Kalamazoo Resources eyes historic Maldon gold rush area as it applies for exploration licence

THE success of Fosterville's gold mine is fueling the demand for exploration licences throughout Victoria, a mine exploration manager says.

Fosterville hit pay dirt, driving mining companies to expand their searches, Kalamazoo Resources' exploration manager Luke Mortimer said.

"Kirkland Lake Gold (owner of the Fosterville mine) found a really rich gold deposit at depth - it's a mother lode to the point that it is now arguably the richest gold mine in the world."

Kalamazoo Resources had just applied for an exploration licence for land near Maldon.

While it had not been granted by the Victorian mining regulator the company hoped it too could one day cash in on the new Victorian gold rush with "low impact" exploration like geosurveys and rock sampling, Mr Mortimer said.

The application hinged on regulator Earth Resources and a community consultation period, he said.

Mr Mortimer said anyone concerned about exploration in the area should contact the company.

"We are aware of community concerns (about mining) and are doing our best to keep people informed about what we are doing. We want to be upfront about it and are trying to avoid (exploring in) communities and keep out of people's way," he said.

Most of the potential exploration area would be in crown land, according to a company statement to the ASX.

Much of the exploration would focus on areas at or around the Muckleford Fault, a line that brought gold-bearing fluid from deep within the earth's crust towards the surface 417 to 354 million years ago.

Earlier

A MINING company hopes to explore a region south of Maldon, intensifying the rush to cash in on a historically valuable fault line running under central Victoria.

Kalamazoo Resources has applied for an exploration licence in a region encompassing the Muckleford Fault, the company has announced in a statement to the ASX.

Chalice Gold Mines is already in the midst of its own drilling projects to uncover high priority areas within the Muckleford Fault area north-west of Bendigo.

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Kalamazoo's application would cover a number of historical sites associated with the Muckleford Fault region as well as areas to the west and the Union Hill Gold Mine to the south.

"The area has received only limited, shallow drilling and has not been subjected to systematic modern exploration techniques such as ground geophysics and airborne surveys," according to the company's ASX statement.

The area was 10km from the company's existing Castlemaine Gold Project.

The Maldon goldfields is the seventh largest in Victoria. Miners have dug up nearly two million ounces of primary gold over its history, according to the ASX announcement.

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