The result has set the company on the path to finding a further 500,000 ounces at Paulsens and growing the total inventory to 1 million ounces, by confirming the existence of a potential gabbro offset quartz lode position, which lies 250m from existing operations.

The target is a structural repeat of the Paulsens quartz host vein, located in a gabbro fault offset beneath and adjacent to the existing mine position of the Paulsens, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 lodes.

The company is throwing everything at Paulsens this year after previously flagging a $A20 million exploration spend at the property.

At Voyager 2, the total intersection returned from drilling was 5.6m at 1713gpt gold and included the high-grade component of 0.8m at 12,718gpt gold, touted as one of the highest grades ever recorded in the Australian gold mining industry.

A maiden resource for Voyager 2 and a resource upgrade and subsequent upgraded mine plan for Voyager 1 are due next year.

They will underpin the company’s strategy to grow production to 200,000 ounces per annum from 80,000ozpa currently.

About half of it will be sourced from the expanded Paulsens mill and the balance from its Ashburton sulfide play.

Paulsens is located 190km west of Paraburdoo, while Ashburton lies 35km south of the town.

Recent hits from the Voyager 1 lode have included 0.85m at 773gpt gold, 0.6m at 638gpt gold and 2m at 345gpt gold.

“This is a great day for Northern Star,” managing director Bill Beament said in a statement.

“We have shown both the enormous opportunity to continue extending the existing Paulsens/Voyager quartz lode mineralisation at Paulsens and the potential to replicate it immediately next door.

“It is early days in the gabbro offset exploration program but we are very encouraged by the results so far and we look forward to progressing this drilling campaign as quickly as possible.”

Shares in Northern Star were up 16.7% or 12.5c in morning trade to 87.5c.