SolGold

Overview

Figure 1 Drilling at one of SolGold’s Australian prospects.
Figure 1 Drilling at one of SolGold’s Australian prospects.

SolGold (TSX: SOLG, LSE:SOLG) is a leading exploration company focused on the discovery and definition of world-class copper-gold deposits. They aspire to become the next copper-gold major in South America with their flagship Alpala copper-gold porphyry project, as well as numerous regional claims in Ecuador. SolGold also have applications to explore for porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold in the Solomon Islands. SolGold has 100% control of its Australian holdings through two 100%-owned subsidiaries, Central Minerals and Acapulco Mining.

SolGold in 2020 is transitioning from focussing on exploration to project development. It still conceptualises exploration as being the core of its business, but operations and development are becoming more and more crucial as the Ecuadorian projects progress towards production.  The operations layer provides focus on rerouting some profits back to earlier-stage projects to create a pipeline of delivery, and development is cited as delivering low capital expenditure, high value projects – the holy grail! Keep reading to learn more about what SolGold are up to in Australia.

Figure 2 The locations of SolGold’s tenement blocs across eastern Queensland, each being explored for gold and other metals.
Figure 2 The locations of SolGold’s tenement blocs across eastern Queensland, each being explored for gold and other metals.
Figure 3 A closer look at the locations of SolGold’s Australian holdings, which are all within reach of major infrastructure on the coast.
Figure 3 A closer look at the locations of SolGold’s Australian holdings, which are all within reach of major infrastructure on the coast.

Rannes (Central Minerals)

The Rannes area includes thirteen prospects host to structurally controlled, low-sulphidation epithermal gold and silver. A steady exploration campaign over the last several years has included sediment, soil and rock chip sampling, drilling, airborne magnetics, mapping and trenching, as well as airborne electromagnetics that identified anomalies in areas that currently lack drilling data.  Further drilling is planned for Q4 2020. The 2012 Resource Estimate states total indicated and inferred resources of approximately 235,00 oz Au and 9,100,000 oz Ag.

Figure 4 Visible gold in breccia at the Rannes prospect.
Figure 4 Visible gold in breccia at the Rannes prospect.

Mount Perry lies just 25 km from the 2 Moz Mt Rawdon deposit (Evolution Mining, ASX:EVN). SolGold has identified epithermal and mesothermal mineralisation and a potential porphyry structure.  High-grade lode deposits have been identified in geologically constrained areas. Boots-on-the-ground and airborne geophysical exploration is expected to resume in Q4 2020 once land access negotiations are completed.

Normanby (Acapulco Mining)

The Normanby prospect has an impressive pedigree, with more than 70 historical shafts on the site alluding to its past as a gold-producing area. The gold is hosted in epithermal gold veins, and SolGold believes there may be a copper-gold porphyry prospect on the property as well.  The most recent exploration includes soil and rock chip surveys, which revealed low level Cu-Zn-Au anomalies in some areas.

Figure 5 Mt. Crompton in the Normanby Project, the namesake of the breccia system in the area.
Figure 5 Mt. Crompton in the Normanby Project, the namesake of the breccia system in the area.
Figure 6 A map showing the breadth of sampling at the Normanby Project, including drill holes concentrated in the north.
Figure 6 A map showing the breadth of sampling at the Normanby Project, including drill holes concentrated in the north.

Mt Pring (Central Minerals)

Mt Pring is a new acquisition for SolGold in 2020. The area hosts underexplored ultra-mafic zones that are prospective for gold and platinum group elements, as well as zones that may contain nickel-copper sulphides and copper-gold porphyries. Exploration is expected to commence in late 2020 or early 2021.

Westwood (Central Minerals)

Westwood is host to part of a layered mafic-ultra-mafic intrusion that has shown anomalous gold, palladium, copper, and platinum. Exploration in 2019 consisted of drilling and sampling and targeted the southeast of the area where these anomalies were identified and zones of mineralisation were extended.

Cracow West (Central Minerals)

SolGold identified 3 significant prospects at Cracow through ground sampling and with a sub-audio magnetotellurics survey which highlighted a buried anomaly at Dawson Park. This anomaly is coincidental with a surface tellurium anomaly.  The area is expected to host gold-silver deposits of the low-sulphidation epithermal type.

Figure 7 The business model conceived by SolGold still places exploration at the heart of the company, and this is especially true for its Australian projects. Overseas, it is moving more towards development.
Figure 7 The business model conceived by SolGold still places exploration at the heart of the company, and this is especially true for its Australian projects. Overseas, it is moving more towards development.

 

Corporate responsibility

SolGold has developed initiatives to ensure Ecuadorian communities benefit from its activities, such as supporting a local coffee nursery, sporting facilities and an Art for Kids programme at its Alpala flagship project.  They have also rehabilitated 76.5% of areas disturbed by their exploration acitivty (the remainder are still in use), they dispose of waste (including drilling water) responsibly, and they have supported projects such as One Million Plants.  These are all good signs that the company that will live up to its responsibilities if it commences mining operations in Australia.

Figure 8 SolGold places a strong emphasis on responsible corporate citizenship, especially in Ecuador, where it has invested heavily in local communities and environmental rehabilitation.
Figure 8 SolGold places a strong emphasis on responsible corporate citizenship, especially in Ecuador, where it has invested heavily in local communities and environmental rehabilitation.

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