Rokeby Resources has defined a maiden 6,100-ounce Inferred JORC resource at the Maude tailings stockpile in Victoria, adding to a broader 17,497-ounce surface stockpile inventory. The opportunity is shallow and potentially low-capital, but the estimate still rests on historical data, assumed density and incomplete metallurgical evidence.
- 84,000 tonnes at 2.26 g/t gold for 6,100 ounces at Maude
- Surface stockpile program now totals 17,497 ounces across two deposits
- Further drilling, density measurements and metallurgical testing planned
- No Ore Reserve, production target, mine plan or feasibility study yet
- Victorian Government support cited for stockpile removal and rehabilitation
Maude Adds 6,100 Ounces to Mt Wills Surface Inventory
Rokeby Resources Limited (ASX:RKB) has found a potentially quick-to-access gold resource in an unlikely place: a historical tailings stockpile. The company reported a maiden Inferred JORC Mineral Resource Estimate of 84,000 tonnes at 2.26 g/t gold for approximately 6,100 ounces at Maude, within its Mt Wills Gold Project in north-east Victoria.
The Maude result takes Rokeby's identified surface stockpile inventory to 17,497 ounces across two deposits, according to the company's announcement. The broader program is targeting four stockpiles, with further work planned at Powers Gully, Wardens Mine and Yellow Girl. The surface material is being assessed separately from the company's longer-term underground ambitions, with the recently acquired project also advancing its Omeo project acquisition workstreams.
Bulk Excavation Could Lower the Development Barrier
Maude comprises sands, slimes and calcines produced from the historical treatment of variable gold ores, including refractory sulphide ore. Rokeby says the stockpile sits at or near surface and could be excavated using conventional earthmoving equipment, without drilling or blasting and with limited stripping.
That is the attraction: the proposed mining concept is bulk removal rather than selective extraction. The resource has been reported at greater than 0 g/t gold within the interpreted stockpile envelope, a basis intended to reflect bulk excavation. It does not mean material close to zero grade would be economic if mined separately.
Historical Data Keeps the Estimate at Inferred
The estimate draws heavily on a 1990 auger program, with 94 holes averaging about 3.04 metres in depth. Mining One Consultants used 82 holes in the resource model after excluding assays whose plotted locations fell outside the surveyed stockpile area. Modern LiDAR constrained the stockpile volume, while the grade estimate used inverse-distance modelling and was checked against a nearest-neighbour model.
Confidence remains limited by the age and quality of the underlying data. Historical quality-control records are incomplete, numerical recovery data is unavailable, and the 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre bulk density used in the estimate has not been measured in situ. Rokeby also says no external review of the 2026 resource has been completed. Planned work includes closer-spaced auger drilling to a 20-metre by 20-metre pattern, at least 30 density measurements and additional verification.
Metallurgy and Pilot Plant Remain the Key Tests
Rokeby is assessing a pilot processing route for the surface stockpiles, with cyanide leaching and caustic soda pre-treatment among the options under review. A recent test on material from the upper part of the Powers Gully stockpile returned 98% gold recovery, but the company expressly cautions that result is not assumed to represent Maude or the entire resource. Historical testing has produced materially more variable recoveries.
No Ore Reserve, detailed mine plan, economic model, feasibility study or production target has been established. The company says further metallurgical work will test recovery at different grind sizes and help determine whether a pilot plant can support early surface production before any future underground development. It also cites support from the Victorian Government for removing the stockpiles as part of a rehabilitation program, although environmental baseline work, residue disposal planning and approvals remain outstanding.
Bottom Line?
Maude gives Rokeby a defined surface resource and a possible early-production pathway, but the next value test is whether new sampling, density data and representative metallurgy can turn an Inferred estimate into an economically supportable project.
Questions in the middle?
- Will closer-spaced drilling and in-situ density measurements upgrade Maude from Inferred to Indicated status?
- How widely will the 98% Powers Gully recovery result vary across Maude and the other stockpiles?
- Can Rokeby establish a pilot plant, approvals pathway and economic case without diverting focus from the planned underground project?