IGO to keep eye on Gold Road

Independence Group managing director Peter Bradford says the company will keep a watching brief on Gold Road Resources but has no immediate plans to move up the explorer’s share register.

Mr Bradford said yesterday’s announcement by Gold Road it had increased the mineral resource at its Gruyere deposit, north-east of Laverton, to more than 5.5 million ounces of gold was positive but had not changed IGO’s view of its holding in the explorer. IGO picked up 3.7 per cent of Gold Road two weeks ago, at the same time as it was finalising terms of its $2.7 billion merger with Sirius Resources that was announced this week.

The move onto Gold Road’s register sparked chatter IGO may also mount a bid to target the explorer’s extensive land-holding in the Yamarna belt, to the north of IGO’s 30 per cent-owned Tropicana gold mine.

But Mr Bradford, speaking at the WA Mining Club, said IGO had no near-term plans to move up Gold Road’s register.

“Our aim from day one was to take a toehold and to then be able to monitor progress with an active interest with what happens with the Gruyere deposit and the pre-feasibility study, which is due in December,” Mr Bradford said.

Gruyere’s 5.5moz resource is up 44 per cent from last year’s maiden resource declaration.

But at 1.24 grams a tonne it remains low grade, and Mr Bradford hinted higher-grade discoveries elsewhere on the tenement package, such as recent 3gpt hits at Gold Road’s Smokebush project, may be of more interest to IGO.

While its agreed tie-up with Sirius is set to fill the gap in IGO’s development pipeline, Mr Bradford said exploration offered plenty of upside for the combined company.

That was highlighted yesterday by Ventnor Resources’ announcement that rock chips assays from its Black Dragon project, 22km north of Tropicana, had included high-grade samples of up to 568gpt.

The news sent Ventnor shares up 0.5¢ to 4¢.