Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8) defines initial Hustler gold resource within the St Ives district

Gold explorer Lunnon Metals has outlined a first Mineral Resource for the Hustler deposit at its Kambalda Gold and Nickel Project in Western Australia, providing an additional gold inventory alongside the company’s recently commenced Lady Herial mining operation.

The estimate follows several years of drilling and geological modelling after the structure was first intersected in the company’s initial drill program following its 2021 ASX listing.

Highlights

• Initial Mineral Resource of 682kt at 1.4 g/t Au for 30,200oz at a 0.5 g/t Au cut off grade.

• Resource comprises 153,000t at 1.5 g/t Au (Indicated) and 529,000t at 1.4 g/t Au (Inferred).

• Discovery increases group gold Mineral Resources to 1.47Mt at 1.8 g/t Au for 84,400oz.

• Hustler located approximately 400m southeast of the Lady Herial open pit, enabling potential operational integration.

• Resource estimate expected to guide open pit technical studies and development options.

The Hustler deposit sits within the Foster Baker component of the Kambalda Gold and Nickel Project, a landholding covering approximately 47sqkm within the Kambalda St Ives district of Western Australia.

The region is one of Australia’s longest running mining districts, with more than 16Moz of gold and over 1.6Mt of nickel historically produced.

Hustler was discovered in 2021 when the company’s first diamond drill hole targeting nickel intersected a previously unrecognised gold structure, with subsequent drilling programs totalling more than 5.7km across reverse circulation and diamond drilling defining the geometry of the system and supporting the initial resource estimate.

Geologically, Hustler consists of a series of narrow stacked mineralised lenses hosted in the Defiance Dolerite, divided into upper and lower zones dipping gently to the northwest.

The structure currently extends for approximately 460m along strike with mineralisation occurring from around 10m below surface to a vertical extent of roughly 220m.

The company’s exploration strategy in the Foster Baker area has focused on identifying modest scale near surface deposits capable of supporting open pit mining while the broader scale of mineralisation is evaluated through deeper drilling.

Historical mining in the surrounding district demonstrates a range of similarly sized open pits, with previously mined deposits in the area averaging approximately 26.4koz.

Infrastructure is a notable feature of the Hustler opportunity, with the deposit located a short distance from the Lady Herial operation, connected by established haul roads and positioned approximately 7km south of the Lefroy gold plant owned and operated by Gold Fields.

Lunnon Metals Managing Director Edmund Ainscough framed the development of the company’s gold portfolio as a strategic shift following the downturn in nickel markets.

“Rather than downing tools and waiting for a turn around after the crash in sentiment and nickel prices at the end of 2023, the Company has developed a second significant value driver, and soon to be potential cash flow generator, by developing its gold portfolio.”

Technical work will now focus on evaluating Hustler within the context of existing operations at Lady Herial.

The company intends to undertake a Scoping Study examining the potential for open pit mining and assessing whether the deposit could be developed alongside a future second stage of mining at the neighbouring operation.

Further drilling may also be undertaken to increase resource confidence and potentially upgrade portions of the estimate to higher classifications.

For Lunnon Metals, the addition of Hustler marks another incremental step in building a gold inventory within a district that continues to generate discoveries more than a century after mining first began.

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