Eleven RC holes (722m) were drilled at Hilditch to investigate recent intersected high-grade zones. The Company has commenced updating the Hilditch Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) to finalise optimised open-pit designs, aiming to secure mine approvals and advance discussions with potential mining and toll milling partners.
Maximus’ Managing Director, Tim Wither, commented, “The recent drilling results, including 19m @ 3.21g/t Au from 16m, fall within optimised open pit shells and support the MRE update prior to completing open pit designs. Hilditch offers a promising near-term gold production prospect for Maximus, situated on an approved mining tenement near the Coolgardie-Norseman highway, and within close proximity to multiple regional gold processing facilities.
“These new drilling results successfully expand the high-grade mineralised zones, and significantly improve the economic outlook for Hilditch, with efforts concentrated on advancing open pit development to generate cash flow for the Company, capitalising on the rising gold price environment.”
Hilditch Gold Deposit
Hilditch is located on a granted mining tenement adjacent to the Coolgardie-Norseman highway and is proximal to several toll-treating processing plants. The existing 19,500 oz Au @ 1.3 g/t Au mineral resource is shallow, with mineralisation commencing at the surface over a 200m strike length and remains open at depth with significant strike extension to be tested (ASX announcement 19 December 2023). The completed RC drill program was aimed at infill and resource extension to upgrade material classification into the indicated category, before updating the Hilditch MRE.
Gold mineralisation at Hilditch is interpreted to be associated with east-dipping structurally controlled contacts between mafic/ultramafic and volcaniclastic units. Minor interflow sediments are observed within the mafic and ultramafic sequence, similar to that prevalent at the Company’s Wattle Dam Gold Project. In the Hilditch region, the rocks show extensive weathering, reaching an average depth of 20 metres below the surface, indicative of full oxidation. From 20 to 40 metres, there exists a transitional zone, and beyond 40 metres, the rock is unweathered and contains primary mineralisation.
Preliminary metallurgical test work indicative of the Hilditch open-pit gold resource is free milling (non-refractory) with exceptional gold recoveries between 91.4Å and 95.8Å, indicating that the mineable ore is very amenable to conventional Carbon in Leach (CIL) gold processing found throughout Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. Completed metallurgical tests covered various gold grades and oxidation stages, ensuring representative sampling across expected mining depths (ASX announcement 3 July 2024). Further tests are underway to represent real- world toll milling protocols (Figure 2).
Drilling Results
The latest round of drilling expanded upon previous high-grade intersections near hole HGRC038, which had reported 4m @ 12.44g/t Au from 47m, including 1m @ 25.93g/t Au from 47m (Figure 1) (ASX announcement 15 August 2024).
Five RC holes were drilled in proximity to HGRC038. Notably, hole HGRC065, located 25m north of HGRC038, intersected 19m @ 3.21g/t Au from 16m, including 6m @ 5.64g/t Au from 18m and 5m @ 3.28g/t Au from 30m, effectively extending the high-grade zone to the north.
Additionally, hole HGRC068, situated 15m down-dip of HGRC038, intercepted 9m @ 3.11g/t Au from 63m, including 4m @ 4.84g/t Au from 63m. HGRC067 drilled 15m up-dip of HGRC038 returned 15m @ 1.12g/t Au from 24m, with notable intervals of 1m @ 2.85g/t Au from 25m and 4m @ 2.12g/t Au from 35m (Figure 3). These results confirm a well-defined, high-grade gold zone within the central part of the deposit, bolstering geological confidence and continuity of high-grade mineralisation.
At the northern limit of the deposit, several drill holes were positioned to the north of previously reported hole HGRC019, which intersected 7m @ 7.9 g/t Au from 51m, including 2m @ 16.9 g/t Au from 52m (ASX announcement 14 June 2022), in an effort to extend the resource along strike. However, drill holes HGRC059 to HGRC061 failed to return significant results, confirming that the mineralisation is closed off along strike to the north.
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