https://thewest.com.au/business/min...reveal-hopes-for-gold-diversity-ng-b88904637z
Fortescue Metals Group’s Kalgoorlie pegs reveal hopes for gold diversity
Andrew Forrest’s iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has added more fuel to speculation it could look to diversify into precious metals, pegging a swag of tenements east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder within 20km of the WA city’s famous Golden Mile.
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety records show Fortescue subsidiary FMG Resources has been busy around the major gold district, pegging three prospecting licences this month covering about 300ha of exploration ground south-east of the Super Pit near the historic Golden Ridge gold mine.
The same subsidiary subsequently applied for an exploration licence west of Westgold Resources’ Higginsville gold mine, north of Norseman in WA’s southern Goldfields.
It is believed to be the closest ground to Kalgoorlie-Boulder FMG has attempted to secure, having quietly built up a tenement package over the past two years through exploration licence applications 200km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder between the Nova nickel mine and Tropicana gold mine on the remote Fraser Range.
While several of those tenements are classified for iron ore exploration, the Kalgoorlie leases are deep in the heart of gold country.
The move also follows rising talk from FMG’s key figures, including new chief executive Elizabeth Gaines, that the Pilbara iron ore specialist, which produces about 170 million tonnes of product for the Asian steel market every year, is hoping to use exploration to diversify into new commodities.
Ms Gaines, who will present at next month’s Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum for the first time in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, was non-committal when asked about Fortescue’s intention for the exploration assets.
“Fortescue remains focused on the long-term sustainability of our core iron ore business, balance sheet strength and returns to our shareholders, as well as growth and development,” she said.
“As a mining company, we have world-class exploration expertise and will build on our operational reputation to harness the skills and capability of our team members to drive future growth through product diversification and asset development in Australia and overseas.”
Former chief executive Nev Power previously described Fortescue’s exploration tenure in the Goldfields as “very early stage”.
Fortescue also has a swag of early stage exploration assets prospective for lithium, gold and copper in the Pilbara, South Australia and Ecuador.
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