Golden Orb continues to shine
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Western Australian gold exploration play Southern Cross Goldfields has received results from a recently completed drilling program undertaken at the company’s 100 per cent owned Marda gold project.
Infill drilling has returned a series of wide, high grade intersections from close to surface at the Golden Orb deposit located 15km south-west of Marda.
The recent drilling returned new near surface gold intersections at Golden Orb, which included:
– 5 metres at 15.9 grams per tonne Gold from 29m, including 3m at 25.8g/t Gold
– 4m at 9.5g/t Gold from 32m, including 2m at 17.2g/t Gold
– 4m at 10.5g/t Gold from 39m, including 2m at 18.7g/t Gold
– 4m at 9.0g/t Gold from 17m, including 1m at 28.4g/t Gold
– 6m at 5.6g/t Gold from 22m, including 2m at 14.9g/t Gold
– 5m at 7.8g/t Gold from 8m, including 3m at 11.1g/t Gold
– 3m at 8.8g/t Gold from 33m, including 2m at 11.2g/t Gold
Southern Cross said the results add strength to the potential for Golden Orb to deliver an early source of high-grade feed from an open pit operation, which it will use to feed a proposed centrally located 400,000 tonnes per annum processing facility at Marda Central.
“Previously reported infill drilling results highlighted the near surface and deeper potential at Golden Orb,” Southern Cross said in an announcement.
“The new results…have highlighted the strength of the mineralisation in the upper part of the deposit.”
Drilling programs that Southern Cross has carried out to date at Golden Orb have focussed on bringing the deposit into the JORC Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource categories from its current Inferred standing to enable any resulting Ore Reserve to be incorporated into the company’s gold production strategy.
The mineralised system at Golden Orb ekes out along one kilometre in strike with potential extensions to the existing resource along strike and at depth.
According to the company mineralisation at Golden Orb outcrops at surface and continues to the current extent of drilling approximately 150 metres below surface.
Southern Cross will incorporate the latest results into a revised JORC Mineral Resource estimate to be undertaken once all assay results are received.
“Golden Orb continues to deliver very pleasing upside results from what is mostly an infill drilling program designed to support our feasibility study and production plans,” Southern Cross Goldfields managing director Glenn Jardine said in the company announcement.
“In many respects, it has been the discipline of conducting systematic infill drilling that has enabled us to uncover the substantial upside at several of our deposits, including Golden Orb.”
Jardine went on to explain the positive exploration implications for the company stemming from the latest results at Golden Orb.
“In some cases we have seen excellent results in proximity to historic intersections that may not have been viewed favourably from a potential production viewpoint,” he continued.
“These new results allow us to view other prospects in our tenement package in a new light.
“While it is very encouraging to see these sorts of grades and widths in a near surface location, it is too early to comment definitively on the significance of these in terms of enhancing our future production profile.
“What we can say is that this material should be readily accessible via open pit operations, potentially providing an early source of cash flow from our operations at Marda.”