ASX-listed Latitude 66 has executed binding option and joint venture (JV) agreements to acquire an 80% interest in the Laverton gold project in Western Australia, securing ownership over the historically mined Red Dog deposit and the nearby Tin Dog prospect across a tenement package totalling 253 km².

The project includes 17 tenements – four of them granted mining leases – and hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 231 000 t at 1.82 g/t gold for 13 500 oz. Red Dog previously produced 12 704 oz at 2.3 g/t gold during mining by Matsa Resources in 2019.

Latitude 66 highlighted immediate near-mine growth potential at Red Dog, with multiple shallow, high-grade intercepts reported outside the existing pit shell, including 4 m at 7.3 g/t gold from 13 m, 6 m at 4.8 g/t gold from 22 m and 7 m at 3.4 g/t gold from 11 m.

At the Tin Dog syenite-hosted system, historic drilling has returned wide, high-grade intercepts such as 6 m at 13.8 g/t gold from 20 m and 16 m at 2.9 g/t gold from 55 m, positioning it as a second priority target with potential to advance rapidly toward a maiden resource.

MD Grant Coyle said the option arrangement provided Latitude 66 with exclusivity while it validated historic data – much of it predating 1990 and requiring confirmatory drilling before it could be included in a Joint Ore Reserve Committee- (Jorc-) compliant estimate. The staged structure, he noted, reduced upfront capital exposure while derisking the project.

A drill rig has already been mobilised for initial drilling at Red Dog and Tin Dog.

The project sits in a highly endowed gold district with established haul roads and access to five mills within 100 km, offering potential for toll treatment and a fast-track development route. Latitude 66 said the acquisition complements its existing Western Australian assets while advancing parallel growth plans at its KSB and PSB projects in Finland.

The company recently strengthened its balance sheet through the sale of its Greater Duchess JV interest and intends to move rapidly toward defining a Jorc-compliant resource and assessing development scenarios once validation drilling is complete.