Pacgold kicks off aggressive gold growth push at SA production play

Pacgold Limited has fired up the drill rig at its Vertigo deposit in South Australia to kick off multiple follow-up resource growth campaigns for an accelerated full-scale production restart at its White Dam project.

The company says its renewed focus on drilling at Vertigo follows recent identification of additional shallow, high-grade gold mineralisation outside the current mineral resource estimate.

In a parallel move to generate early cash, Pacgold says approximately 100,000 tonnes of re-crushed material on its existing heap leach pad is now under irrigation in preparation for gold production.

The dual strategy of generating cash from existing heaps while drilling for new ounces demonstrates a clear plan to build sustainable production and cash flows.

A recent maiden gold pour of 80 ounces from a small parcel of retreated, heap-leached ore marked a major milestone for the company as it transitioned to producer.

Pacgold says it has committed to a 3,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) tilt for its latest program, targeting potential extensions to Vertigo that, if successful, could fast-track a restart of open-pit mining.

We are rapidly unlocking the full potential of White Dam. Pouring Pacgold’s first gold bar from our initial irrigation of the existing heap leach pad was a significant milestone, and we’ve immediately scaled up with another 100,000 tonnes of new re-crushed material now under leach.

The company snapped up the White Dam project late last year as part of a strategy to fast-track its transition into gold production and capitalise on record-high bullion prices. Historically, White Dam churned out 180,000 ounces of gold from heap leach operations between 2010 and 2018, when gold prices were less than half of today’s levels.

The acquisition delivered the gold junior a ready-made production platform, complete with multiple established open pits, a heap leach facility and a fully operational gold processing plant.

Importantly, the discovery of additional shallow ounces sitting right alongside the existing pit could help accelerate near-term mining activities, as the company pursues several pathways to ramp up production.

The nearby Vertigo deposit, adjacent to the processing facility, currently hosts a mineral resource of 1.7 million tonnes grading 0.7g/t gold for 38,300 ounces. When the new drilling results land, they’ll be fed into an updated resource estimate expected early in the third quarter this year.

In addition to resource growth initiatives, the company says its design work for a heap leach pad expansion is already about 50 per cent complete, with final designs also slated for submission in the third quarter of this year.

From a broader perspective, cash flow from South Australia is intended to help fund the company’s exploration efforts at its multiple projects in Queensland, including the Alice River gold project and the St George gold-antimony project.

With the drill now humming to chase shallow gold right next to its processing infrastructure and cash flow set to trickle in from its heap leach pads, Pacgold looks to be steadily piecing together its production puzzle at White Dam.

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