Pianto
All mineral rights
- The project comprises laterally extensive never explored gold-in-granite targets over 10 km, similar to the Golden Cities gold mine to the south. Most of the tenement is obscured by transported material and calcrete.
- KalGold have completed full reappraisal of the project assessed sparse historic datasets and noted muted shallow gold anomalism associated with specific magnetic features within the target areas.
- Reconnaissance auger geochemistry program has been completed at KalGold’s Pianto Project (E29/1125).
- Program designed to test a ‘gold in granite’ exploration model, analogous to the Golden Cities mine camp 50 km to the south.
- A total of 315 first-pass auger samples within surficial transported material at Pianto have yielded distinct gold and lithium anomalies (see ASX announcement dated 23 February 2023).
- Gold anomalism is distributed along the southern margin of a distinct, fault-related demagnetisation anomaly evident in regional magnetic datasets.
- Lithium anomalism follows an extensive, late-stage, NW-striking structure hidden beneath transported cover:
- Associated tantalum, niobium, tin, and other anomalism;
- Outcropping pegmatites identified peripheral to the anomalies;
- Lithium minerals tentatively identified in hand specimen (to be confirmed).
- A further 60 rock chip samples have been collected in recent field programs and have been submitted to the laboratory for assay.
- Gold exploration remains priority with other commodities to be tested to maximise shareholder value.
KalGold MD and CEO, Dr Matt Painter, said:
“The Pianto project represents a broad-scale, dilational conceptual target. Such dilational zones are commonly prone to fluid infiltration, so the program will test for gold in hydrothermal fluids and lithium in melt fluids. This program is a first-pass assessment of the target area that aims to generate targets for follow-up exploration.”
“Anomalism possibly related to lithium and gold mineralisation at depth was detected by our first-pass surface exploration program at Pianto. Anomaly levels, as expected in landscapes covered by transported materials with little or no outcrop, are subdued, but are coherent and extensive. Follow-up work is required to fully define anomaly extents before drill testing beneath cover.
Promisingly, on-ground validation of the program has identified pegmatites in minor outcrops peripheral to the lithium anomalies. Furthermore, within these pegmatites, our geologists have made a tentative visual identification of the lithium mineral spodumene, which is yet to be confirmed.
KalGold is undertaking further field validation and sampling to attempt to confirm the presence of lithium bearing minerals and to inform design of follow-up programs. It’s very early stages, but Pianto is providing great interest in an historically poorly explored area.
It is important to note that while gold exploration will always remain KalGold’s first priority, the Company will additionally test for other commodities, like lithium, on our landholdings in an effort to maximise return for shareholders.”
The Pianto Project consists of one tenement covering an area of around 145 km², located 80 km north-northwest of Kalgoorlie. There are no historical or modern mining activities within this tenement.
The tenement lies on the western margin of the Gindalbie Domain and is interpreted to be mainly underlain by Archean granites, but with potential buried greenstones in the south and west. The tenement is extensively covered by lake associated sediments.
Previous exploration has mainly been focussed on the southern portion, due to the presence of cover in the northern sections. RC follow-up drilling of auger defined anomalies in the southern portion did not return any significant results. Generally, exploration over this tenement has been low-level. The highest prospectivity lies in the south and close spaced ground magnetics may assist in defining the presence of greenstones.