Cue a result this week of 173m grading 1.6 grams per tonne from 366m at the Diucon deposit, with the "compelling" intercept made 160m below the resource.

Thus, it would seem the market can standby with real expectation for more big numbers over time, with an estimated A$70-75 million in the exploration kitty and around a dozen rigs currently whirring away at Hemi, including an aircore and RC unit targeting regional prospects.

Certainly, the exploration numbers to date have been super impressive.

The 6.8Moz resource means De Grey has been adding an astonishing circa-450,000 ounces per month since the Hemi discovery was confirmed in March 2020.

Most gold explorers work for years trying to find 450,000oz!

The discovery cost to date has been a mere $8.50/oz.

De Grey's success speaks to its geological skills and the size of the system.

Even before Hemi was discovered at the end of 2019 De Grey believed its ground in the iron ore-dominated Pilbara had "world scale gold province" potential.

The then low-profile battler had earlier secured a large tenement package over a structural corridor on the basis its work in the region had indicated the potential for intrusion hosted mineralisation.

"I have been saying the Hemi discovery is a ‘four-year overnight success'," De Grey's technical director and geologist Andy Beckwith told MNN last year.

Aside from how rapidly additional ounces will continue to be added is the question of the economics.

A scoping study is due at the end of this quarter.

Analysts at Argonaut are wondering whether a 350,000oz per annum operation is in the offing - as per major gold miner Northern Star's definition of a tier-one operation - with Bell Potter pointing to a plus-300,000ozpa project producing for in-excess of 10 years.

Others naturally wonder how long De Grey can survive as an independent entity if the numbers continue to trend in the direction they've been heading for the past year.

De Grey Mining is nominated for Explorer of the Year in the 2021 MNN Awards.