Big Hits: GoldArc Resources, Raptor Metals and Western Yilgarn make the grade

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits looks at notable drill intercepts recently reported to the ASX, led by GoldArc Resources’ 106g/t gold in WA, Raptor Metals’ 2.06 per cent copper equivalent in Canada, and Western Yilgarn’s shallow 105.5g/t gallium north of Perth. So let’s dive in.

Project: Mt Stirling gold deposit, Leonora district, Western Australia.Hit: 1m at 106g/t gold from 8m.

GoldArc Resources has delivered the biggest gold hit of the week into the Big Hits mix, landing a reverse circulation drill intercept through a single metre which assayed an incandescent 106 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 8m depth at its Mt Stirling deposit near Leonora, 237 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.

The eye-popping result came out of the company’s fourth round of grade control drilling and marks the highest individual grade recorded so far in the current program, making it a worthy Bulls N’ Bears Big Hit, even if the broader story is as much about mine planning through high-density drilling as it is about exploration-style fireworks.

The standout hole was backed up by a compelling line-up of other near-surface high-grade gold hits, including 3m at 5.99g/t gold from 7m, including 1m at 14g/t.

Another strong result came from a 1m intercept grading 13.7g/t gold from 7m, while a third hole returned 2m at 7g/t gold from 1m, including 1m at 13.5g/t, 100m southeast along strike from the headline 106g/t hit.

Broader intervals also added substance, with 13m at 2.33g/t gold from surface and 7.87g/t gold from 4m, 40m along strike from the southeastern edge of the current drilling program.

The longest significant intercept in the latest data delivered 18m at 1.42g/t gold from 4m, including 1m at 6.13g/t gold from 13m depth, only 15m from the southeastern limit of current drilling.

The mineral resource estimate for Mt Stirling comprises an indicated 391,000t at 2.1g/t gold for 26,000 ounces and an inferred 2.18 million tonnes at 1.6g/t gold for 111,000 ounces. The adjacent Stirling Well resource amounts to 198,000t at 2.3g/t gold for 15,000 ounces.

Understanding the gold distribution is important because this is not just first-pass drilling chasing a new discovery. GoldArc and its partner BML Ventures are running a tightly spaced RC grade control campaign to define ore boundaries and grades ahead of potential open pit mining.

The data will feed directly into the mine plan, advancing Mt Stirling towards potential open-pit development under a 50/50 profit share arrangement with BML Ventures.

Management says it expects the geometry and consistency of t