Beyond the individual intersections, the broader geological setting is where the story starts to stretch its legs. St George sits within a major north-northwest trending structural corridor that also hosts the Fence and Ridgeline gold-antimony prospects.
Together, the three prospects form part of a mineralised belt extending for more than 20 kilometres of strike across Pacgold’s tenement package.
Recent soil geochemistry and rock chip samples across Fence and Ridgeline have already outlined extensive antimony and gold anomalies that remain untested. Several of those targets sit along the same structural corridor as St George, suggesting the early drilling success may not be an isolated event.
The strategic angle is hard to ignore. Pacgold says antimony prices outside China are hovering around US$50,000 (A$75,000) per tonne, reflecting acute supply constraints and growing demand driven by energy transition technologies and military applications. Western supply of the metal is limited too and any project showing scale and grade is likely to draw close scrutiny.
Notably, the St George project is still at a very early stage. No mineral resources have yet been declared and the current drilling is best viewed as a proof-of-concept program rather than anything approaching development-ready work.
However, the geometry of the mineralisation, the shallow nature of the intercepts and the presence of multiple high-priority targets along strike have all combined to give Pacgold plenty of running room.
With assays from seven additional holes due early in the new year, management has flagged geological modelling as the next step before designing follow-up drilling.
Heritage clearances and approvals are also being progressed to allow drill programs at Fence and Ridgeline, while surface sampling continues across the broader tenement package.
St George is not the only iron in the fire for Pacgold. The company’s flagship Alice River gold project, also in north Queensland, spans a large intrusion-related gold system with geological similarities to major international deposits.
In South Australia, Pacgold has added a new dimension by acquiring the White Dam gold operation, complete with open pits, a heap leach facility, and a processing plant, providing a potential pathway to near-term cash flow to fund ongoing exploration.
For now, however, attention remains firmly on St George. The maiden drilling has done what it needed to do – confirmed grade, continuity and depth potential.
If the next batch of assays back up the early numbers and the broader corridor continues to light up, the historic antimony mine that kicked off this program may prove to be just the opening chapter.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
