Overall, Misima’s global resource saw a 6% rise to 3.8 million gold ounces after an infill and extensional drilling program
Kingston Resources Ltd has tabled a sharp uptake in indicated gold ounces after a mineral resource update at the Misima Gold Project in Papua New Guinea.
The metals exploration company reports a 39% jump in the flagship project’s indicated resource, bringing the estimated gold ounces in this category up to 2.5 million.
Overall, Misima’s global resource saw a 6% rise to 3.8 million gold ounces after an infill and extensional drilling program.
There’s also potential for an ore reserve update in the near future as Kingston prepares to deliver the Misima definitive feasibility study (DFS) early next year.
Speaking to the resource update, Kingston managing director Andrew Corbett thanked the company’s geological team.
This is a great result for Kingston shareholders, with the substantial upgrade in resource classification firmly establishing Misima as one of the most exciting new mid-tier gold development opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
The increase in overall ounces, and particularly the 39% increase in indicated ounces to 2.5 million ounces, establishes a fantastic platform for the ongoing DFS work to build upon, he said.
The team has significantly advanced its understanding of the mineralisation at both Umuna and Ewatinona and we are all looking forward to building on this knowledge and delivering on the continued growth potential as we advance Misima towards development, he said.
Following the resource update, Misima’s global resource now stands at 169 million tonnes, grading at 0.71 g/t gold and 4.1 g/t silver for 3.8 million gold ounces and 22.1 million silver ounces.
Kingston’s latest infill and extensional drilling campaign added nearly 200,000 gold ounces to the global mineral resource, while significant tonnage increases were also recorded across the indicated and overall resource categories.
Ultimately, the Misima resource update focused on updating the geological model at the Umuna deposit and incorporating infill and extensional drilling data while maintaining the pre-feasibility study (PFS) assumptions around cut-off grade.
Given the stronger gold price environment, the resource is now reported within a US$1,800 pit shell, compared with the November 2020 resource, which was reported within a US$1,700 pit shell.
Promisingly, some of the new mineral resources at Misima include near-surface material from Umuna East, a gold prospect near the high-priority Umuna deposit.
As Umuna remains open in several directions and at depth, Kingston intends to conduct further exploration over a suite of follow-up drill targets at the deposit.
Recent work has also confirmed two more exploration targets at the project’s historical Placer starter pits, dubbed Kobel and Maika.
These are located between the Umuna and Ewatinona deposits, although neither target has seen follow-up exploration in recent years.
