JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed exploration company Papua Mining has been granted, through its subsidiary BGM Investments, the Monarch exploration permit to mine in Queensland, Australia.
The five-year exploration permit covers an area 10 km south of Charters Towers, where six-million ounces of gold has been mined, and 8.5 km north of the Mt Leyshon gold mine, where four-million ounces of gold has been mined.
Papua Mining CEO David Price stated on Friday that the company would advance the prospects rapidly with an initial rock and soil sampling programme, followed by reverse circulation drilling to test the veins at shallow depth.
“The Monarch veins have not been drill-tested, so opportunity exists to discover a narrow, high-grade, near-surface gold resource."
Other historical workings (prospective for gold and silver) in the area include Gregory’s; Try Again; Ivory Elephant; Lady Musgrave; Mabel Jane (with recorded production of 295 oz of gold from 220 t, with an average grade of 45.73 g/t gold); and 23 unnamed historical gold workings.
The largest of these workings are Gregory's, Lady Musgrave and Mabel Jane. Gregory's workings are 430 m long and 42 m deep, Lady Musgrave workings are 230 m long, 10 m wide and 23 m deep and Mabel Jane workings are 183 m long, 10 m wide and 61 m deep.