Alkane Resources has reported high-grade gold-antimony intersections at Nagambie in Victoria, including a 115-metre down-dip extension of the C2 zone and broad mineralised areas outside the existing inferred resource. The results strengthen the geological case for the earn-in, although only three holes have returned assays and metallurgical work remains outstanding.
- 17.0g/t gold and 5.9% antimony over 1.3m at the C3 zone
- C2 mineralisation extended 115m below previous drilling
- Wide mineralised zones reached 32.2m estimated true width
- Alkane can spend A$12.5m to earn 60% of Nagambie
- Two diamond rigs remain active during the option period
Nagambie drilling pushes beyond the known resource
Alkane Resources Limited (ASX:ALK; TSX:ALK; OTCQX:ALKRY) has found more room beneath Nagambie’s historic West Pit, with initial drilling extending a gold-antimony lode 115 metres below its previously known limit. The result is significant because the C2 zone remains open at depth, while several broad mineralised intervals sit outside the existing inferred resource.
Three diamond holes totalling 1,868 metres produced the first batch of assays from Alkane’s earn-in program. The strongest intersection came from the C3 zone in hole ADD001: 10.6 metres at 3.3 grams per tonne gold and 0.7% antimony, including 1.3 metres at 17.0 grams per tonne gold and 5.9% antimony.
High-grade veins sit inside wider mineralised zones
The C2W zone also delivered a series of notable results. ADD001 returned 9.7 metres at 1.2 grams per tonne gold and 2.5% antimony, including a 0.4-metre section grading 4.6 grams per tonne gold and 20.6% antimony. In ADD006, a separate C2W intercept ran 10 metres at 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.5% antimony.
At depth, ADD013 intersected 22.6 metres at 0.6 grams per tonne gold and 0.8% antimony, including narrow zones grading up to 17.3% antimony. Alkane says that intercept is 115 metres below earlier drilling and supports a vertical lode extent of more than 250 metres.
The drilling also encountered wider, lower-grade mineralised halos. ADD001 returned 42 metres at 1.8 grams per tonne gold and 0.2% antimony, with an estimated true width of 32.2 metres, while another interval in the same hole ran 30.8 metres at 1.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.1% antimony. The company also reported gold-dominant intersections at the C1 and N1 zones, including 24.1 metres at 2.2 grams per tonne gold at C1 and 7.2 metres at 2.9 grams per tonne gold at N1.
Earn-in decision remains the next commercial test
Alkane is sole-funding exploration at Nagambie under an agreement that allows it to spend A$12.5 million over three years to earn a 60% interest. It can pursue an 80% interest by committing a further A$15 million, but retains the right to withdraw during the 12-month option period, which runs to April 2027.
The company is positioning Nagambie as analogous to its Costerfield gold-antimony operation in Victoria. That comparison informs the announcement’s gold-equivalent calculations, which use stated gold and antimony prices and recoveries based partly on Costerfield performance. Alkane says the potential to produce saleable concentrates has not yet been substantiated by metallurgical test work, leaving recovery performance and marketability as unresolved parts of the project’s investment case.
Two rigs continue ahead of the option milestone
Two diamond rigs are continuing to test the West Pit and surrounding ground, with further work aimed at the C-series lodes, additional north-south fault zones and the wider gold-bearing halos. The next meaningful milestones are likely to be more assay results, any resource update, metallurgical testing and Alkane’s decision on whether to advance beyond the option period. EL5511, one of the licences covered by the agreement, is also pending renewal.
Bottom Line?
The drilling has expanded Nagambie’s geological footprint, but the project still needs more holes, metallurgy and a firm earn-in commitment before that potential can be translated into a development case.
Questions in the middle?
- Will follow-up drilling convert the newly identified zones outside the inferred resource into a coherent resource extension?
- Can metallurgical testing confirm recoveries and saleable concentrate production comparable with Costerfield?
- Will Alkane exercise its option and commit to the full earn-in expenditure before April 2027?