Dynamic plums for priority gold targets at Widgiemooltha

Dynamic Metals has landed on Cognac West and Chalice South as high-priority exploration targets at its Widgiemooltha project as it chases a gold discovery in the mineral-rich region between Kambalda and Norseman in Western Australia.

With more than 30 exploration leases either granted or pending to choose from in the area, the company had been meticulously gathering and integrating historical data with in-house interpreted geology and open-file airborne magnetic survey data before deciding to initiate new exploration programs at Cognac West and at Chalice South.

Cognac West has a history of near-surface exploration dating back to the 1970s. Previous efforts, which included soil sampling and shallow drilling, were limited and often incomplete.

But one significant result from the 1990s revealed a peak gold assay of 1m at 91.3 grams per tonne from a depth of just 41m in one drill hole.

On the back of its desktop studies, Dynamic then kicked off a soil sampling program across a 3km-by-2km area. Samples were collected along 50m-by-200m-spaced lines, targeting structural faults near a volcanic intrusion west of the Republican Thrust – the major controlling structure in the area.

A total of 704 samples were analysed for gold and other elements, with two key anomalous areas of more than 0.025 part per million gold identified. Additional soil and rock-chip sampling work was then completed on the strength of the initial findings, with assay results expected soon.

At the Chalice South prospect, south of Westgold Resources’ Chalice gold mine, the geology is characterised by north-west-striking and west-dipping volcanic rocks, controlled by the Pioneer Dome to the east. Since the discovery of Chalice, the lease has been tested by various owners using soil sampling, shallow drilling and some specific drilling, all of which will provide valuable information for Dynamic’s exploration efforts.

Our systematic approach has identified promising gold targets at Cognac West and Chalice South, where we are leveraging both historical data and new soil sampling results. With the continued integration of high-quality geological data, we are laying a solid foundation for future exploration and look forward to initiating drilling activities in early 2025.

The exploration license, which covers 14km of greenstone geology, sits within the same structural corridor that hosts the Chalice gold deposit. The Chalice open pit, mined in the 1990s by Resolute Mining, produced 517,000 ounces of gold grading 5.6g/t.

A subsequent underground operation by Avoca Resources produced an additional 100,000 ounces of gold running at 3.16g/t before it was placed on care and maintenance in 2015.

Once Dynamic has unravelled the complex geology, it plans to finalise and integrate new assay and mapping data to zero in on priority targets for drilling at both prospects.

The company’s work at Widgiemooltha comes off the back of a similar study conducted on its Lindsays project, 60km north-east of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields, where it recently identified 23 new gold and lithium targets.

Although work in the 1980s by Delta Gold and Northern Star five years ago threw out nothing of significance, it was an historic discovery in 1906 called Mayday North that caught Dynamic’s attention. By matching up the historical records with modern-day desktop studies, the company was then able to generate the new high-priority targets that will now be followed up with fieldwork in the next few months.

With a recent injection of $4 million from farming out 40 per cent of its lithium rights at the Widgiemooltha project to Mineral Resources, adding to its existing $2.18 million cash pile, Dynamic is now well-funded to chase its gold exploration dreams.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au