Gateway Mining may have unearthed a game-changing gold discovery at its Cowza prospect, part of the company’s Yandal gold project in Western Australia, after step-out drilling tripled the continuous high-grade strike from 800 metres to 2.5 kilometres.

The latest results also confirmed high-grade gold in fresh rock for the first time, further strengthening the exploration model.

Aircore drilling at Gateway Mining’s Cowza gold discovery within the Yandal gold project, Western Australia’s prolific Yandal Greenstone Belt.

Every step-out drill line completed since Cowza was unveiled in June has intersected the same gold system, providing growing confidence the find is evolving into a large, continuous gold-bearing structure.

The prospect is hosted within a major shear zone marking the contact between mafic and intermediate volcanic rocks. This geological setting has consistently delivered new discoveries across Gateway’s Yandal project. It forms part of a much larger 4.5km-long structurally complex corridor that has been strongly demagnetised.

‘With evidence of a substantial, continuous gold-bearing structure the RC rig may well be focused on Cowza for the foreseeable future.’

Gateway Mining chief executive officer Richard Pugh

Gateway believes the same hydrothermal fluids responsible for the widespread demagnetisation also deposited the gold, pointing to a large and fertile mineralising event. The broader corridor suggests Cowza may be in the early innings of its growth, with significant exploration upside still ahead.

The recent aircore drilling blitz returned a series of strong gold intercepts from along the newly extended strike, including a 27-metre interval grading 1.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 84m, a 16-metre interval grading 1.9g/t gold from 88m and another 16-metre interval returning 1.3g/t gold from 68m.

The 27-metre intercept came from the first aircore hole to properly test mineralisation in fresh rock and ended in mineralisation, with the final metre grading 3.3g/t gold.

The result suggests the drilling was only beginning to intersect the primary gold system before reaching the limits of the aircore drill, confirming the discovery extends into primary mineralisation beneath the weathered profile and materially de-risking the exploration model.

Cowza is rapidly emerging as an important piece of the puzzle for Gateway at Yandal, demonstrating the repeatability of a geological model that has already delivered multiple discoveries across the project.

Gateway Mining chief executive officer Richard Pugh said: “With evidence mounting in support of a substantial, continuous, and highly fertile gold-bearing structure that extends well beyond the boundaries of the assays received to date, the RC rig may well be focused on Cowza for the foreseeable future.”

The company says it will waste little time putting that strategy into action. While a first reverse circulation (RC) rig continues drilling at Gateway’s Haflinger discovery 25km north of Cowza, a second RC rig is now due to arrive this weekend and immediately begin fresh-rock drilling at the new find. The expanded RC program marks a shift from proving discoveries to mapping the scale of fresh-rock mineralisation.

Assays are also expected within a fortnight from the remainder of the recent aircore program testing Cowza’s northern extension, where drilling has already intersected the same shearing, veining and alteration observed in the mineralised holes.

Cowza forms part of Gateway’s 1,780-square-kilometre Yandal gold project, which hosts almost 100km of prospective gold trends 85km north-east of Wiluna in the Yandal Greenstone Belt. The belt ranks among Western Australia’s premier gold provinces and hosts several multi-million-ounce gold deposits, including Northern Star Resources’ 7.4-million-ounce Jundee operation.

The discovery is the latest success from Gateway’s proven exploration model, joining Haflinger, Hummer, Celia South and Panikin as the company continues to build a pipeline of discoveries across Yandal. Those discoveries complement an existing 400,400-ounce gold resource, providing a solid foundation.

Historically elevated gold prices continue to favour explorers delivering new discoveries and resource growth, particularly in tier-one jurisdictions such as Western Australia. Backed by $15.7M in cash and a further $5.6M in liquid ASX-listed securities at the end of the June quarter, the company appears well funded to accelerate drilling across Cowza and its broader pipeline of Yandal discoveries.

Gateway still has another 2km of strike awaiting assays, while a second RC rig is about to step on the accelerator. If the geology continues to stack up, Cowza could quickly emerge as the crown jewel in the company’s Yandal crown.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au

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