The Mt Jewell Project now comprises approximately 825km² of tenements covering a number of geological and structural environments considered favourable for gold mineralisation.
The project benefits from established infrastructure, being close to the mining centre of Kalgoorlie WA, with access via sealed road, and with gas, rail and electricity nearby. A number of major gold mines operate in the area, including Paddington, Kanowna Belle and the Kalgoorlie Superpit.
RC drilling, which commenced in September 2009, resulted in the discovery of the Tregurtha and Hughes gold deposits. Here, gold mineralisation is located entirely within zones of sheared and altered Granodiorite, a geological setting which is analogous that of the Federal and Golden Cities Gold Mines, hosted in the nearby Scotia Granodiorite.
for the Mt Jewell Gold Project, Hughes and Tregurthar Gold Deposits (other gold targets remain to be further explorered see figure above)
In Aug 2011 Pioneer announced details of its maiden Mineral Resource estimate for Mt Jewell Gold Project
The Company was pleased to announce its maiden Mineral Resource estimate of 3.78 million tonne at a grade of 1.53g/t Au for 185,600oz Au for its Mt Jewell Project. Of this total, 131,600oz Au or 71% is categorised under the JORC code as Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource. A higher grade subset comprises 1.3 million tonne at 2.39g/t for 99,500oz Au. This information is shown in more detail in Tables 1 and 2.
CSA Global is now undertaking a high level mining optimisation ‘scoping’ study designed to provide an insight into the scale and nature of a potential mining operation. With gold at record highs, Pioneer believes that it is important to accelerate the project to bring forward cash flow. The study parameters used assume that the operation will deliver ore from two pits to a nearby existing treatment facility over a period of 4 years.
The Mt Jewell Project has many advantages which favour this scenario. Of greatest importance is its close proximity to major established infrastructure, including the world-class mining centre of Kalgoorlie (55km), sealed road access, rail, power, gas and telecommunications (all within 10km). It is also within 55km of three major gold processing facilities. Many of these advantages are not available to a number of other undeveloped gold projects.
The estimate announced during the quarter represents the first step in Pioneer’s strategy to continue to build a 500,000oz inventory, at which time the Company believes it would contemplate a stand-alone gold processing facility within the Mt Jewell district, providing for a minimum seven-year operating life.
A program of 30 RC drill holes, LDRC178 to LDRC207 inclusive, was completed for a total of 2,461m. These holes were designed to provide additional information about gold intercepts at the extremities of the known deposits.
| Drill Hole | Gold (g/t) | From |
|---|---|---|
| LDRC138 | 20m @ 4.97 | 45m |
| LDRC143 | 31m @ 1.68 | 42m |
| LDRC145 | 5m @ 5.63 | 37m |
| LDRC146 | 38m @ 2.36 | 70m |
| LDRC148A | 7m @ 4.84 | 137m |
| LDRC149 | 26m @ 1.96 | 52m |
| LDRC194 | 4m @ 3.58 | 38m |
| 4m @ 7.89 | 47m | |
| LDRC197 | 8m @ 5.37 | 48m |
| LDRC201 | 5m @ 3.22 | 35m |
| Drill Hole | Gold (g/t) | From |
|---|---|---|
| LDRC152 | 11m @ 6.11 | 72m |
| LDRC178 | 5m @ 8.43 | 46m |
| Drill Hole | Gold (g/t) | From |
|---|---|---|
| LDRC112 | 15m @ 3.00 | 103m |
| LDRC129 | 10m @ 3.33 | 52m |
| LDRC171 | 9m @ 8.60 | 34m |
| LDRC177 | 14m @ 2.17 | 70m |
| LDRC185 | 11m @ 2.11 | 45m |
| LDRC186 | 4m @ 3.52 | 32m |
The exploration program for the December 2011 quarter includes: