KRL North
In close proximity to K92 Mining’s ‘Kainantu’ mine, one of the highest-grade gold ore bodies in the world, these two tenement packages display several geological attributes common to the Bilimoia Mineral Field which hosts the K92 lodes:
- Mesozoic metamorphic basement overlain by Tertiary sediments and volcanics intruded by Mid to Late Tertiary igneous units (Elandora Porphyry and Akuna Igneous Complex) both believed to be source and drivers of the regionally extensive mineralization.
- The Kainantu transfer structure transects the Bilimoia field as a NNE trending mineralized corridor: > 20 km long; >2.5 km wide. The corridor projects into the KRL North leases, while several parallel elements mapped within the KRL South leases coincide with emergent phases of igneous rocks. Significant cross-cutting NW and N trending dilational structures which also control mineralization are also present in the leases.
- Mineralization in the Kainantu District includes gold, silver and copper occurring in quartz-Au telluride veins, sulphide Au-Cu-Ag veins, porphyry Cu-Au-Mo systems, Au-base metal skarns and alluvial Au. Most of these styles have been identified in KRL South leases.
- History of successful Au, Ag & Cu mining in the Kainantu District: Bilimoia field, Kathnell, Aifunka, Mt Victor, etc.
Key stats from the neighbouring high-grade K92 gold mine:
- +20.8 g/t Au feed grade (top 4 mine globally for high grades)
- $615/oz Au Eq AISC
- 5.2Moz resource at grade of 9.6 g/t Au
- 2020 production forecast 120koz/pa
KRL South
KRL South has so far been the focus of the Company’s work, with various types of mineralization identified during initial studies of historic data with some later observed in the field.
In the area around Tirokave, a gold panning village central to EL 2559 which forms the core of the KRL South tenement package, the exploration team have mapped and sampled epithermal vein style systems, multiple skarn deposits, and deeper alteration/mineralization likely affiliated with porphyry style.
Early work in 2020 identified at least four topographic ring features each of which appears to encompass partly emergent hydrothermally altered and mineralized intrusive rocks. These features are broadly aligned along a northerly direction, a trend which is also noted to influence the gross distribution of certain deposits near the centre of the Kainantu Gold District as well as in the Bilimoia Field.
Field work throughout 2020 focussed around the edges of the central two abutting ring features in the Tirokave-Tebeo areas. This mainly involved substantial ridge & spur soil sampling and drainage mapping and sampling. Recent results have shown the program successful in identifying 3 separate prospects displaying strongly gold±copper anomalous soil, stream sediment, float, and outcrop samples. Trace elements found associated with the K92 mineralization, such as Bi, Te, & W are also locally anomalous in the Tirokave area.
Other historic prospects within KRL South which will be investigated in 2021 include Irafo-Moife, Mt. Yungateia, and Otenu.
The work done during 2020 over KRL South, specifically around Tirokave, has laid the platform for a focused exploration programme during 2021 and a route towards a near-term resource definition target.