RE: CDF fund18 Mar 2019 09:51
"You find a new mine next to an old mine"
The Pilbara is known to geologists as the place in northwestern Australia where the oldest rock on earth, almost three billion years old, is coming to the surface. The area, of 350 by 700 kilometers, became known in 2017 through the discovery of the gold-bearing "conglomerates" of Novo and Artemis. Iron ore has been found on a large scale for decades.
But it seems that the Pilbara has many more undiscovered resources. The Paterson area is in East Pilbara and two new, promising discoveries have recently been made here. Greatland Gold has drilled a number of holes in the Havierion project with impressive results. The peak was almost 5 grams of gold per tonne of rock over a distance of 275 meters at the end of last year. To put this in perspective: the monster discovery of Aurelian Resources in Ecuador in 2006 started with such a 'hole'. We therefore immediately bought a first position and own more than 1% of this London-listed company.
And the project is only 40 kilometers east of the Telfer gold mine. So from a geological perspective around the corner. This mine, which is now on its last legs, has a deposit of 27 million ounce of gold and is operated by Newcrest Mining. After it appeared that the geological setting of these two projects have a lot in common, an indication that Havieron might be Telfer's sister, Newcrest recently proposed to Greatland to take over the exploration and to bear all its costs. In exchange, Newcrest can build up a 75% interest in the project. As a result, Greatland can now concentrate on a number of other promising 'targets'.
Especially for Newcrest is a great deal. Now that the old Telfer mine is on its last legs, gold production may possibly continue much longer. The golden rock can be transported relatively cheaply by truck. At the same time, a new 'mill' does not have to be built for Havieron and this makes the project a lot more economically viable. That quickly saves an investment of half a billion. The small print shows that Newcrest also takes into account any new discoveries on the territory of Greatland. It is remarkable that Artemis Resources claimed the area around Havieron last year. The company has already identified a number of potential sites, based on geophysical research, and wants to drill here.
The second major discovery in the Paterson area is from Rio Tinto. For months there had been speculation that Rio Tinto, more than 100 kilometers to the north, would have made a special copper discovery. The company announced last month that this Winu project is rich in copper, gold and silver. The mineralization is close to the surface but has the potential to continue down. There is also potential both to the east, north and south. To provide a definitive answer, much more will be drilled this year.
All the aforementioned discoveries have made the attention for the Pilbara much greater. It is abundantly clear that many more metal deposits will be di
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