Kingston Resources on track to become ASX-listed gold producer over next 12 months

Kingston Resources Ltd (ASX:KSN) remains on track to become an ASX-listed gold developer operating in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 12 months. With a market cap of $62 million and cash on hand totalling $6.5 million as of June 30, the Sydney-based company is working towards completing its Misima Gold Project pre-feasibility study by the December quarter of 2020. During a recent virtual conference, managing director Andrew Corbett highlighted Misima’s substantial long-life and low-cost gold operation potential in Papua New Guinea along with the increasing potential of the Livingstone project in Western Australia. Misima Island itself, which is around 6,525 kilometres east of Port Moresby in the Solomon Sea, has more than 130 years of gold production and more than 7 million ounces of endowment to date. Kingston is the first to explore for gold at the project since Placer ceased operation in 2004, having produced 3.7 million ounces over a 15-year mine life. On June 24 the company agreed and executed final terms with joint venture partner Pan Pacific Copper Co Ltd (PPC) to acquire its 19% interest in the project. Misima Gold Project target areas.  During the June quarter, the company upgraded resource estimates for the Ewatinona and Umuna deposits by 15% in contained gold and 30% in contained silver, increasing the resource to 105 million tonnes at 0.93 g/t gold for 3.21 million ounces in the indicated and inferred categories. This followed the completion of resource diamond drilling at Ewatinona during the March quarter as the resource update focused on updating the geological model while also revising project assumptions around cut-off and gold price inputs. Key exploration targets include Quartz Mountain, which is a 200,000-ounce resource at Ewatinona, Misima North (with around 4 kilometres of strike untested) and Umuna East which comprises 1.8 kilometres of strike and evidence of high-grade, shallow mineralisation. Kingston’s exploration strategy includes focusing on near-surface mineralisation as the 3 million-ounce Umuna resource remains open at depth and drill constrained. The company believes the project offers ‘outstanding’ potential for additional resource growth through exploration targeting extensions and additions to the current 3.2-million-ounce resource base. PFS work ongoing  After raising $8.4 million during the June quarter, which comprised a $6.4 million institutional placement and a 51% oversubscribed $2 million share purchase plan (SPP) Kingston is well-funded to progress approvals and resource expansion drilling at Misima. Work started on the PFS during the June quarter with a study manager appointed in early June together with mining, geotechnical, metallurgical, and environmental consultants. Engineering consultants were short-listed, with an appointment made in July. Moving from exploration to development focus.  Currently, environmental baseline work is continuing and mining studies are underway and advancing well.  Once drilling can restart, the focus will be on resource definition.  Livingstone Gold Project  After increasing its strategic landholding during the March quarter at the Livingstone Gold Project in WA, the company completed planning for a fully approved 6,000-metre reverse circulation drilling program, which started at the project during July. This program has been designed to incorporate knowledge gained from the structural review conducted over the wider Livingstone project, including the key Kingsley prospect in late 2019. The program includes 5,000 metres of drilling at Kingsley aimed at defining shallow oxide mineralisation that will contribute towards a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimation. Kingston has also been successful in securing co-funding for around 1,000 metres of deep RC drilling at the Stanley Deeps prospect, through R21 of the WA Government Exploration Incentive Scheme. This drilling will be undertaken following completion of the resource definition program at Kingsley. 'Outstanding' high-grade results  Initial hits of up to 28.02 g/t gold from RC drilling were received on August 20.  Assays from the first 11 holes of a 54-hole program support the evolving mineralisation model, which has been developed from knowledge gained from a structural geological review over the project.  Best results include 9 metres at 2.73 g/t from 67 metres, including 1-metre at 15.84 g/t from 67 metres, 20 metres at 1.96 g/t from 1 metre, including 3 metres at 4.99 g/t from 17 metres and 8 metres at 4.06 g/t from 49 metres, including 1-metre at 28.02 g/t. Kingston intends to incorporate the results with prior RC drilling to underpin a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Kingsley prospect.  Further drilling is planned at the Stanley, Homestead and Winja prospects in September.