Haranga Resources (ASX: HAR) has delivered a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for its wholly owned Lincoln gold project, located in California’s historically prolific Mother Lode gold belt.
The resource sits at 2.46 million tonnes grading 5.1 grams per tonne gold for 402,000 ounces at a 2g/t cut-off, including 1.5Mt at 5.7g/t gold for 275,000oz at the Lincoln-Comet deposit and 0.96Mt at 4.1g/t gold for 127,000oz at Medean.
That equates to 40.6% more ounces than the historical foreign estimate and positions the project as one of the highest-grade gold development opportunities on the Australian Securities Exchange.
It is complemented by a recent exploration target announced for the South Spring Hill deposit, located west of the Medean resource and ranging between 1.16Mt and 1.64Mt at up to 5.8g/t gold for between 202,000oz and 308,000oz gold.
Sectional Drilling Campaign
The conversion of Lincoln’s foreign estimate to a JORC-compliant resource involved sectional drilling from underground crosscuts to define the true width, orientation, and structural geometry of mineralised lodes.
This work also validated historical drilling data for inclusion in the maiden estimate, while confirming geological and grade continuity to support classification in the Indicated and Measured resource categories.
Haranga assessed variabilities across high-grade and low-grade zones to provide additional data coverage across peripheral and lesser-tested lode systems.
Drilling of 44 diamond holes for a total 3,237.2 metres commenced in November and was completed in April, alongside ongoing dewatering of Stringbean Alley.
Immediate High-Grade Resource
Chair Michael Davy said established infrastructure—including the 900m String Bean Alley underground decline, along with development drives, a 315,000tpa processing plant, workshops, offices, and key mining permits—could provide immediate access to high-grade gold resources and result in a robust and fast-tracked development.
“This maiden JORC resource already positions Lincoln as one of the highest-grade gold exploration and development opportunities in North America and on the ASX—however, we believe we have only just begun to scratch the surface of the project’s true potential,” he said.
Haranga is planning to commence restart studies to assess key workstreams required to support potential near-term production at Lincoln including mining, processing, and tailings management.
“Following the delivery of the maiden MRE, we are now focused on reaching multi-million ounce scale, for which we have already identified multiple opportunities.”
“The work completed to date will serve as a reliable platform from which we can accelerate the next phase of resource growth, [and] we remain focused unlocking the full potential of our dominant position within the Mother Lode gold belt.”
Classification Upgrades
Approximately 71% (or 195,000oz) of the Lincoln-Comet metal count occurs within the 100 and 200 zones, which are the only zones to have sufficient drill density and support to reach an Indicated classification.
Around 33% of the total resource has been classified as Indicated (47% of zones 100 and 200), which is expected to improve with Phase 2 drilling as access to the full decline is re-established by mid-year.
A total 53% (or 67,000oz) of the Medean metal count occurs within the higher-grade M300 zone, with lode grades being lower than the foreign estimate due to the previous inclusion of historical underground sampling results which skewed JORC-compliant results in the local area.
Mr Davy said the company had been unable to conduct the work required to verify these values and they have not been included in the maiden resource calculations.
