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PLC Resources Launches Follow-Up Drilling at Rochefort Prospect in WA’s Murchison Region
By Drooid · · How we work
New Drilling Campaign Targets an Expanded Gold System
PLC Resources has begun an eight-hole, 2,400-metre reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program at the Rochefort gold prospect, part of its 400-square-kilometre Abbotts North project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The campaign is intended to test extensions of the mineralised zone to the northwest and at depth, following indications from the company’s maiden five-hole, 1,020-metre reconnaissance drill that suggested the initial holes may have intersected the edge of a larger system. Management expects the field work to be completed within two weeks, with first assay results due in four to six weeks.
Background and Geological Context
Rochefort lies within the historic Abbotts goldfield, which historically produced about 41,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of roughly 31 g/t from shallow quartz reefs. Modern exploration in the district has been limited. The prospect sits 21 km north of New Murchison Gold’s Garden Gully operation, which hosts a 4.42-million-tonne resource grading 2.5 g/t gold. PLC’s exploration model focuses on highly fractionated dolerite bodies—similar to those that host the famed Golden Mile at Kalgoorlie—as conduits for orogenic gold. Geophysical work has also identified a previously unmapped 14-km fold along the eastern margin of the greenstone belt, intersecting a deep-seated crustal structure that the company regards as a primary gold-targeting feature.
Results from Initial Drilling
The earlier reconnaissance program, reported in July, returned anomalous gold values up to 0.4 g/t in three of five holes. Gold was hosted in fractionated dolerite accompanied by alteration, sulphidation and path-finder geochemistry. Surface sampling had already highlighted a 400 m × 350 m gold-in-soil anomaly and quartz-hematite vein chips grading up to 11.7 g/t gold. Subsequent multi-element analysis showed increasing sulphur and gold concentrations to the northwest, while arsenic and antimony levels declined—patterns PLC interprets as indicative of a mineralising fluid pathway rather than a distal halo.
Planned Timeline and Expected Outcomes
The current RC program is funded from existing cash reserves and proceeds under approved environmental and heritage permits. PLC expects to release assay data as they are validated, providing an early indication of whether the northwest-ward and deeper targets host higher-grade mineralisation. Parallel work continues on the broader structural corridor across Abbotts North, with the aim of delineating additional drill targets.
Potential Significance
If the follow-up drilling confirms a larger, higher-grade gold system, the Rochefort prospect could add a substantial resource to PLC’s portfolio and revive modern exploration interest in a district that has seen limited activity since historic production. The company frames the initial results as a “geological treasure map,” suggesting that the next set of holes will determine whether the identified clues lead to a commercially viable deposit.