“Genesis is increasingly confident of the potential to develop a large, standalone underground gold mining and processing operation at Ulysses,” Fowler’s Genesis told the market today.

The confidence follows a 58-hole drilling program completed late last year, for which all assays have now been received and from which better recent hits have included 4.6m grading 20 grams per tonne from 166m and 4.4m at 16gpt from 119m.

The company has identified three open-ended gold shoots with currently identified plunge extents of around 300m – to around 200m below surface.

Drilling for extensions to the shoots is to resume next month, while an interim resource estimate is also due in February.

A decision on whether to extend the ongoing feasibility study to encompass a standalone development will be made after the new resource is complete, with open cut mining of the deposit last year seeing ore toll treated at the Paddington mill 40km north of Kalgoorlie.

Genesis acquired the project in mid-2015 for from private vendors for A$275,000 cash and 10 million shares (then valued at 1c each).

The project was originally developed early this century by Sons of Gwalia, with ore treated at its Gwalia operation.

Whether the current highly successful owner of the Gwalia operation St Barbara might be taking note of the situation isn’t known, while another nearby miner that has shown ambition is Saracen Mineral Holdings.

Both these companies are well cashed-up – as, to be sure, are their gold mining peers in the ASX sector – particularly St Barbara, with $216 million in the bank to start the year with.

Genesis is currently capitalised at $31 million, with the stock up about 300% since August.

Its major shareholder is heavy earthmoving rental and mining company SMS, which did the mining at Ulysses for shares and cash.

Genesis listed on the ASX in August 2007 raising $3 million.

Over the years the company spent considerable effort looking for good assets in South America.

However it is now possible that a success could be achieved much closer to home for Fowler, with the Genesis MD having cut his teeth at former WA gold mining stalwart Croesus Mining.