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Mawson Gold (TSX: MAW)(OTC: MWSNF) CEO Michael Hudson on Latest High-Grade Gold-Cobalt Intercepts from Step-Out Drilling at Flagship Rajapalot Project, Finland; Plus an Update from Australia
Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the chairman & CEO of Mawson Gold — Mr. Michael Hudson. Mike, I have you live from the field, on the road. How are you today?
Michael Hudson: On the road, safe, and looking forward to having a quick chat with you today, Gerardo.
Gerardo Del Real: Well, thank you for your time. Let's get right into it. You just drilled a 120 meter step-out — the deepest drill hole at South Palokas in Finland. You drilled 30.8 meters at 3.9 grams per tonne gold and 1,403 ppm cobalt. Phenomenal grades; phenomenal widths. You have to be happy with the results.
Seven drill holes total were announced today… and what we've come to expect from the project, right; consistent mineralization. But now it appears you're getting it further down dip. And the step-out, I know, was important to you.
Michael Hudson: Yeah, exactly. It was a very, very strong result in many respects. Grade-wise, almost 4 grams over 30-and-a-bit meters. And then, the cobalt is getting higher grade; that adds over nearly a gram-and-a-half of gold equivalent there.
So it's impressive in terms of grade; it's impressive in terms of width. And literally, there was not another drill hole of grade within 120 meters. So the last press release that we put out — a couple of press releases ago — was the last drill hole. So we're onto the grade of the system.
So big step-outs. I think, 280 meters we've stepped out at South Palokas down plunge this season. The more you drill a structurally controlled gold deposit that delivers — and this is delivering — the more you tend to find these high-grade parts of the system.
And we hadn't done that this time last year. But through persistence, through understanding, and through, ultimately, drilling… this system keeps on delivering. And we're building a project… we've talked about that before… but this is impressive. Now, we've drilled extremely thick mineralized zones over 70 meters.
We've drilled, consistently, very high grades; three-quarters of an ounce to an ounce system over hundreds of meters at Joki East. The thick zone was at the Hut. We drilled some very high grades at Raja. And now we're drilling very good, thick, high grades down plunge at Palokas.
So we've delivered on all our aims — I think you can say — already, with holes still to deliver from the drill project this season.
Gerardo Del Real: That's an important point. Gold seems to be putting in a very strong base at the US$1,800 level. I suspect the end of Q3, the beginning of Q4 is going to make for some exciting, exciting times in the gold space.
That's going to coincide with the 36 drill holes that you have to report from 5 different areas. And the resource upgrade, which is now scheduled for August of this year, of course. This is the beginning of the month here… so we're looking three to three-and-a-half weeks maximum, correct?
Michael Hudson: Correct. We've got our skates on and we’ve been working hard. We had Dr. Nick Cook — the company's chief geologist — up in Finland over the last month. He was able to get an exemption to leave Australia. He's just come out of quarantine two weeks after coming back into Australia. So we've certainly been on it working hard.
The team up there is working extremely hard, and I believe we'll be able to deliver within that timeframe. And you can see where it's going; it’s a project that just keeps on getting bigger. And this time last year, we had 300,000 ounces. We put out 700-odd-thousand ounces 10 months ago or 11 months ago. And now, we're on-track for another significant upgrade.
Gerardo Del Real: Before I let you go, I have to ask about Australia. Excellent results from there. Lots of news flow to come from Australia. Can you touch on that a bit before I let you go, Mike?
Michael Hudson: Yeah, literally going out to look at the core again today and the rig. It's one rig continuously going on the Sunday Creek project. That's another project… a little earlier-stage than Finland, of course. But everywhere we're drilling there, we're finding gold and the mineralized structures and building out volume and grades. So it's delivering very nicely.
We're looking at all of our options. We haven't made it a secret to spin out the Australian assets onto the ASX. That, of course, is not a formal decision yet. But that's the strategy and aim. And we're going through all of the background with both exchanges to make sure that can be done all appropriately and in a time efficient manner that's fair to all shareholders.
And Finland, as you can see, is on a roll and we're permitting there and building up a project towards a mining project. So they've got slightly different trajectories over the next coming years — and that's why we're going down this path.
Gerardo Del Real: Well, I have to say the project in Finland, I think, looks ripe for a takeout. If I was a mid-tier or even a major that believes in the project and that the project can grow the way that we believe it can grow — it would look pretty appealing and accretive.
So I'll leave that there. I know you probably don't want to opine on that. But anything else to add, Mike?
Michael Hudson: No. Just it always feels good as an exploration geologist to do what we're doing. These things don't happen very commonly so we're all very excited about what we're doing up in Finland.
Gerardo Del Real: Excellent! Great work as always, Mike. We'll chat soon.
Michael Hudson: Thanks, Gerardo.
Gerardo Del Real: Thank you.
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