Godolphin Resources Limited’s Transformational Lewis Ponds Upgrade: 470Koz Gold & 21Moz Silver Boost Open Pit & Underground Prospects
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
at
9:05 am
Godolphin Resources Limited’s updated Lewis Ponds estimate boosts gold to 470,000 oz and silver to 21 Moz, with greater tonnage and higher confidence levels. The company is advancing its development with ongoing metallurgical tests and drilling, making the project increasingly attractive for near-term advancement.
Godolphin Resources Limited has released a detailed update on its Lewis Ponds gold, silver, and base metals deposit in New South Wales, outlining significant resource upgrades and improved technical confidence. The updated Mineral Resource Estimate now reports a global resource of 9.83 million tonnes, with 5.01 million tonnes in the Indicated category and 4.82 million tonnes as Inferred. The deposit averages 1.49 g/t gold, 66.15 g/t silver, 2.46% zinc, 1.38% lead, and 0.15% copper, equivalent to approximately 470,000 ounces of gold and 21 million ounces of silver. Notably, the new estimate represents an approximate 58% increase in tonnage, an 18% uplift in contained gold, and a 31% increase in contained silver from prior figures.
A comprehensive pit optimisation study has been conducted to evaluate the economic potential of the deposit, splitting the resource into open pit and underground zones. With a 1.0 g/t AuEq cutoff, the open pit resource stands at 2.88 million tonnes averaging 0.52 g/t Au and 41.22 g/t Ag, while the underground resource, defined at a higher cutoff of 3.2 g/t AuEq to reflect the higher operating costs, totals 6.95 million tonnes averaging 1.89 g/t Au and 76.48 g/t Ag. The study has also significantly increased the confidence levels; 64% of the open pit resource and 45% of the underground resource are now classified as Indicated, compared to the previous estimate’s 100% Inferred classification.
The company’s technical report details the methodology behind the update, including the use of ordinary kriging within wireframed mineralised domains, multi-pass estimation, and a rigorous validation process through slope of regression analyses and re-assessment of drill hole data. The deposit is hosted within robust volcanogenic-sedimentary geological setups, and historical drilling totaling over 64,500 metres supports the updated model. Additionally, limited metallurgical test work from previous studies confirms the mineralisation is amenable to a relatively simple flotation process, with recoveries of around 60% for gold, 79% for silver, 92% for zinc, 75% for lead, and 69% for copper. A scoping mining study is already underway, with further drilling planned to target additional mineralised zones and exploration targets.
A bullish viewpoint sees the substantial increases in resource tonnage and contained metals, alongside improved resource classification, as a robust foundation for near-term development. The combination of promising metallurgical test work, detailed technical modelling, and the initiation of a scoping study underscores the project’s potential to attract further investment and possibly transition to production in the coming years.
Conversely, the bearish perspective highlights that while the upgraded resource is encouraging, the project remains in the early stages of technical and economic evaluation. The deposit still requires further drilling and scoping studies to fully establish the feasibility of both open pit and underground mining methods, and uncertainties persist regarding the eventual economics and environmental management of the operation.
Overall, the update reflects significant progress in establishing the Lewis Ponds deposit as a major, high-grade mineral project, though investors and beginner traders should remain mindful of the inherent risks associated with early-stage mining development.