Fed tests gold upleg
Gold’s outlook and fundamentals remain really bullish.
Further drilling at the Martha Underground project at OceanaGold’s (TSX: OGC) (ASX: OGC) Waihi gold mine supports an increase to the size of the exploration target in addition to the existing resources, the Melbourne-based multinational gold miner announced on Tuesday.
OceanaGold also provided updated exploration results from the project, which continues to return high-grade gold intersections. Highlights include: 38.4 metres at 8.1 g/t gold and 10.1 g/t silver; 11.9 metres at 13.7 g/t gold and 32.9 g/t silver; and 8.5 metres at 17.8 g/t gold and 65.0 g/t silver.
Shares of OceanaGold jumped more than 6% on the latest development, at one point hitting a five-week high of C$3.83. The gold miner has a market capitalization of approximately C$2.35 billion.
In August 2018, an exploration target ranging between 5 million and 8 million tonnes at a grade of between 4 and 6 g/t gold was announced for the Martha Underground project. Subsequent drilling within the exploration target resulted in substantial increases in indicated and inferred resources (136% and 97% respectively), reported in March.
Based on recent exploration results at the Martha Underground, OceanaGold is now targeting an additional 8 to 10 million tonnes of ore grading 4 to 6 g/t gold, on top of the current 331,000 ounces of indicated resources and 667,000 ounces of inferred resources.
The company says it is currently working on an all-encompassing study to evaluate timing of new source feeds and potential upgrades to existing processing facility, which it expects to complete in the first half of 2020.
The Waihi gold mine in the North Island of New Zealand is an underground and open-pit operation. Earlier this year, OceanaGold received approval to develop the Martha Underground project, which would extend the Waihi mine life by at least 10 years.
