First section is one that exposes a significant resource by a Beta Hunt previous owner. Secondly, a revealing article on Beta Hunt on Goldfields. Lastly, history of Red Hill Gold Mine.
Beta Hunt Gold Mineral Resources were last updated December 31, 2017 as per http://www.rncminerals.com/beta-hunt-mine and will be updated next in April 2019: «The first phase of the drilling campaign is expected to be completed by April 2019 with a resource update anticipated for the second quarter of 2019. »
https://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=4523103662702139&qm_symbol=RNX
This being said, the following likely bodes well for the 43-101:
Consolidated Minerals Ltd that had owned and operated Beta Hunt, document from 2006, its highlight:
-«Western Flanks with an inferred resource of 1.5mt @ 4.1g/t (top-cut because of the visible gold,
average mined grades are expected to be ~6g/t or higher) ».
«Beta Hunt Gold Gold mineralisation at Beta Hunt was historically sought after as specimen stone,
and East Alpha is regarded as the downfaulted extension of the Silver Lake (or Lunnon) orebody
that development on East Alpha is driving north towards). The original mine at Silver Lake was in fact
the turn of the century Red Hi gold mine and reputedly 0.5moz were extracted from the region before
its closure with the underground workings apparently only 30m away from the Lunnon nickel orebody
that was discovered in January 1966. Gold Fields’ St Ives gold mine’s operations are interspersed along
the Beta to Foster line of tenements as illustrated by the gold open-cuts in Figure 6d, and any gold ore
mined by CSM in the tenements has to be toll treated at a specified recovery through the St Ives plant
as part of the original agreement with GFI. The gold ore mineralisation at Beta has been interpreted
as a post nickel mineralising event and appears to have been injected up near vertical faults typically
as gold in quartz [..] and then apparently reactivated, travelling along the lava channels.
The main mineralisation appears to be located in the Western Flanks with an inferred resource of
1.5mt @ 4.1g/t (top-cut because of the visible gold, average mined grades are expected to be
~6g/t or higher) and lies mainly in the Hunt ground, although there could be at least two trends
of stacked lode systems».
http://www.eagleres.com.au/images/pdfs/reports/2006/csm14jun06.pdf
In the November 14th 2018 RNC Investor Presentation http://www.rncminerals.com/presentations it is written: «Potential combined strike length of 4 km Plus additional 3 km of down dip extension not explored Total 7 km. [..] Significant infrastructure in place 5+ km under ground ramp system. » Infrastructure is perhaps greater in length: article on Beta Hunt on Goldfields web site, New gold resurrects Beta Hunt - Western Australian, July 11th 2016, some relatively unknown highlights are spectacular:
-Fletcher zone repeat of Western Flanks and A zone;
-BH: Potentially a 40-year mine;
-BH: Historically Western Mining Corporation found more than 200 drill holes with gold hits of 1m at 15g/t or better;
-Red Hill, only 500m away produced 40,000oz at 20g/t between 1897 and 1907;
-The underground decline at Beta Hunt stretches 8km to the bottom of the mine, 900m vertical below the surface;
-To replicate the underground development would cost $300 million to $500 million.
«New gold resurrects Beta Hunt - Western Australian
Monday, 11 July 2016
The discovery of a third major gold zone has given the historic Beta Hunt mine near Kambalda a new lease of life, nearly 50 years since it opened as a nickel mine.
Private Australian company Salt Lake Mining resurrected Beta Hunt two years ago and it is now in the hands of Canada’s Royal Nickel Corporation after they completed a $C11.2 million cash-and-scrip takeover last month.
The key was Salt Lake negotiating gold rights with South Africa’s Gold Fields, via an undisclosed royalty, which is looking like a master stroke amid this year’s gold price rally.
Salt Lake’s business development manager Steve Devlin, a former St Ives geologist, said diamond drilling had intersected two distinct gold lodes containing more than 24m of mineralisation in excess of 2g/t.
The Fletcher shear zone, as it has been named, was discovered within 300m of existing workings with the help of the State Government’s co-funded drilling campaign, which bankrolled an 858m hole to the tune of $116,000.
Mr Devlin said the results “matched our theory perfectly”, proving the Fletcher zone is a repeat structure of the high-grade Western Flanks and A zone at Beta Hunt.
“This is potentially a 40-year mine ... it mirrors (the same area as) Beta Hunt,” he said. “It’s going to take time and money to explore but we’ve already pieced together the geology. Our hope is we’ve found a whole new Beta Hunt mine.”
The optimism is being driven by a review of historical data, mostly drilling completed by Western Mining Corporation’s nickel division, which found more than 200 drill holes with gold hits of 1m at 15g/t or better.
Beta Hunt opened as a nickel mine in 1973, barely 1km from the Silver Lake shaft that was Australia’s first nickel sulphide mine and launched the Kambalda nickel boom after its discovery in 1966.
Even closer to Beta Hunt is Red Hill, only 500m away, the historic gold mine on which the original town was founded and produced 40,000oz at 20g/t between 1897 and 1907.
Beta Hunt is also along strike from Gold Fields’ 1Moz Invincible discovery, considered one of the best finds in WA in years.
The underground decline at Beta Hunt stretches 8km to the bottom of the mine, 900m vertical below the surface.
To replicate the underground development would cost $300 million to $500 million.
Beta Hunt general manager Chris Otto said production in the Western Flanks gold zone was due to begin in September. »
http://www.goldfields.com/news_article.php?articleID=3626
Red Hill Gold Mine History:
I looked over Red Hill Gold Mine (Beta Hunt) history and it is a fascinating one at that. It was at the base of a gold rush with rich finds, first excerpt from https://www.revolvy.com/page/Lake-Lefroy: «In January 1897 alluvial gold was discovered at Red Hill, on the northern edge of the lake by the prospector Percy Larkin. His first parcel of 106 ounces (3,005 g) of gold was found near where Kambalda stands today. » Second, from http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/towns/kambalda.html: «Kambalda's first modern settlement was located at the base of nearby Red Hill in 1897. The original Red hill settlement owed its existence to a prospector named Percy Larkin who discovered rich shoots of gold in the area. Larkin's discovery immediately sparked a gold rush and during the next 10 years the Red Hill goldfield produced over 30,000 ounces of gold. During the field's existence a number of fabulous mineral specimens were discovered [..] By 1908 Red Hill's rich shoots of gold had become depleted and the settlement soon reverted to native bushland. » Finally, from https://www.mindat.org/loc-266303.html: «Historic gold mining area at the base of Red Hill, East Kambalda, on the shores of Lake Lefroy. Discovered in February 1897, resulting in an alluvial rush with estimates of 300 to 800 men attempting to locate gold in the area. By late 1897, leases had been pegged, and prospecting syndicates were sinking shafts on the numerous reefs. Considering the activity, little evidence exists today, and the area is further heavily disturbed by mining support infrastructure for nearby gold and nickel mines. One source provides a description of the early workings, as the visitor travelled across the Lake Lefroy salt-pan towards the workings: 'The digging camps are visible some distance off, dotted amongst the timber on the edge of the lake, the hills from which rise to a good height at the back, and it is in a steep gully coming down from the hills that the best gold was got. There are a good many stores and tents, and apparently 200 or 300 people. The creek channel from which the gold was won is dry and rocky, with about 2 or 3 feet of soil and stones lying in it from which the gold was won.... crossing this gully is a north and south direction, partly parallel with the shore of the lake, is a porphyry dyke forming a rugged ridge, and in it and on the outside of some of the rocks, gold is plainly visible, and this extends to an island some distance from the shore'. »
In conclusion, the Beta Hunt story is a fascinating one, that is gradually unfolding. Due diligence is an assessment process that often overlooks strategic information.
Regards,
