Victoria has a proud history of gold production stretching back to 1851. Since that time, 80 Moz of gold has been produced in Victoria from world famous locations such as Bendigo, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Stawell and Woods Point.
All three of Southern Cross Gold's properties also hosted high-grade gold production in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Sunday Creek (then known as Clonbinane) is reported to have produced 41,000 oz gold at a grade of 33 g/t gold between 1880-1920 over a greater than 11-kilometre trend. The previously mined surface workings were shallow, the deepest shafts reaching only 180 metres down at their lowest point whilst the most recent drilling in the 1990's-2000's concentrated on oxide opportunities only down to 80 metres.
Whroo experienced a mixture of alluvial and hard rock mining from the 1850's from thirteen named reefs and shallow workings extended over a trend of nine kilometres. Production at Whroo is estimated to have been 40,000oz of gold at grades varying from 5 g/t gold to >700 g/t gold. The deepest shaft at the Balaclava mine on the Whroo property went down to only 137 metres. The very few recent drill holes at Whroo before Southern Cross Gold started exploring at the property did not test much below the level of oxidation but did hit 1.5 metres @ 5.3 g/t gold at 179.5 metres.
Redcastle was discovered in 1859 (then known as the Balmoral Diggings) where mining continued to 1902. Total primary gold extracted from the Redcastle diggings was around 35,000 oz at 33 g/t gold. The maximum depth across the 24 historic mining areas and 17 kilometres of mineralised veins at Redcastle was only 125 metres. Modern exploration before the arrival of Southern Cross Gold comprised of rock chip sampling, soil geochemical surveys and very shallow drilling for an average depth of only 40 metres.
The trend at the three properties? High-grade historic workings but untested at depth!
The Victorian goldfields have entered a new golden age. Through the use of modern technology, exploration companies such as Southern Cross Gold are returning exceptional results at prospects that have never before been drilled to depth such as those in our portfolio.
Through disciplined and methodical uses of exploration technology, Southern Cross Gold is successfully finding high grade gold and antimony mineralisation at its properties in the Melbourne Zone of central Victoria.
Southern Cross Gold is positioned to become a great Australian gold story. With three highly prospective properties at historic goldfields in central Victoria, Southern Cross Gold is returning exceptional gold and antimony assets to Australian hands.
The below image is a historical and modern long section map of Apollo, Rising Sun, Windsor and Golden Dyke.