Nelson Resources has started underground rehabilitation at the historic Great Western Mine, within the company’s high-grade Gold Point gold-silver project in Nevada, US.
The move marks the second historic underground operation to be advanced under the company’s staged exploration strategy at its Gold Point project, replicating a successful blueprint recently executed at the nearby Orleans Mine.
Great Western was selected as the next priority target following highly encouraging surface exploration.
Recent rock chip sampling across the broader Great Western and Grand Central areas returned spectacular high-grade results, with peak hits delivering 32.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 28.4 g/t silver, alongside another sample yielding 12.25 g/t gold and a significant 244 g/t silver.
The rehabilitation program will focus on restoring and stabilising underground access to the historic workings.
Once safe access is established, crews will begin detailed mapping, sampling, and structural surveys to integrate the data into a broader 3D mine model and define high-precision targets for upcoming drilling.
Rehabilitating the old mine workings gives Nelson a distinct structural and financial advantage over traditional exploration techniques.
By utilising existing underground infrastructure, the company can establish drill platforms significantly closer to the target vein systems.
This results in shorter drill holes, optimal drilling angles, and vastly superior targeting precision compared to conventional surface-only drilling programs.
Nelson Resources Non-Executive Chairman Gernot Abl said: “Commencing rehabilitation at Great Western is another important step in Nelson’s strategy to unlock the broader Gold Point underground network.
“Orleans has shown the value of restoring direct underground access first, then using that access to map, sample and drill from much closer to the target.
“We are now applying that same disciplined approach to Great Western as the next priority mine area.”
The start of works at Great Western marks a transition toward a systematic, multi-mine approach across the historic field, which was historically mined across five separate operations but has never previously been consolidated under single ownership.
Gold Point has more than five kilometres of historic underground workings developed across five historic mines, where at least 75,000 ounces of gold were reportedly produced at grades of 20–30 g/t gold.