Excelsior Gold increases and upgrades Zoroastrian
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Excelsior Gold has completed resource calculations based on infill and extensional drilling results from the Zoroastrian gold deposit, situated within the company’s Kalgoorlie North gold project, which has increased total resource ounces by 12 per cent and upgraded Inferred resources by 28 per cent to the Indicated category.
The new Indicated and Inferred gold resources at Zoroastrian total:
– 5,763,500 tonnes at 2.62 grams per tonne gold for 485,300 ounces of gold.
Total Measured, Indicated and Inferred gold resources at 0.6g/t and 3.0g/t gold lower cut-off grades for the Kalgoorlie North gold project have increased to:
– 20.59 million tonnes at 1.74g/t gold for 1,153,700 ounces of gold.
The resource update follows a raft of drilling programs totalling 85 new reverse circulation and diamond drill holes.
Excelsior said the drilling was designed to infill within the optimal pit shell defined on the previous resource it announced to the market in December last year in order to improve its confidence in the resource and promote Inferred resources to the Indicated classification for a prefeasibility study due for completion June 2013.
Kalgoorlie North project – Central Resource Area geological plan
(showing current resource areas with resources quoted at 0.6 and 3.0g/t
gold lower cut-offs ). Source: Company announcement
The bulk of the most recent drilling was infill drilling in the central portion of the resource area with a number of intersections demonstrating potential to further expand the possible open pit.
Results from drilling outside the current optimal pit shell include:
– 16 metres at 13.9g/t gold from 78 metres, including 1 metre at 174g/t gold from 78 metres and 6 metres at 1.69g/t gold from 215 metres;
– 11m at 4.45g/t gold from 79m, including 1m at 35.6g/t gold from 78m; and
– 50m at 3.2g/t gold from 90m, including 7m at 13.5g/t gold from 107m.
“The continuing expansion of the Zoroastrian deposit is further evidence that the extensive mineralised zone has potential to host a very substantial gold deposit and that the central part of the Kalgoorlie North tenements is evolving into a major gold camp,” Excelsior gold said in its ASX announcement.
“The area hosts multiple gold deposits including the 456,100 ounce gold resource at the Excelsior gold deposit located 300 metres east of Zoroastrian.”
Reverse circulation drilling is continuing at Zoroastrian with two drill rigs in operation.
Results of approximately 40 additional drill holes are still awaited and further expansion and upgrade of the gold resources at Zoroastrian is anticipated in late March 2013.