Riversgold Ltd. has agreed to acquire exploration licence E25/594 from a subsidiary of Black Cat Syndicate, expanding its Northern Zone gold project in Western Australia 15-fold.
The acquisition increases Riversgold’s immediate project footprint by roughly 1,463 per cent, expanding the Northern Zone area from a single 0.82-square-kilometre mining lease to 12.82 square kilometres.
The acquired 12-square-kilometre tenement surrounds the existing project on its western, northern and southern boundaries.
The deal removes long-standing boundary constraints, enabling Riversgold to track known gold mineralisation that remains open to the west.
Recent drilling near the western boundary has returned strong shallow intercepts, including 16 metres at 4.69 grams per tonne of gold from 30 metres depth.
In addition to testing western extensions, the company plans to explore newly identified geophysical targets across the broader licence.
Magnetic interpretations revealed multiple un-drilled intrusive bodies along the Hampton Hill Fault Zone that mirror the host geology at the Northern Zone.
Historical exploration on the licence consisted mostly of shallow rotary air blast drilling that failed to penetrate transported cover.
Riversgold Chairman David Lenigas described the acquisition as a transformative milestone resulting from multi-year negotiations.
“The acquisition of this Black Cat tenement is a real game changer for the company. It gives us a 15-fold increase in the immediate project area,” Lenigas said.
“Our drilling at Northern Zone confirms we have strong mineralisation heading towards the Black Cat ground and we intend to start drilling westwards as soon as permits are in place.”
As part of the transaction, Black Cat Syndicate will become a Riversgold shareholder through a scrip consideration. The agreement also provides Black Cat with a first right of refusal for toll-treating future ore through its nearby Lakewood processing facility.
Riversgold confirmed the acquisition will not affect the timeline for its mine development and closure proposal, which was submitted on 30 September.
First-phase air core drilling to test the western extension is currently being planned.