Gibraltar-based gold mining company Wishbone Gold (AIM:WSBN) saw its shares spike on Wednesday, as the company announced the commencement of drilling and exploration at its Wishbone II project in Queensland Australia.
The project is situated between two other gold producing areas, Charters Towers Gold Project to the West and Ravenswood to the East, with the latter having recently been sold for AUS$300 million. Together, they have 10 million ounces of estimated gold reserves.
Assays from Wishbone II itself have also yielded promising signs of considerable mineralisation, with surface rock-chip samples indicating presences up to 25.2 grams per tonne of gold at the Hanging Valley prospect, while the Oaky Mill prospect recorded samples at 7.32 grams per tonne.
Between the Wishbone II, III and IV, the company’s projects cover 14,700 hectares of 100%-owned Exploration Licences around 80km South of the port city of Townsville. The area’s geology is made up of a large shear zone structure which contains historical encounters of gold mineralisation.
Wishbone Gold response
Commenting on the Wishbone II announcement, company Chairman, Richard Poulden, said:
“We are now commencing a new and exciting phase of the Company’s development. Now that the complicated process of cleaning up the Wishbone corporate and capital structure has been completed, we are now focusing at getting value from our gold assets in Australia. The Queensland State Government has acted swiftly with respect to COVID-19 lockdowns and controls and the State is relatively free from the virus.”
“Mining is also regarded by the Government as a key essential industry, so conducting exploration on the Company’s assets can be accomplished in these globally difficult times. We have therefore instructed our geological consultants to prepare an initial drilling programme on our key gold prospects. We intend to hit exploration hard and take advantage of the elevated gold price and our excellent gold assets.”
Investor insights
Following the update, Wishbone Gold shares rallied over 100%, then fluctuated to a rally of 96.43% or 1.35p, to 2.75p a share 19/08/20 11:20 BST. This price represents an all-time high, and a steep trajectory from the 1.50p level it sat on the August 4 2020.