Westar Resources set for high impact newsflow in 2021 as parallel gold exploration programs get underway

Westar Resources Ltd, which has exploration projects in Western Australia’s prolific Goldfields region, is expecting consistent high-impact newsflow in 2021 as its parallel exploration program gets underway. The WA gold-focused miner plans to undertake activities on all its projects within its portfolio next year. Its projects are strategically located in highly prospective regions within the Goldfields at Southern Cross, Mount Magnet, Sandstone and Nullagine, including near established infrastructure. Attractive potential There is minimal modern, systematic exploration and limited drilling on all its projects and the initial focus will be on shallow mineralisation and areas with historic workings. The projects have an attractive value proposition leveraged to exploration success, with the company having a $5.4 million enterprise value at its listing. ‘Right rocks, right locations, right people’ The company was founded by geologists with the mindset of ‘the right rocks, the right locations and the right people'. Its strategy is to continually evaluate prospective exploration plays with historical datasets and/or new conceptual targets, with projects selected after filtering through several rounds of stage-gate criteria. Exploration is highly efficient and lean with the focus to maximise short-duration and low-cost value add with technology and specialists, which means low capital requirements and less future dilution from raisings. It then seeks partners to diversify risk, conserve cash flow and maximise discovery potential with technical expertise in the project region Highly experienced team The company is headed by a strong team, led by managing director and chief executive officer Karl Jupp, a geologist with over 20 years technical and leadership experience in the Australian and international mineral resource sector. He has co-authored several technical papers and is experienced in feasibility studies, JORC mineral resource delineation and management of ore reserve conversion. Non-executive chairman Simon Eley has extensive experience in the identification and commercialisation of mineral resource projects and was the founding director of Egan Street Resources Ltd, having led the acquisition of the Rothsay Gold Project in 2011. Eley was an executive director of Aragon Resources Ltd and led the team that secured the Central Murchison Gold Project which eventually led to a $76 million takeover by Westgold Resources Limited in 2011. Geologist by training, non-executive director Nathan Cammerman has senior executive and board experience in project generation, evaluation and acquisition, joint venture negotiation, financing, permitting and approvals, feasibility study management, offtake and government relations. He has co-founded several private exploration companies which have progressed from green fields concepts to near term production propositions. IPO debut in December Westar raised a total of $5 million following an initial public offering (IPO) of 25 million shares issued at 20 cents per share. Its shares listed on the ASX on December 17. Funds raised will go towards exploration at Sandstone, Mt Magnet, Southern Cross and the Pilbara. Sandstone Project Over a total of 259 square kilometres, the Sandstone Project covers Gidgee North and Gidgee South and is between the towns of Sandstone to the south, Meekatharra to the northwest and Wiluna to the northeast. Gidgee North project lies about 10 kilometres to the Horizon Gold Ltd’s (ASX:HRN) (FRA:HO0) Gum Creek Project, which hosts JORC 2012 resources of 15.9 million tonnes at an average of 2.7 g/t gold for 1.39 million ounces of gold. The Sandstone Project comprises extensions to structures that host mineralisation at the Gum Creek Project with their prospectivity demonstrated by the presence of historical workings and gold-in-soil anomalies. There has been very limited modern exploration and drilling along the Gum Creek greenstone belt and along strike from known gold mines. The tenement package provides opportunities for large-scale discoveries within the Gidgee Shear Zone extending through the southern tenement and the presence of banded iron formation on the northern tenement. High-resolution aeromagnetic survey have been completed at the Gidgee South Project, with data processing, interpretation and target refinement expected in early 2021. A reconnaissance aircore drilling program has been completed with the results expected in late January 2021. Additional programs of work (POWs) have been submitted for follow-up reverse circulation (RC) drilling in the first quarter of 2021. As for Gidgee North Project, a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey has been completed, with data processing, interpretation and target refinement expected in early 2021. Mt Magnet projects The Mt Magnet district has historically produced around 6 million ounces of gold with historical exploration and old workings shallow. Westgold Resources has recently recommissioned the Tuckabiana Gold Mine, about 30 kilometres northeast of Winjangoo in the northern arm of the greenstone belt. ​ Huge potential for deeper systems as typified by Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS) (OTCMKTS:RMLRF) (FRA:RRZ), operators of the Mt Magnet Gold Mine, who recently drilled 20 metres at 645 g/t gold from 28 metres and 19 metres at 243 g/t gold. At 100%-owned Winjangoo, initial auger drilling soil geochemical survey has been completed, with results expected to be announced in early 2021. High-resolution aeromagnetic survey has also been completed, with data processing, interpretation and target refinement expected early 2021. At Coolaloo, which is also 100%-owned, detailed litho-structural interpretation and drill targeting will be completed in early 2021 with drilling to follow. The initial auger drilling soil geochemical survey has been completed, with results expected to be announced in early 2021. Southern Cross projects The Southern Cross Greenstone Belt is a prolific gold producing region historically yielding over 15 plus million ounces of gold. Westar’s Southern Cross Projects are subject to farm-in/joint-ventures with Ramelius Resources. Exploration programs are extensive and have received government approval to proceed with more than 12,000 metres of drilling. Bonanza historical drill intercepts exist at the Mt Finnerty Project, with multiple prospects along several kilometres of strike. Drilling has been planned for the first half of 2021 at the Parker Dome Project. Pilbara Project Its Opaline Well Project lies within the historical Nullagine Goldfield, about 40 kilometres to the west of the township of Nullagine. Numerous gold prospects are located along strike to the north of the current project tenure area. Historical mining centres close to the project area include Edelweiss and Corboys, the Ore Tree Hill gossan trend, which represents a superficial development of copper mineralisation on altered, weakly mineralised pillowed and high-magnesian basalts and Victory-Tabletop, where significant and extensive carbonate alteration and quartz veining is associated with gold mineralisation