Blackwood Goldfield Project
executive summary
- Project located in central Victorian gold province, i.e., the “Golden Triangle”
- Over 85 Moz of gold produced
- ~30% of Australian production
- ~2% of global production
- Little exploration since the 1980s but new proven understanding of gold distribution has prompted a “second Victorian goldrush”
- 51% Joint Venture ownership (CXU) with stepped rights to earn-in to:
- Initial 65% ownership – key milestone: Mineral Resource (JORC 2012) of at least 300,000 oz gold (Au)
- Subsequent increase to 80% ownership – key milestone: mining production rate of at least 10,000 oz Au per annum
- Situated within the known, highly productive Bendigo Goldfield that hosts several world-class gold mines and deposits
- Produced 22 Moz at 15 g/t Au
Cauldron has a once in a generation opportunity to develop and expand the understanding of the mineral system at the Blackwood Gold Project (51% owned by CXU) left behind by the past miners of Victoria’s golden era. The Victorian Goldfields is one of the world’s most prolific gold provinces accounting historically for more than 2% of world gold production and 30% of Australian gold production since 1850.
Despite this, since the 1980’s exploration activity in the Victorian goldfields has lagged activity at Australia’s other premier gold districts. Recently, however, the Victorian goldfields are undergoing a renaissance as a result of the recent transformation of the Fosterville Mine and thanks to the discovery of extremely large and high-grade extensions deep underground, which have converted Fosterville from a modest-scale operation of less than 100,000 ounces of gold per annum to be the world’s richest mine and Australia’s top gold producer.
Like the Victorian goldfields the Blackwood Goldfield has also been largely forgotten. From 1864 to 1980 the Blackwood Goldfield produced about 218,000 ounces of gold but has seen no systematic or significant exploration activity since.
Prior to Cauldron, the project’s owner spent about 25 years consolidating the leases of the project area; providing Cauldron with a great opportunity for systematic exploration and development over the entire goldfield.
