Orogenic gold fluids found a vertical pathway to the surface, at both Bendigo and Wedderburn, through the Castlemaine Group Sediments via a series of folds and second-order mineralised faults (Willman et al. 2010).

On-ground mapping, proofing comprehensive historical geological data and providing new structural geological information, also identifying the western, central and eastern groups of auriferous reefs, which cumulatively have a strike length of 33 kilometres. The western group of reefs has never been drilled, this is an exploration upside.

In two distinct campaigns, WGL carried out 3,308 metres of diamond drilling in the 1.75 kilometres long drill corridor. The 1693 metre LDH program, of 12 holes, was completed in June 2022, and the 1615 metre DH program, of four holes, was completed in September 2022.

The drill core was orientated, photographed, and prepared and cut for assay as required. In November 2022, preliminary core logging was completed, with initial interpretations of the work described above completed in November 2022.

The highest assay received was 3.9 g/t gold from LDH002, interpreted as being from Lanes Reef. Other assays confirmed that auriferous geological structures were present along strike in the 1.7-kilometre drill corridor.

Magnetic, conductivity, and pXRF measurements from the diamond drill core were completed in June 2023.

Structural and particle-size sedimentary core logging was completed in August 2023.

Interpretation of all the geological data described above is ongoing to finalise a comprehensive 3D model.

These 3D models and all the gathered data are being used as interpretative tools to develop exploration targets.

The discovery of the Swan Zone at Fosterville, a classic Bendigo Zone dilation zone, has proven the worth of persevering in one of the great gold-bearing regions of the world. The Bendigo Zone has produced some 63 million ounces of gold. The Swan Zone is about 800 metres underground.

By 2018, the Swan Zone’s mineral reserves reached 2.7 million ounces of gold at an average grade of one ounce of gold per tonne and the mine continues to produce over 300,000 oz per year. The current gold reserve in 2023 is 1,667,000 oz.

At the current A$3,000 per ounce gold price, the in-ground value of the Swan Zone is A$8.1 billion. (2.7m/oz’s x A$3000 per oz = A$8.1b)

There are many examples of gold-producing dilation zones in the Bendigo Zone in Central Victoria, such as at Tarnagulla. The Bonanza Shoot at Tarnagulla was mined using very primitive methods between 1853 and 1863 and produced 360,000 ounces of gold from 120,000 tons (an astonishing average of 3oz per ton). At A$3,000 gold price, its in-ground value is $A$1.1 billion.

More recently, the Nick O’Time shoot was mined between 1994 and 2001. It produced 53,000 ounces of gold from 56,000 tonnes (29.6g/t gold recovered). The Nick O’Time shoot was located 70 metres underground, six hundred metres south of the Bonanza shoot. At a gold price of A$3,000, the Nick O’Time shoot would have an in-ground value of A$159 million.

EL6302 and EL8296 at Wedderburn are within the geological Bendigo Zone.

EL6302 and EL8296 have reverse faults joining anticlines and synclines. Similar dilation zone structures to the Swan Zone.

An analogy might be that WGL has found the haystack (the under-explored historical goldfield at Wedderburn) and now must find the needle (the dilation zone gold-bearing structures).

WGL has knowledge of the historical high-grade dilation zones found in the Bendigo Zone and is using this knowledge to develop exploration targets to search for dilation zones within EL6302 and EL8296.

WGL is using modern exploration techniques to develop exploration targets to search for the elusive/discreet high-grade gold structures – dilation zones, within the boundaries of EL6302 and EL8296. Geophysics is one of the modern exploration tools used in the search for high-grade dilation zones.

PGN Geoscience recently completed (September 2023) an updated “Geophysical Interpretation – EL6302 and EL8296”.

The 40-metre grid resolution aeromagnetic data has been “reduced to pole”, thus placing anomalies directly above the causative body in the sub-surface.

The dominant architecture of the region is characterised by double plunging, north-south striking, tightly-folded, east-verging thrust belt of turbidites with late granitic intrusions (hornblende tonalite).

The aeromagnetic data for the 1.75-kilometre drill corridor has been windowed, thus having a unique dynamic range of magnetic response

EL6302 and EL8296 and their surrounds have a distinct geophysical signal, characterised by subtle north-south trending linear magnetic highs 500 metres wide and extending along strike for some 10 kilometres.

Auriferous quartz reefs mapped at the surface broadly correlate with the north-south trending magnetic corridors.

Magnetic corridors are cut by Devonian age granitoids and bounded to the east by the Wedderburn Granodiorite and to the west by the Avoca Fault; cross faults truncate the area.

Surface and downhole petrophysical measurements were taken during three campaigns in 2021 and 2022 to establish the source of the distinctive magnetic signal, which could be the result of folding and faulting produced by broadly E-W directed shortening of a distinct FE-rich sequence (Pyrrhotite bearing siltstone) of the Castlemaine Group.

D1-D2 faults in the core are west dipping, whilst cross faulting was ground-proofed by DH003 and LDH 002 intersecting specific cross-fault targets.

Fault-fault and fault fold intersections numbering 268 intersections are set out in the table and are compelling targets for future exploration.