Pantoro opens new fronts in WA
Pantoro Gold’s recent drilling campaign at Lake Cowan, which began for the first time in more than 30 years, is part of a growth push that has the company opening new mining fronts across one of Western Australia’s highest grade goldfields.
Aircore drilling started on the lake on June 30, the first systematic program there and on the Polar Bear Peninsula since Western Mining found the Harlequin mine in 1992. Pantoro plans 950 holes over 50,000m, guided by a drone magnetic survey covering 130,000 line km, one of the largest flown in the state.
Norseman lies in the Eastern Goldfields, east of Perth, and has produced more than 5.5 million ounces of gold since mining began in 1935. Pantoro wants to turn the old goldfield into a bigger operation, and the June quarter shows several parts of that plan moving.
Underground, drilling is following up the Racetrack discovery, a high-grade zone north of the OK underground mine. Wide-spaced holes have traced high-grade mineralisation over a 400m strike, from near surface to 600m depth, with hits including 8m at 28.68 grams per tonne of gold. Two surface diamond rigs are drilling there this quarter.
Above ground, the Pantoro board approved Stage 3 of the Gladstone open pit after strong grade control results. With the Daisy South pit added, mining at Gladstone now runs to August 2028. The Green Lantern open pit received its final approvals during the quarter and is expected to start in late August.
Pantoro also produced 18,028 ounces of gold in the quarter ending June, sold at an average $6293 an ounce, and finished with $223.4 million in cash and gold and no debt.
Pantoro is aiming for 90,000 to 105,000 ounces in FY2027, with a longer-term target above 200,000 ounces a year.