Ausgold Drills Extensions to Katanning Gold Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Ausgold (ASX: AUC) released results of reverse circulation drilling (RC) carried out at the Central Zone within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Katanning gold project (KG”) in Western Australia.

Ausgold completed the drilling during February and March that consisted a program of 23 RC drill holes and downhole EM (DHEM) within the Central Zone, from which it has identified targets the company believes to have potential to add both grade and total ounces to the current KGP Mineral Resource.

The KPG Mineral Resource currently stands at 33.1 million tonnes at 1.1 grams per tonne gold for 1.2 million ounces of gold.

Drilling at Jinkas South targeted a broad zone of gold mineralisation extending down dip and south of the Jinkas Resource.

Intercepts from Jinkas South encountered broad zones of mineralisation extending beyond current Resource areas, including:

BSRC0918
13 metres at 1.11 grams per tonne gold 99m;
20m at 0.94g/t gold from 119m;

BSRC0927
17m at 1.03g/t gold from 93m;

These holes also hit zones of high-grade gold mineralisation of:

BSRC0918
1m at 11.2g/t gold from 142m;

BSRC0927
1m at 16.35g/t gold from 73m;

The latest drilling has extended the zone of high-grade gold mineralisation along a strike length of 400m and beyond what Ausgold had intersected in previous drill programs.

A program of DHEM surveys was conducted that developed new target plates that the company hopes to test with RC drilling in coming months.

Ausgold anticipates further drilling will extend mineralisation where it remains open along a strike length of over 400m.

Drilling carried out within the Central Zone, immediately west of the historical Jinkas pit, targeted near-surface gold mineralisation and intersected mineralisation along a strike length of 350m in an area which was previously untested.

The Central Zone drilling intersected near surface mineralisation, including:

BSRC0928
7m at 1.79g/t gold from 113m, including 1m at 9.33g/t gold from 118m;

BSRC0933
6m at 1.51g/t gold from 37m, including 3m at 2.63g/t gold;
4m at 1.06g/t gold from 111m;

BSRC0939
7m at 1.42g/t gold from 96m;
8m at 0.97g/t gold from 84m; and
1m at 4.98g/t gold.

“RC drilling within the Central Zone has intersected broad zones of gold mineralisation which extend beyond current Resource areas and will add further high-grade ounces to the current 1.2 million ounces gold Resource at Katanning,” Ausgold managing director Matthew Greentree said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Drilling has been complemented with a program of DHEM, which is being used to target high-grade gold mineralisation.

“Newly identified high-grade gold mineralisation at Jinkas South has been intersected over a strike length of 400 metres and this zone remains open both down dip and along strike.

“Drilling adjacent to the historical Jinkas pit has intersected extensions of the White Dam and Jackson Resources which will add Resource ounces to the KGP.

“RC drilling program at nearby regional targets including Burong and Jinkas North have been completed with results anticipated to be released to the market in the coming weeks.

“These areas are located within five kilometres of the main Resource and have the potential to add to the current 1.2 million-ounce Resource.”

 

Email: info@ausgoldlimited.com

Web: www.ausgoldlimited.com

 

Peel Mining Substantially Upgrades Southern Nights Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Peel Mining (ASX: PEX) released an updated Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Wagga Tank and Southern Nights deposits located in the Cobar Basin of western New South Wales.

The company explained the MRE is reported within mineable shapes generated at $80 per tonne net smelter return (NSR) with a minimum mining width of three metres and includes internal dilution.

Peel Mining reported an Indicated and Inferred MRE of:

4.95 million tonnes at 5 per cent zinc, 2 per cent lead, 78 grams per tonne silver, 0.3 per cent copper, and 0.4g/t gold within $80/t NSR mineable shapes.

This represent a 31.5 per cent increase in Indicated and Inferred resource tonnage from the company’s previous MRE.

Of note, the Indicated MRE increased to 2.95 million tonnes at 5.73 per cent zinc, 2.33 per cent lead, 86g/t silver, 0.23 per cent copper, 0.36g/t gold (within $80/t NSR mineable shapes).

This represents a 161 per cent increase in Indicated resource tonnage from the previous MRE.

Peel Mining said the updated MRE provides a solid foundation, from which it can immediately commence scoping studies to advance the potential development scenarios at Wagga Tank-Southern Nights.

The company already has associated activities underway, including ongoing metallurgical testwork, geological/structural studies, pre-development environmental baseline work, and drill planning targeting potential extensions to mineralisation.

Also worth noting, is that the Wagga Tank-Southern Nights mineral system remains open along strike and down dip.

“This resource upgrade is another important step for Peel as it continues towards unlocking the next mine development opportunity within the Cobar Basin,” Peel Mining managing director Rob Tyson said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The advancement of the Southern Nights-Wagga Tank mineral resource utilising contemporary metal pricing, marketing and metallurgical assumptions, presented as a Net Smelter Return, as well as underground mining assumptions is an important move towards our goal.

“Encouragingly, the resource quality has improved significantly with nearly three million tonnes reporting to the Indicated classification.

“We will now move to scope out the project to better understand the potential development opportunities available.”

 

Email: info@peelmining.com.au

Web: www.peelmining.com.au

 

Kin Mining Getting Good Enjoyment from Comedy King

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Kin Mining (ASX: KIN) received final assay results from one-metre split samples at the company’s Cardinia gold project (CGP) in Western Australia.

Kin Mining collected the samples from the Comedy King target, generated from an aircore (AC) drilling program completed in December 2019.

The company explained the 1m samples were collected from 4m composite samples greater than 0.1g/t gold, to allow for better definition of the mineralised zones.

“Our initial interpretation at Comedy King based on the four-metres composite assays was a series of high-grade, narrow mineralised zones striking east-west and dipping to the north,” Kin Mining managing director Andrew Munckton said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The one-metre split sampling has supported this view and helped the geological teams interpret the mineralisation more clearly.

“At Comedy King, several quartz sulphide veins exist within broader, lower grade alteration halo mineralisation.

“These veins appear to be initiated from north east trending faults associated with the rapidly expanding Lewis Fault system.

“The Lewis Fault system is intimately associated with mineralisation at the Lewis, Lewis East, Nevertire, Black Chief and now the Comedy King deposits.

“These deposits are spread over an area covering approximately four kilometres by two kilometres and represent a cluster of deposits displaying both high-grade vein and lode style mineralisation and lower grade alteration halo mineralisation, all with a common geological control.

“In addition to the primary mineralisation at Comedy King, aircore drilling has also intersected shallow high-grade mineralisation associated with an interpreted alluvial channel.

“Alluvial channels in the area are extensive and represent an additional near surface exploration target for the company.”

 

Email: info@kinmining.com.au

Web: www.kinmining.com.au

 

Cassini Resources Extends Yarawindah Mineralisation

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cassini Resources (ASX: CZI) has completed its first diamond drilling program at the company’s 80 per cent-owned Yarawindah Brook project in Western Australia.

The project is considered by Cassini to be prospective for nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements (PGE’s).

Cassini Resources conducted the drilling to target multiple electromagnetic (EM) conductors it had identified following airborne and ground EM surveys in 2018.

The latest drilling returned encouraging nickel and copper results from a total of nine diamond holes – YAD0004 through to YAD0006 at the AN02 conductor, now re-named the Avena prospect, and YAD0003, at the Brassica prospect.

Drilling at Avena predominantly intersected broad zones of shallow, disseminated nickel and copper sulphides, and locally contain high-grade, massive nickel sulphides.

Cassini declared it was encouraged by a massive sulphide intercept of:

YAD0005
0.12 metres at 5.97 per cent nickel, 0.75 per cent copper, 0.39 per cent cobalt and 2.66 grams per tonne PGE from 84.3m.

“Nickel tenor of this intercept is representative of the historical massive sulphide intersections at Yarawindah, which are the Company’s primary targets,” Cassini Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Although thin, this interval is interpreted to represent a structurally remobilised massive sulphide from a proximal source.

The company was also heartened by an encounter from:

YAD0006
5.05m at 0.69 per cent nickel, 1.17 per cent copper and 0.06 per cent cobalt from 57.95m.

“These intercepts range from 50m to 72m vertically below surface, well within open-pit mining depths,” Cassini observed.

At the Brassica prospect, YAD0003 intersected a 70m zone of metagabbro, similar to previous drilling results, with thick zones of disseminated and locally semi-massive zones of barren iron sulphides (pyrrhotite) and trace copper sulphides (chalcopyrite) reflecting low tenor nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation.

“The results to date at the Avena and Brassica prospects support the company’s exploration model that the Yarawindah project has potential to host multiple nickel-copper magmatic sulphide deposits,” the company said.

 

Email: admin@cassiniresources.com.au

Web: www.cassiniresources.com.au

 

Moho Resources Completes Aircore Drilling at Burracoppin

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Moho Resources (ASX: MOH) completed its first aircore drill program to follow up gold and arsenic anomalies on the Crossroads prospect at the company’s Burracoppin gold project in Western Australia.

Moho Resources drilled 37 reconnaissance air core holes across coincident gold and arsenic anomalies in soils and auger drill samples at the Crossroads prospect during March 2020.

The air core drilling also traversed a north – south structure interpreted by Moho’s consultant geophysicist and a re-evaluated EM anomaly.

Lithologies noted during drilling included biotite schist/amphibolite, granite and quartzite.

“Drill samples have been submitted to SGS for gold and multi element analysis after aqua regia digest,” Moho Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Moho anticipates releasing the results in late April 2020, following receipt of the assays and appropriate checks.”

 

Email: admin@mohoresources.com.au

Web: www.mohoresources.com.au

 

De Grey Mining Extends Brolga Gold Mineralisation

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG) released further results from drilling on the Brolga Zone within the company’s Hemi gold discovery, located near Port Hedland in Western Australia.

New RC gold intercepts encountered at Brolga include:

HERC014
78 metres at 1.8 grams per tonne gold from 40m;

HERC015
72m at 1.6g/t gold from 105m;

HERC016
21m at 3.6g/t gold from 45m
15m at 5.5g/t gold from 75m;

HERC017
33m at 1.6g/t gold from 41m;

HERC023
76m at 1.5g/t gold from 42m; and

HERC024
56m at 1.1g/t gold from 93m.

De Grey Mining has now defined strong and extensive gold mineralisation across four sections, demonstrating a robust and large growing volume of mineralised intrusive at Brolga.

The gold-sulphide mineralisation is well defined by the RC drilling, which the company has interpreted to be dipping moderately to the south (local grid) with a large footprint over more than 340 metres of strike, up to more than 300m lateral width, up to 200m depth that remains open along strike and down dip.

The company considers the shallower dipping mineralisation important, believing it has the potential to increase ounces per vertical metre within a future open pit and may reduce the overall strip ratio.

“Brolga is growing substantially, we continue to increase the overall footprint of the gold-sulphide mineralisation, particularly to the west and down dip where substantial thicknesses of mineralisation remain open,” De Grey Mining technical director Andy Beckwith said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We have now confirmed the strong correlation between gold and sulphides.

“The recent four RC holes to the south and west have logged some of the strongest sulphide mineralisation noted to date.

“Drilling is planned to continue with one RC and two diamond rigs testing the limits of mineralisation at Hemi.”

 

Email: admin@degreymining.com.au

Web: www.degreymining.com.au

 

Helix Resources Intersects Additional High-Grade Copper Lodes at Collerina

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Helix Resources (ASX: HLX) completed a phase 1 RC drilling program and additional geophysics targeting new copper zones at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Collerina copper project in central New South Wales.

Helix Resources instigated the drilling program of 16 holes for 2586 metres to test for further high-grade copper mineralisation in zones immediately surrounding the initial Central Zone resource.

In June 2019, Helix announced a maiden resource estimate for the Central Zone deposit of 2.02 million tonnes at 2.03 per cent copper and 0.1 grams per tonne gold for 40,000 tonnes copper and 9400 ounces gold (Indicated and Inferred).

Almost 50 per cent of that resource tonnage sits in the Indicated categorisation, with the remainder classified as Inferred.

Helix concluded that the drilling has confirmed a much larger extent of copper system, with at least two additional copper lodes identified outside of the initial Central Zone resource envelope, each with extensive down plunge potential.

The company believes it now has an opportunity to substantially grow the high-grade copper resource at Collerina.

The drilling encountered primary, high-grade copper mineralisation approximately 180m down dip from the Central Zone resource on a parallel structural target, known as the Northern Target Zone.

This yielded an intercept of:

CORC116
4 metres at 3.18 per cent copper and 0.4g/t gold from 218m, including 1m at 6.44 per cent copper and 0.8g/t gold from 218m.

“This is a significant set of exploration outcomes for Helix and the Collerina copper project,” Helix Resources executive chairman Peter Lester said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our recent drilling has confirmed the existence of high-grade copper mineralisation well outside of the Central Zone resource area.

“The targeted down plunge extent of these additional lodes offers substantial potential upside to our current resource base at Collerina.

“A number of new high-priority target positions will require further drilling to fully realise the potential of the broader Collerina deposit.”

 

Email: helix@helix.com.au

Web: www.helix.com.au

 

Azure Minerals Claims New Alacrán Copper Discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) claimed discovery of high-grade copper mineralisation at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Alacrán project in Sonora, Mexico.

Azure Minerals made the copper discovery at the Gregors prospect while other drilling intersected further gold mineralisation at Mina San Simon.

The Gregors prospect was originally spotted by Azure’s geologists in early 2016, after which an airborne VTEM geophysical survey was flown over the entire Alacrán project area, detecting a small and discrete, reasonably intense electromagnetic (EM) response.

No further exploration was undertaken over this anomaly until late in 2019, when Azure regained full ownership and control of the Alacrán project from former partner Teck Resources.

RC drilling intersected wide zones of breccia and strongly altered volcanic rocks containing visual quantities of disseminated chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) mineralisation.

Results included:

GGC-002
30 metres at 0.68 per cent copper from 22.5m, including 6m at 2.3 per cent copper; and

GGC-003
18m at 0.96 per cent copper from 21m, including 1.5m at 7.03 per cent copper.

The company considers the presence of strong copper mineralisation hosted by iron-rich breccia to be promising as numerous high-grade, copper-rich breccia pipes associated with nearby copper porphyry bodies have been discovered and mined in the Cananea mining district.

Azure is undertaking a detailed data review and interpretation plus initial mineralogical and metallurgical studies to assess potential and assist with planning a follow-up drill program.

“Our exploration team has a strong and successful history of discovering new deposits at Alacrán,” Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“With this discovery of the buried copper mineralisation at Gregors, we are continuing to identify high-value precious and base metals targets, reinforcing the prospectivity of this exciting project and the technical skills of our exploration team.

“The discovery of strong copper mineralisation hosted by iron-rich breccia at Gregors is very promising, as there is a history of discovering and exploiting high-grade, copper-rich breccia pipes in the surrounding Cananea mining district, particularly at the nearby Cananea copper mine located 10 kilometres to the northwest.

“I’m looking forward to completing our interpretation of the results and recommencing drilling as soon as practicable.”

The company also completed one RC hole (MDPC-168) to test at the historical Mina San Simon mine located about 700m southeast of the southern Loma Bonita resource boundary, an area that is mostly untested by drilling.

A hole drilled by Azure in 2015 (LM-02) intersected a void created by the old mine workings that had extracted the mineralised zone.

The company noted that MDPC-168 drilled below these old mine workings and returned a well-mineralised gold and silver intersection, hosted in vuggy and massive silica, of:

MDPC-168
21m at 2 grams per tonne gold and 64g/t silver from 19.5m.

The company indicated that further drilling to test the vuggy silica mineralised zone, which is interpreted to extend further to the east and south beneath the Cerro San Simon hill, will be undertaken in the next drill program.

 

 

Web: www.azureminerals.com.au

 

Blackham Resources Forging Ahead With Wiluna Stage 1 Expansion

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Blackham Resources (ASX: BLK) is ten months into a two-year transitional period at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Matilda-Wiluna gold operation in Western Australia.

Blackham Resources operations were hindered by seasonal weather impacts, (cyclones Blake and Damien), in the first two months of the March 2020 quarter along with some equipment issues and shortages of qualified operators resulting in mining production being below plan.

In an announcement to the ASX, the company indicated its current Stage 1 Expansion activities will enable it to mitigate these disruptions by allowing high-grade stockpiles to be built.

An increased focus and expansion of underground mining will see weather becoming less of an issue.

Obviously, obstructions such as reduced mine material movement, and in-turn, gold production, will reduce the company’s FY 2020 guidance to the low end of gold production expectations, which will in turn impact unit costs.

On the up-scale, Blackham indicated that its March production has increased, which it credited to better weather conditions, new equipment being introduced and commissioned, as well as improved availability of qualified operators.

“Together these factors have seen the gold production rate returning to expected levels and this will allow a stronger operational finish to the financial year,” the company said.

“Mining and stripping development has continued in multiple mining areas, which is expected to provide both short and long-term ore supply of free milling ore into FY 2021.

“Access to high-grade free milling ore is expected to continue to increase over the coming months.”

“At the Golden Age underground mine, the transition to a new equipment supplier has resulted in a turnaround in operational performance and will allow a material uplift in mining rates to be achieved for the remainder of FY 2020 and beyond.”

Blackham’s Stage 1 Expansion activities are cracking along.

Construction of a new tailings storage facility TSF K is nearing completion.

This construction program is the first stage of construction of a ten-year capacity tailings storage facility.

The first stage is designed to hold approximately 2.5 years of tailings produced from the Wiluna processing plant.

The company has replaced an old underperforming mill motor with a new motor in early February, which has provided increased stable processing rates.

Refurbishment of the rod mill was completed and recommissioned, also in February and is now providing an approximate 20 per cent increase in grinding circuit capacity and a proportionate increase in ore throughput.

“Its benefit to the Wiluna operations will especially be seen when we begin milling the harder ore from the Williamson pit which will increase in the June quarter,” Blackham said.

Dewatering activities to enable access to the underground areas for development have been accelerated and are on target to meet the company’s Stage 1 Expansion time line.

On the exploration side, Blackham recently commenced drilling targeting high-grade shallow shoots, initially at the Essex zone.

Essex is located just 200 metres from surface, close to existing infrastructure, and requires minimal dewatering and rehabilitation to access the high-grade ore.

The program has already yielded encouraging results, which the company believes gives affirmation to its strategy of targeting the high-grade ore under the headframe at the Wiluna Mine, to underpin an expansion of reserves ahead of Stage 1 Sulphide Expansion production.

Results to date include:

WURC0804
26 metres at 15.69 grams per tonne gold from 182m; and
21m at 7.04g/t gold from 196m

WURC0823
16m at 3.72g/t gold from 254m, including 4m at 8.23g/t gold and 2m at 6.51g/t gold

WURC0824
8m at 10.10g/t gold from 225m

The company recently announced a funding package of up to $92 million.

The funding package will allow Blackham to finalise the Stage 1 Sulphide Expansion project, which it expects will result in the company producing between 100,000 ounces per annum and 120,000 ounces per annum in concentrate and gold ore.

“Within the current quarter of dramatic global change due to COVID-19, Blackham has been relentless in advancing our stated two-year transformation plan: we have added clout and expertise to our leadership team, refinanced the company and achieved fantastic initial underground exploration results, while significantly upgrading the processing capacity and development of our Wiluna gold mine,” Blackham Resources executive chairman Milan Jerkovic said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Looking ahead to Q4, we reaffirm our commitment to shareholders to deliver on our five-point strategy of transitioning to gold concentrate production, increasing operational cashflows, repairing the balance sheet, expanding gold production and advancing ‘under the headframe’ exploration, to underpin a future >250koz/pa long-life gold operation.

“We are 10 months into this two-year transformation process, and while there is still a lot of work to do, we are committed to building a safe, quality mining and exploration company, focused on creating value for Shareholders.”

 

Email: info@blackhamresources.com.au

Web: www.blackhamresources.com.au

 

New World Resources Commences Antler Drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: New World Resources (ASX: NWC) has commenced its first drilling program at the company’s Antler copper deposit in Arizona, USA.

New World Resources indicated the program of diamond core drilling is expected to comprise 12 to 16 holes for approximately 2,500 metres.

The Anlter deposit has a history of production having intermittently yielded around 70,000 tonnes of ore between 1916 and 1970.

Further exploration activity that ended around 1975 defined a non-JORC Code-compliant historical resource estimate for the remaining mineralisation of 4.66 million tonnes at 1.95 per cent copper, 4.13 per cent zinc, 0.94 per cent lead and 35.9 grams per tonne silver.

“The company’s immediate objective is to delineate robust JORC‐Code compliant Indicated Resources that can be used in mining studies to evaluate the potential to bring the Antler deposit back into production in the near‐term,” New World Resources said in its ASX announcement.

The company outlined its priorities for the upcoming drilling to be to carry out appropriate amount of confirmatory drilling within a panel of ‘high‐confidence, high‐grade mineralisation’ that sits immediately below stopes that have previously been drilled and sampled from underground; and in‐fill drill between the more widely spaced and deeper historical holes that indicate there is a thicker, high‐grade ‘plunging shoot’ down‐dip of the previous stopes.

NWC expects the drilling to be completed in 6 to 8 weeks, after which assay results are anticipated to be available approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of each hole.

Representative diamond core will be collected during the drilling program for use in initial metallurgical testwork.

 

Email: info@newworldres.com

Web: www.newworldres.com