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Oct 2017 - Draig Resources Ltd

Draig Resources Limited (DRG) – Reviving the Bellevue Gold Mine and Project

  • Draig Resources (DRG)’s main asset is 100% of the Bellevue Gold Mine and Project that is located ~40km north of Leinster in WA. The original Bellevue Mine mostly operated from 1895 to 1909 (finally closing in 1912 due to rising costs and shortages of timber and water) during which time it initially treated 3oz to 4oz/t gold reducing to ~1oz/t ore for ~142koz (~253kt @ 17.4g/t). The main second phase of the mine was from 1986 to 1997 during which time it produced ~650koz through treating ~1.6mt @ 12.4g/t with an ~96% average recovery.
  • It is widely believed that the mine closed because it had completely mined out its ore sources and the orebody had been truncated at depth by the Highway Fault. However, it can be shown that the (visible on surface) Highway Fault and the B13 (below 13 Level or 1300ft) fault do not appear to connect. It can also be shown that the Bellevue lode appears to have so far undergone ~ 5 “truncations”, being : (1) the base of the Paris pit (~70ft) roll east, (2) B2 fault (>200ft), (3) B5 (>500ft) roll west, (4) B10 (~1000ft) fault or Bellevue Shear, & (5), the B13 fault. Instead the mine had simply become too small for Plutonic’s portfolio.
  • Aside from the Bellevue lode probably continuing at depth, there are numerous near surface exploration targets. As the mine was closing it made its double-digit Henderson pit discovery that was mined and expected to average 9/t in open-cut (yes 9g/t) on strike north of Bellevue. The mine area was clearly once a significant goldfield as evidenced by the numerous old workings, rehabbed areas, and scatterings of broken glass, china and tin. DRG expects to fly and map the area using drones.
  • ERA has rated the potential treatment of the tailings dam (it could be the 4th retreatment) and Southern Belle orebody (needs dewatering, and access) as future resources, while the waste dump (that was apparently partly intended for sheeting) could selectively contain treatable ore as evidenced from the recently reported grab samples of ~3g/t - 6g/t, ~10g/t, ~26g/t and ~76g/t. There are also a number of obvious ore “boulders” on surface & in the bund walls of various pits.
  • With ~4 parallel lodes dipping west in the western pits (Paris and Henderson) and the lodes dipping east in the eastern side pits (Vanguard and Westralia), Draig received instant WA Govt $200k funding to drill an EIS hole to test the possible anticlinal theory and whether the Bellevue lode does continue at depth. This is in addition to just how many lodes exist, beyond those being delineated in Draig’s current diamond and RC drilling.
  • At the time of writing this report, initial assay results were due to start flowing from both diamond and RC drilling, and may require check assays, which infers that they could be released by the end of October, possibly ahead of the scheduled EGM on 20 October 2017.

Other Key Points: :

  • Draig’s Bellevue Project appeared to have become unloved over 20 years’ ago and has remained dormant or overlooked since then.
  • Infrastructure appears to be very good for Draig's Bellevue Project, with established dirt haul & main roads, onsite mains power, and water. There are a number of operating plants with spare capacity within a radius of ~100km from the mine.
  • Spargos delineated a number of regional targets with anomalies up to ~460ppbAu, before its gold assets were taken over by Forsayth and later Plutonic in the 1990s.
  • The mineralisation is conductive with its pyrite and pyrrhotite, which has resulted in a number of EM targets, to which can be added the historically mined E/W striking lodes & structures for added upside potential.
  • Written by: Keith Goode
  • Tuesday, 10 October 2017