The Turner River Gold Project is located 60km south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, covering an area of 928 sq km (Figure 1). Comprising the western portion of the greater Turner River Project, it is primarily prospective for gold mineralisation and includes the 220,000oz Wingina Well gold deposit discovered by De Grey in 2003. The Three Kings platinum group mineralisation also lies in this western area.
The area is well served by infrastructure, being traversed by the Great Northern Highway, a gas pipeline and two railway lines.
De Grey entered into an agreement with Lansdowne Resources Pty Ltd in May 2011 whereby Lansdowne may earn 75% interest in the Turner River Gold Project by sole funding exploration expenditure of $2 million over 3 years. Upon earning that interest and formation of a joint venture, Lansdowne may exercise an option to purchase 75% interest in the Wingina Well gold resource, as currently defined. De Grey's 25% interest will be free carried to a decision to mine. A similar agreement is in place over the Turner River Base Metal Project to the east.
De Grey's Turner River Projects
The farm-out agreement provides risk capital at an attractive cost and funding sufficient to maintain meaningful exploration momentum at the Turner River Gold Project. Any additional gold resources discovered by the joint venture will enhance the economics of the Wingina Well deposit.
Several gold exploration targets at a range of exploration stages have the potential to add to the current gold resource base at Turner River.
Turner River Gold Project Exploration Potential
Early Stage Gold Targets
The sand-covered strike continuations of known mineralised structures are attractive targets. Individual areas include the 4km long Brierly West target and strike extensions to the Mt Berghaus gold mineralisation. These areas are completely untested by drilling and have the potential to host significant gold deposits.
Intermediate Stage Gold Targets
These consist of encouraging gold intersections returned from wide spaced aircore drilling in new areas yet to be tested by closer spaced RC programs. Prospects at this stage of exploration include Brierly (see above) and the northern Mt Berghaus prospects where previously reported shallow aircore drilling has returned intersections up to 20m at 1.33g/t from 8m and 8m at 1.90g/t gold from surface to end of hole. These high priority drill targets have immediate potential for the discovery of new gold resources.
Advanced Stage Gold Targets
High grade gold intersections have been reported previously from RC drilling at a series of prospects where additional infill RC drilling may define modest gold resources and deeper drilling may discover high-grade lodes amenable to underground mining. These include the Mt Berghaus, Edkins, Amanda and Amanda West Prospects.