project in the Fraser Range during the quarter beyond statutory rehabilitation. Good-faith negotiations over heritage and land access agreements continued. The project is held in a 70:30 joint venture with the Creasy Group, with Legend managing the venture.

Corporate changes were secondary to the exploration timetable. John Ribbons became company secretary on 15 September and joined the board as a non-executive director on 24 September, while Tony Walsh retired from the board and resigned as company secretary on 30 September. Three million unlisted options lapsed following Walsh’s retirement.

Assays will determine the next decision

The immediate test is execution: whether the late-October aircore program starts as planned and what it finds beneath the alteration, geophysical and soil anomalies. Legend has not defined a mineral resource at Pyrophyllite Hill, and the report cautions that the prospectivity remains conceptual. The next material step will be the geological information and multielement assays from the program, followed by a decision on whether the results justify RC drilling.