Bellevue Gold boosts gold inventory with maiden resource of 310,000 ounces at 9.7 g/t at Marceline discovery

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) (OTCMKTS:BELGF) has delivered a maiden resource of 310,000 ounces at 9.7 g/t gold at its Marceline discovery within its Western Australian eponymous project.

The resource, which follows a steady stream of strong drilling results reported by Proactive, has also increased global indicated resources to 1.2 million ounces at 11 g/t.

An accelerated drilling program is underway, aimed at increasing and upgrading the resource estimate at Marceline and the Deacon North discovery, as well as the open pits for inclusion in a stage two feasibility study.

Potential for “positive impact”

Bellevue managing director Steve Parsons said the maiden resource for Marceline boosted the company’s confidence that the project would deliver returns for a long time.

“These newly discovered resources have the potential to have a positive impact on the project’s economics, due to their location sitting closer to the surface,” he said.

“They already contain substantial resources and have scope for rapid growth given that the mineralisation remains open in every direction.

“Their locations in the upper areas of the mine makes them particularly valuable because this means they could have the potential to increase the life of mine production at a relatively low capital cost due to their close proximity to the existing planned underground infrastructure.

“This all points to the potential to increase financial returns, including free cashflow and economics, for the project.”

Marceline highlights

It took just five months from the Marceline discovery drill hole to define the maiden resource, highlighting the continued rapid resource growth of the Bellevue Gold Project, while Marceline and Deacon North remain open in every direction.

The maiden resource at Marceline increases the global resource at the project to 2.7 million ounces at 9.9 g/t gold, including growth in the indicated resources to 1.2 million ounces at 11.0 g/t.

Exploration drilling highlighted the potential for substantial growth in the Marceline-Deacon North area with first-pass extensional drilling including:

Drill hole between Marceline and Deacon North intersected 3.75 metres at 25.4 g/t gold (DDUG0015)

Exploration drill hole in the footwall targeting easterly dipping lodes in the Marceline footwall analogous to the historic Westralia pit intersected 2.9 metres at 6.2 g/t gold (DRDD649), highlighting a new target style.

The Marceline discovery test-work completed by ALS laboratories in Perth indicates a 98.7% total gravity and cyanide leach recovery, including an 81.1% gravity component, confirming mineralisation is similar to other areas of the project.

Drilling is continuing at the discovery with a second underground rig expected to begin drilling at the end of the month targeting the area between Deacon North and Marceline, where a recent drill hole intersected 3.75 metres at 25.4 g/t.

Six surface diamond rigs at Marceline continue to target further resource conversion, as well as step-out drilling to link Deacon North and Marceline.

A hole targeting potential analogues for the easterly dipping Westralia lode, drilling back to the west under Marceline, also intersected mineralisation associated with an easterly dipping lode, returning 2.94 metres at 6.2g/t from 334.1 metres.

Next steps

The updated stage two feasibility study, which is in progress, will include the Marceline area and will also focus on bringing open pit material into the ore reserve inventory from the Tribune, Vanguard and Hamilton Lode areas.

That study, which is again expected to upgrade the overall resource estimate, is on track to be released by June.

- Daniel Paproth

Story by ProactiveInvestors