Bonanza hits raise hopes Catalyst has found extension of historic Bendigo goldfieldPlus, big share trade fuels talk of Hancock vs Forrest battle for Chalice while dogs are barking louder about MinRes’ appetite for Patriot
BARRY FITZGERALD Independent Journalist
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has been celebrating 30 years at the helm of Hancock Prospecting (HP), as well as her 69th birthday. Part of the celebrations is a random draw of 41 prizes – the number matches the number of years Ms Rinehart has worked at HP – worth $100,000 for each of the lucky members of the Hancock workforce, tax implications taken care of too. What about gifts going the other way? And what do you buy someone that the Financial Review’s Rich List has probably under-done with its $34 billion net worth estimate? Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and now Strike Energy (STK) have done their bit by calling it a day in the shoot-out for Perth Basin gas player Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO), with HP’s $440 million takeover winning the protracted shootout. But how about going one better and delivering Ms Rinehart something golden. A piece of jewellery wouldn’t do for Australia’s richest. How about a “new” Bendigo, the old goldfield known around the world for its historic high-grade production of some 22 million ounces back in the day. Maybe just maybe, such a “gift” is possible thanks to the hard yakka of Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL, trading at $1.30 for a market cap of $128m) in the hunt for a new Bendigo beneath Murray Basin sediments to north of the historic goldfields. HP is a player in it all as it has long been a supportive 12.7% shareholder in Catalyst, and is a 50:50 partner with Catalyst in the Four Eagles exploration project, the most advanced of the projects in Catalyst’s new Bendigo hunt. Catalyst has just released results from eight holes drilled into the Iris Zone which sits below the known gold mineralisation at shallow depths at the Boyd’s Dam prospect, part of the broader Four Eagles project area.It likes what came back from the assay lab. Best results included – 5.6m grading 54g/t gold, 1m at 150g/t, 1.3m at 77.9g/t, 55m at 10.4g/t and 5.4m at 5.2gt. As mentioned here previously, it is exciting stuff because the old Bendigo goldfield was “easy” to find because it “daylighted” in outcrops, stubbing the toes of the oldtimers. Finding high-grade gold across an initial 350m strike length hidden beneath Murray Basin sediments is something else altogether. Catalyst’s technical director Bruce Kay is not one prone to hyperbole. He said that the Iris Zone results were a “pivotal breakthrough in our hunt for the extension of the Bendigo goldfield”. “We have always suspected that there would be stacked gold zones (Bendigo style) below the shallow Boyd’s Dam mineralisation but previous drilling had not been done with then optimal orientation,” Kay said. “This Iris Zone appears to be very consistent and visible gold is always exciting.’’ Kay’s career spans more than 40 years and has included lead geologist positions at the long-gone Normandy Mining and worldwide exploration for Newmont, the world’s biggest gold producer, and bigger still if it secures Newcrest (NCM) with its $24 billion takeover bid. The Iris Zone is one of a number that sit in close proximity to one another. “These areas of stacked, repetitive mineralisation have the potential to change the project’s economics and could eventually be mined from the one access tunnel,” Kay said. The old Bendigo was known for its unique style and the scale of faulting which resulted in the repetition of orebodies (500,000 ounce/40g/t shoots in its heyday) down to depths of more than 1km. As it is, Catalyst has applied for approval to drive a 3.5km decline between the seven high-grade zones outlined to date. No mine just yet but certainly heading in the right direction to become one in the ongoing revival of Victoria’s old goldfields.
Goes on to discuss Chalice and Patriot
CYL Price at posting:
$1.35 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)