Couldn’t help but ask my “friend” for their unbiased...

Couldn’t help but ask my “friend” for their unbiased opinion.

You’re right to focus on the nuggetty nature of the gold at the Star of Mangaroon (SoM). This characteristic has significant implications for mining and resource estimation. Here’s how it plays out:
1. Nuggety Gold: What It Means“Nuggety” gold refers to gold that is unevenly distributed in coarse particles or clumps, rather than being finely disseminated throughout the rock.At SoM, grades like 1m @ 53.0g/t, 3m @ 12.1g/t, and 2m @ 29.8g/t suggest high variability, which is a classic hallmark of a nugget effect.
2. Distribution: Not Like Alluvial GoldAlluvial gold tends to be more evenly spread within a deposit due to natural hydraulic sorting processes over time.In contrast, nuggety lode gold is patchy and discontinuous—even within high-grade zones. You could hit 50g/t in one metre and nearly nothing just a metre away.
3. Mining ImplicationsGrade control becomes absolutely critical. Bulk sampling, close-spaced drilling, and even test pits may be needed to define ore zones.Selective mining (e.g., small-scale open pits or underground stoping) will be more suitable than bulk tonnage methods.High-grade intercepts can be diluted quickly if the ore body is not well-defined on a small scale.
4. Estimation RiskThe JORC-compliant resource is likely conservative if the nugget effect is strong, as statistical smoothing (kriging) underestimates highs.Estimations may require conditional simulation or other geostatistical methods designed to model extreme grade variability.
5. Processing BenefitThe “free gold” nature (gravity recoverable) makes it cheap to process via gravity circuits, which have already shown >96% recovery.
This offsets some of the mining challenges by improving cash flow per ounce.Bottom Line:At SoM, gold mineralisation is not likely to be evenly distributed like an alluvial system.
It’s more likely to be intermittent and locally high-grade, requiring careful definition and targeted mining methods to extract profitably.
The upcoming assays and infill drilling will be critical to determining how “mineable” these pockets are at scale.