But the company has been unable to replicate last year's bonanza intersection of 3m at 83.3gpt noted within reconnaissance aircore drilling.

 

Interest was high in S5 after last year's hits, and the best result in the latest crop of assays, drilled about 300m south of the historical high-grade Wattle Dam mine, delivered 32m at 3.2 grams per tonne from 105m, including 6m at 3.1gpt, over 13m at 5.9gpt from 118m, including 5m at 10.9gpt.

 

Other assays from the program included 2m at 2.9gpt from 80m, and 21m at 0.5gpt from 69m, including 5m at 1.2gpt.

 

The latest holes were among nine drilled in November 2020, but due to labs being swamped, the company has only just received the final results. 

 

The junior said the width and tenor of the intercepts were in line with Wattle Dam, and suggested the lack of higher grades could be a function of the drill spacing, however work to date has been able to define a broader, lower-grade domain that is more laterally continuous than expected.

 

Given S5 is open down plunge, and to the north, the company plans to bring in a diamond rig to test for extensions, with five holes planned.

 

Two further RC holes with diamond tails is planned to infill the highest grade hits in the latest drilling.

 

Managing director Tim Wither said it was becoming clear that Wattle Dam and the Redback, Golden Orb and S5 prospects were part of a larger inter-linking mineral system.

 

The diamond drilling ongoing at the nearby 41,000 ounce Redback deposit could help confirm that geological theory. 

 

The new geology team at Maximus, which was installed last year, hopes it can define a number of short, but high-grade, Wattle Dam-style deposits in the area that can be economically developed by using the existing infrastructure, but 25km from Kambalda.

 

Maximus also noted there is strong limonite-goethite alteration/oxidation near surface above S5, which it considers is an expression of the deeper mineralisation, and that opens up additional targets to the west. 

 

In all, Maximus has defined more than 60 gold and nickel exploration targets Maximus has identified across about 30km of the fertile Spargoville Shear Zone.

 

The strength of last year's early results saw Maximus attract the eye of gold bull Tolga Kumova, who became a cornerstone investor in the junior's A$3.18 million placement, priced at 9.5c, in September. 

 

Some 286,000oz was recovered from Wattle Dam between 2006 and 2012, with the mine considered one of WA's highest-grade operations and Ramelius Resources' first company-maker. 

 

Maximus shares, which have traded between 2.5-22.5c over the past year fell 15% at open, on the lack of bonanza grades. At 15c per share, the company was valued at $18 million.