Mt Cecelia Project

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    +61 3 8692 9049

    +61 3 8692 9049

    Mt Cecelia Project, Australia

    Quick overview

    The Mt Cecelia Project is located on the border of the East Pilbara and Paterson Provinces of Western Australia and covers 225km2 of highly prospective ground, strategically located adjacent to tenements held by Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO).

    West Wits performed a SkyTEM Heliborne Electro-magnetic survey in September 2020. The survey results identified eight target areas with four deemed high priority. A later MLTEM survey program was successfully completed in August 2021 where all four primary SKYTEM anomalies were found to be related to legitimate bedrock related conductors.

    In December 2021, West Wits entered a Farm-In and Joint Venture Term Sheet with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Limited (“RTX”) to explore West Wits’ Mt Cecelia (E45/5045). RTX is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO). RTX brings a wealth of technical expertise, resources and regional knowledge which, combined with synergies from their exploration of Mt Cecelia’s neighbouring tenements (that are held 100% by RTX), will enable the Mt Cecelia targets to be rapidly and systematically tested.


    Background

    West Wits’ Mt Cecelia Project is located in the Paterson Province of Western Australia, approximately 150km ENE of Marble Bar, 150km NW of Telfer Mine, and 120km NNW of Nifty Mine (aerial distance). 

    The geological setting of the target area is somewhat poorly understood, being proximal to the boundary of the Proterozoic Paterson Orogen and the Archean Pilbara Craton, much of which is concealed beneath more recent sedimentary cover. The major Vines Fault structure is interpreted to run broadly NNE-SSW through the centre of E45/5045 towards the Nifty Mine.

    Explorers in the area include Rumble Resources, Newcrest Mining, Great Sandy, Carawine Resources and most recently, RTX.  Limited relevant mineral exploration activity in the area of interest, namely primary target SGC-1, has previously been completed and this has been restricted to broad spaced geophysical surveys with the nearest drilling several kilometres away.

    West Wits signed an access deed with RIO Tinto (RIO) in October 2019 and RIO submitted a Program of Works in January 2020 to build tracks on the Mt Cecelia tenement area to access their surrounding ELs. RIO’s activity is an indication of the prospectivity of West Wits’ Mt Cecelia Project and improves the Company’s tenement access with the construction of tracks.

    Mid-tier miner IGO Limited (ASX:IGO), has also demonstrated a strong interest in the region having completed a $15m earn-in agreement with Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) at ENR’s Yeneena Project. IGO’s interest extends via the execution of a $32m Joint Venture term sheet in June 2020 with Metals X (ASX:MTX) at MTX’s Paterson Exploration Project (PEP), but excludes the historically significant Nifty Mine. Both Yeneena, PEP and Nifty are located to the south of West Wits’ Mt Cecelia Project along the Vines Fault.

    Maiden Drilling Campaign hits significant gold intercepts

    Mt Cecelia Project’s first pass drilling programme, concluded in December 2022, resulted in four drill-holes of 1,036m at its primary Electro-Magnetic target: SGC_1. 

    Initial assay results confirm significant intervals of gold mineralisation with drill-holes 1 (WEWI0001) and 4 (WEWI0004) ending in gold mineralisation:
    Drill-hole 1 (WEWI0001) contains 20m @ 0.93 g/t Au within a broader mineralised interval of 56m @ 0.55g/t Au.
    Drill-hole 4 (WEWI0004) contains 24m @ 0.95 g/t Au within a broader mineralised interval of 82m @ 0.51g/t Au.

    Next steps:

    • Diamond drilling program (scheduled late 2023 field season)