While the potential for prolific gold production makes the conglomerate type discovery at Purdy’s Reward attractive, the discontinuous distribution of the watermelon seed size nuggets has posed a problem for Novo Resources. Conglomerate gold by nature can display very irregular and patchy distribution, which can result in huge discrepancies even between adjacent drill holes. This discontinuity is what geologists call the ‘nugget effect’. This reality coupled with the fact that samples from conventional drilling are typically small in size often leads to a high level of uncertainty when generating grade estimates for resource blocks.
“The nugget effect for Pilbara gold poses a bit of a challenge, making it difficult to define a mineral resource estimate,” notes Cunningham. “Therefore, it’s hard to encourage money from investors because you need to obviously prove that you’ve got something worthwhile to invest in.” In fact, news of Novo’s first few exploration results fell flat and the market responded with a savage sell-off.
And yet, Novo’s challenge isn’t a reason to call it quits, take your ball and go home. Other resource companies have faced the challenge of nugget effect and won. It’s about being able to think outside the box. In his talk at the RIU Explorers Conference 2018, Cunningham posed the questions: How do we tackle this challenge? Is bulk sampling the answer?
Cunningham uses Inventus Mining’s (TSXV:IVS) Pardo conglomerate-gold host project in Sudbury, Ontario as an example. He points out that after obtaining an average gold grade of 1.34 g/t over 11 diamond drill holes, the company decided to conduct a large 1,000 tonne bulk sampling program which returned an average grade of 4.2 g/t gold.
Recognizing that the best way to advance the their JV project “is to ultimately move it toward large-scale bulk sampling,” Novo and Artemis recently announced a AU$5.4 million exploration program that both companies have referred to as an “important step” toward completing a JORC-compliant resource estimate in order to convert the exploration license to a mining lease and in turn boost investor confidence.
“Novo is at a critical point here with this next bulk sampling program. We’re talking about a new region with a new geology and new way of understanding the right exploration methods to develop an accurate resource model in a district that has the potential to become the next Witwatersrand ,” Jeb Handwerger, long-time gold stock analyst and founder of Gold Stocks Trade, told INN. “We can expect to see some important developments at Novo over the next few months as the complete their bulk sampling.”
Follow the smart money
It’s important that investors understand that when it comes to junior gold exploration, discoveries tend to build high expectations in the market sending share prices up; on the flip side when reality sets in—such as a challenging deposit type—those expectations can cool and settle down a bit until development and production bring another big rise in valuation.
“I understand that the discontinuity and the challenges of the nugget effect are causing some hesitation on the part investors and some of this critique may have truth to it,” said Handwerger. “What has really attracted me to the Pilbara region is the involvement of Eric Sprott and Kirkland Lake, whose shareholders include heavies such as Van Eck, Fidelity and Oppenheimer. This is an early-stage discovery, but the involvement of a company like Kirkland Lake—which has been one of the top gold mining stories in recent years—speaks highly of its potential.”
Kirkland chairman Eric Sprott is also a major shareholder in Novo Resources. Following the release of Novo’s first bulk sampling results from the Comet Well area of the project in May 2018, Sprott purchased 47,900 shares of Novo stock at an average cost of C$4.72 per share, for a total transaction of C$226,088.00.
Other players in the region with Sprott’s confidence
Pacton Gold (TSXV:PAC; US:PACXF) controls the third largest land package in the Pilbara region following a round of acquisitions of several projects located between the properties of Novo Resources and De Grey Mining. Pacton’s expanding portfolio includes properties known to host gold nuggets as well as several existing mining leases which provide the potential for immediate large-scale bulk sampling programs. The company’s most recent purchase is the Bellary Dome project from Marindi Metals (ASX:MZN) from which nuggets similar to those discovered by Novo have been recovered. The significance of Pacton’s land holdings has attracted the investment of Eric Sprott who holds 10.1 percent of the outstanding common shares in the company.
De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) recently received a $5 million investment from DGO Gold (ASX:DGO) to advance exploration and pre-feasibility work at its Pilbara gold property. The project is unique for the area in that it has an established resource of more than 1.2 million ounces of conventional gold, with upside coming from its most advanced conglomerate prospects on the property (Loudens Patch, Jarret Well and Steel Well) which it plans to bulk-sample as well. About 100 kilometers east of Purdy’s Reward, the Loudens Patch alone has yielded more than 200 gold nuggets. Kirkland Lake has invested A$5million in De Grey.
Kairos Minerals’ (ASX:KAI) Pilbara gold project hosts the conventional Mt York deposit and recently reported an updated JORC resource estimate of 643,000 ounces of gold for the project. Kairos also holds 1,158 square kilometres of tenure which is highly prospective for conglomerate-hosted gold. Kirkland has invested $5million in Kairos.
The takeaway
The Pilbara Gold Rush is still in its infancy and the deposit type is not as yet understood, so challenges are to be expected. The geology may not be an exact replica of the prolific gold fields of South Africa’s Witwatersrand, yet all the signs are there that Pilbara has the potential to become a significant gold district in its own right.