Cortona's release to the Australian Stock Exchange that day said that the company was "today a step closer to uniting its ambitions to develop a modern, state-of-the-art gold mining operation at Dargues Reef,... with the region's rich heritage as the most prolific historic gold producing region in New South Wales."
"The Perth-based Company controls some 700km2 of tenements in the Majors Creek goldfield, which was the largest historical alluvial goldfield in NSW with production of 1.25 million ounces. Over the past two years, Cortona has made significant progress towards instigating a modern-day revival of this rich goldfield, through the application of state-of-the-art exploration techniques."
"Cortona's flagship project, Dargues Reef, was itself mined for a short time by the old-timers; however, the primitive processing techniques employed at the time made it difficult to extract the gold the deeper they went."
"This has proved to be a boon for Cortona, which has so far defined Indicated and Inferred resources of 1.44Mt at 6.2g/t Au for 286,000oz, mainly within the Main Lode at Dargues Reef. Additional discoveries have been made at Plums Lode and Chianti nearby, and the Company believes the project has the potential to emerge as a modern day gold camp, hosting multiple, high-grade gold resources."
The release continued that "Subject to continued exploration success (further drilling is currently underway at Plums Lode, Chianti and other prospects), Cortona hopes to move towards development of a low-impact underground mining operation next year, potentially bringing millions of dollars of new investment and significant business opportunities to the region."
"Since commencing work in the region 18 months ago, Cortona has made significant advances in understanding the controls on gold mineralisation at Majors Creek. These advances have contributed to the delineation of the high-grade resource at Dargues Reef, as well as new discoveries at Exeter Farm, Copper Ridge and Dreadnought.
An aggressive drilling program is currently underway targeting additional lodes within the Dargues Reef structure including a high grade intercept 16m at 4.66g/t. This recent drilling indicates significant potential to expand existing resources with the aim of achieving a 500,000oz resource target."
Cortona has outlined a three phase strategy for the growth of a long term gold mining operation starting with initial underground mine development at the Dargues Reef Mine Area with multiple headings via a centralised decline and establishment of a centralised processing plant.
The second phase would further develop sites up to 3km from Dargues Reef and define additional resources for medium term mill feed and increased gold production from prospects such as Exeter Farm, Copper Ridge and Dreadnought.
The third phase encompasses further discovery and expansion of resources base in the wider region of the 700km square tenement.
"The rapid delineation of resource ounces at Dargues, combined with the discovery of outcropping gold mineralisation in outlying areas, has led the Company to believe that it is in possession of an emerging Australian gold camp."
Cortona has recently completed a A$1.8 million fund raising, increasing its cash reserves to over A$3 million. The funds just raised will enable the Company to maintain at least one drill rig on site for the foreseeable future, thereby expediting progress towards becoming a gold producer, whilst delivering continued news flow to reflect the Company's aggressive yet measured approach."
Read more in this week's Braidwood Times
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