Lithium Australia Mexico JV Commences Agua Fria Drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT), with Joint Venture partner Alix Resources has commenced a 3000 metre drilling program at the Agua Fria lithium prospect, part of the companies’ Electra joint venture (LIT 49%, AIX 51%) in Mexico.

Lithium Australia said the Agua Fria target has been traced for approximately five kilometres along strike, and has exposed widths of over 800m with an apparent thickness of 20 to 30 metres that is dominated by layered sedimentary material containing volcanic ash, glass, quartz, carbonate, feldspar, zeolite and clay.

The drilling program is being undertaken by local drilling contractors, which Lithium Australia explained would be using a track mounted reverse circulation (RC) drill rig that provides good mobility.

By using this equipment, the drillers can minimise the amount of roadworks and site preparation required to support the program.

In-field drill control is supported by portable Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) using a SciAps Z300 machine.

Lithium Australia said this equipment has been pre-calibrated for material type and anticipated lithium grade of material and as such, should provide real-time assay control.

“The Agua Fria target has very significant potential, as demonstrated by Baconora Minerals which has established the world’s largest lithium ‘clay’ resource, nearby and in the same geological sequence,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Beneficiation will be a key element in creating a positive commercial outcome, and preliminary work is underway to evaluate how best that can be achieved.

“We look forward to a successful campaign.”

Email: info@lithium-au.com

Website: www.lithium-au.com

Echo Resources Drills Encouraging Results at Orelia

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Echo Resources (ASX: EAR) took receipt of results from the first six reverse circulation (RC) drill holes completed within the company’s Orelia gold deposit, located approximately eight kilometres from the Bronzewing Processing Hub in Western Australia.

Echo Resources said the results had raised its confidence levels that Orelia may be an ideal opportunity to quickly increase available Reserves.

Highlights from the results include:

ORC006
31 metres at 10.61 grams per tonne gold from 69m, including 6m at 35.83g/t gold and 5m at 18.12g/t gold;

ORC001
16m at 6.26g/t gold from surface, including 4m at 24.4g/t gold;

ORC004
15m at 2.72g/t gold from 1m and 9m at 2.55g/t gold from 80m; and

ORC002
10m at 2g/t gold from 44m.

Echo said the drilling was continuing and that it expects to receive further results in the coming weeks from both Orelia in the Bronzewing District and a number of prospects in the Empire District located around 70km from the Bronzewing Processing Hub.

“Our current Yandal exploration program is aimed at building our global gold reserve base to underpin the re-start of Echo’s Bronzewing Processing Hub,” Echo Resources CEO Simon Coxhell said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These high-grade results at Orelia suggest that following further work we will achieve our goal.

“In addition, we know that the Orelia gold deposit forms part of a much larger mineralised system with high-grade south plunging ore bodies down to significant depths which will be tested as a part of future drilling.

“Thanks to a large cut-back of the open pit in 2012-2013 the existing pit is ready for a significant depth extension to approximately 100 metres below the current pit floor.

“This potentially enables access to quality reserves for minimal upfront mine development costs.

“The results from the Bronzewing District follow last week’s early success at the Orpheus gold prospect in the Empire District and continue to support our overall exploration strategy in the Yandal greenstone belt.”

Echo Resources explained that although it has access to existing historic Orelia drill data, the company is taking a back-to-basics approach and building its geological knowledge and interpretation of the deposit from the ground up, using historical data in conjunction with data generated in the current drilling program.

The company has designed the current drilling to independently assess and understand the geology and gold distribution of the deposit, and these first results are in line with expectations returning more high-grade results.

Echo said the results suggest the Orelia gold deposit could provide another high-grade open-pittable resource.

The drilling program results will be entered into an updated resource model, with pit optimisation and project studies to follow.

Email: admin@echoresources.com.au

Website: www.echoresources.com.au

Kin Mining Continues to Build Confidence at Leonora Gold Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Kin Mining (ASX: KIN) gave its 100 per cent-owned Leonora gold project (LGP) in Western Australia a boost with results from latest in-fill drilling returning wide, high-grade intercepts from the Helens North and Helens South deposits, part of the Cardinia Mining Centre.

Kin Mining explained the latest assays from the Helens deposit follow results recently recorded at the Fiona, Kyte, Rangoon deposits and the East Lynne prospect.

The company indicated these results are to be included in a revised Mineral Resource estimate and the current Definitive Feasibility Study.

The system remains open at depth and along strike with further drilling planned shortly.

The recent drilling at the Helens and Helens South deposits returned wide, high-grade intercepts, with better assays including:

HE17RC009
24m at 5.7 grams per tonne gold from surface, including 1m at 100g/t gold;

HE17RC020
15m at 3.7g/t gold from 1m, including 9m at 5.4g/t gold;

HS17RC015
8m at 7g/t gold from 26m, including 2m at 20.3g/t gold;

HE17RC022
12m at 5.8g/t gold from 2m, including 5m at 10.7g/t gold;

HE17RC049
12m at 3.2g/t gold from 38m, including 5m at 6.1g/t gold;

HS17RC019
11m at 3.2g/t gold from 39m, including 5m at 4.4g/t gold;

HE17RC002
30m at 2.2g/t gold from 23m, including 6m at 4.8g/t gold; and

HE17RC044
28m at 1.8g/t gold from surface, including 7m at 4.2g/t gold.

“Drilling results to date have exceeded our expectations at Cardinia, with consistent shallow and high-grade successes at Kyte, Rangoon, East Lynne, Fiona and now Helens,” Kin Mining managing director Don Harper said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The ongoing drilling campaign continues to increase our confidence in the resource base of the LGP.

“We are on track to establish a strong maiden Ore Reserve which will underpin a larger 1.2 million tonnes per annum processing operation planned for Cardinia.”

Email: info@kinmining.com.au

Website: www.kinmining.com.au

Musgrave Minerals Continues Golden Run at Cue Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) received more good news in the form of assay results for a further nine drill holes from the current reverse circulation (RC) drilling program underway at the Break of Day and Lena gold prospects on the company’s Joint Venture Cue project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.

The Cue project is a joint venture with Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR).

Musgrave Minerals said the latest results had extended the high-grade Break of Day gold system a further 50 metres south with mineralisation remaining open to the south and down dip.

Intersections include:

17MORC044
11m at 8.8 grams per tonne gold from 114m down hole, including 3m at 28.6g/t gold from 116m.

Infill drilling at Lena to update the shallow oxide resource intersected:

17MORC011
2m at 6.2g/t gold from 64m down hole;

17MORC012
8m at 2.3g/t gold from 38m down hole;

17MORC013
2m at 3.1g/t gold from 20m down hole; and

17MORC014
3m at 8.9g/t gold from 29m down hole, including 1m at 21.2g/t gold from 30m.

Musgrave indicated there to be assay results pending for a further 29 drill holes in the current program.

“The gold results at Break of Day continues to impress with a further extension to the south,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The mineralisation is still open and we hope to continue to grow the resource with further drilling.

“The positive shallow gold results at Lena will enhance the oxide component of the resource.

“We continue to be encouraged by the gold results and together with the recently released metallurgical test work we are confident the project has a successful future.”

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Website: www.musgraveminerals.com.au

Alliance Resources Scores High-Grades at Wilcherry JV

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Alliance Resources (ASX: AGS) received results for circulation (RC) drilling carried out on Target 3 at the Weednanna gold prospect in South Australia.

Alliance Resources explained Weednanna is the most advanced gold prospect at the Wilcherry project Joint Venture between Alliance (51%) and Tyranna Resources (ASX: TYX) (49%).

The RC drilling program was designed to test the strike, dip, and plunge continuity of three possible high-grade gold mineralised shoots at Weednanna referred to as Targets 1, 2 and 3.

A total of 24 RC holes were completed returning new gold intercepts (>5g/t gold) at Target 3, including:

17WDRC017 
14m at 36.1 grams per tonne gold from 118m, including 5m at 95.6g/t gold from 120m, and 7m at 7.4g/t gold from 147m, including 1m at 40g/t gold from 149m;

17WDRC021
3m at 5.5g/t gold in hole from 144m; and

17WDRC022
3m at 3.1g/t gold from 84m.

Alliance Resources claimed the recent gold intercepts are amongst the best grades reported from Weednanna and highlight the mineral potential of this prospect.

“The Joint Venture’s current exploration program led by Alliance includes re-logging all available RC chips and diamond core from Weednanna with the objectives of identifying structural and lithological controls on the distribution of gold, constructing a 3D geological model of the prospect, and planning further exploration with a view towards defining a mineral resource,” Alliance Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“During the re-logging program, it has become apparent that due to the high metamorphic grade of the rocks at Weednanna, deformation is ductile and likely to occur along bedding planes.

“As a consequence, the distribution of gold may be high-grade and discrete, but laterally extensive.”

Alliance has completed a program of assaying historic sample pulps, drilled between 2007 and 2013 to define iron mineralisation, for gold and XRF analyses for other metals, from Weednanna and other prospects.

The company indicated it has a further program of RC drilling planned to test for extensions to, and infill, high-grade gold intersections at Weednanna returned from the recent RC drilling program.

Alliance stressed many other high-grade gold targets exist at the Weednanna prospect.

Email: info@allianceresources.com.au

Website: www.allianceresources.com.au

Musgrave Minerals Achieves Gold Recoveries from Break of Day

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) completed initial metallurgical test work at the Break of Day prospect on the Cue Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.

Musgrave Minerals is in Joint Venture at the Cue Project with Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) and is taking its current 60 per cent interest in the project to 80 per cent.

Musgrave explained that three composite fresh rock samples were collected from nine representative drill holes across the strike of the gold lodes at Break of Day that were representative of the various gold lodes, ore types and feed grades for potential future mining and processing activities.

These samples were composited from reverse circulation RC drill samples recently completed at the prospect.

Musgrave said the results had confirmed gold recoveries utilising conventional gravity and cyanide techniques.

The test work demonstrated very rapid leaching kinetics for all three samples and overall recovery of between 95.7 per cent and 96.3 per cent (average 96 per cent to produce a maximum leaching of gold after the first eight hours.

In addition, exceptionally high gravity recoveries of between 80.8 per cent and 86.1 per cent (average 84.2 per cent) were achieved from a single pass through the Knelson concentrator.

Musgrave claimed the gravity recoveries to be very high in comparison to typical Yilgarn gold ores.

“This is an excellent result at Break of Day and will enable the Company to assess multiple processing options going forward,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The exceptionally high gravity recovery will enable flexible processing and potentially reduce capital and operating costs.”

Musgrave Minerals indicated there is further metallurgical test work currently being planned for the Lena gold deposit with samples to be provided from the current RC drill program.

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Website: www.musgraveminerals.com.au

Middle Island Resources Conducting Drilling and Geophysical Surveys at Sandstone

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Middle Island Resources (ASX: MDI) is kicking off RC and diamond drilling programs in conjunction with an infill gravity survey at the company’s Sandstone gold project in Western Australia.

Middle Island Resources indicated a program of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling is to commence at the Sandstone project’s Macintyre prospect with a view to confirming and extending shallow oxide gold mineralisation identified in previous RAB drilling.

Approximately 33 holes are to be drilled in two adjacent areas where previous RAB drilling identified shallow, sub-horizontal to shallow northeast dipping, gold mineralisation hosted within structurally disrupted, south-eastern extensions of the Shillington BIF sequence.

Middle Island has designed the RC drilling to identify and quantify additional shallow gold mineralisation that may contribute towards the early re-commissioning of the Sandstone gold processing operation.

The proposed diamond drilling will be carried out at the project’s Two Mile Hill deposit with two deep holes of approximately 500 metres each designed to achieve two key objectives.

The first hole (Prop 239) is designed to test the depth extent of sheeted vein/stockwork gold mineralisation within the northern extremity of the Two Mile Hill tonalite.

The second hole (Prop 235) will target dual electromagnetic (EM) plates Middle Island has interpreted to represent lenses of massive pyrite replacement associated with gold mineralisation within the deeper elements of the Shillington BIF package.

The infill survey was recommended to be conducted by a recently-completed targeting study to refine the resolution of known and interpreted syntectonic, felsic intrusive bodies that were identified as a key element controlling to location of gold mineralisation within the project.

“Middle Island is now embarking on an exciting, multi-faceted exploration campaign within the Sandstone project footprint,” Middle Island Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“All elements of the campaign are entirely consistent with the primary objective of building a robust production schedule prior to recommissioning the Sandstone gold processing plant.

“The results are eagerly anticipated and Management looks forward to keeping shareholders regularly updated on progress.”

Email: info@middleisland.com.au

Website: www.middleisland.com.au

Echo Resources Strikes Early at Yandal

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Echo Resources (ASX: EAR) declared early success from the current exploration program being undertaken on the Yandal greenstone belt in Western Australia.

Echo Resources explained the Yandal program is aimed at building a global gold Resource and Reserve base to underpin re-start of the company’s Bronzewing processing hub.

Echo explained the drilling being carried out in the Empire District initially targeted the Orpheus gold prospect located eight kilometres south of the Julius gold deposit.

The drilling has demonstrated gold mineralisation remains open to the north and south with intersections to date including:


EWAC004
19 metres at 1.32 grams per tonne gold from 52m, including 8m at 2.38;


EWAC015
4m at 9.37g/t gold from 56m;


EWAC016
8m at 3g/t gold from 48m;


EWAC027
32m at 0.8g/t gold from 32m;


EWAC051
8m at 5.23g/t gold from 48m; and


EWAC054
16m at 1.81g/t gold from 68m.

“First results from this large exploration program are highly encouraging and have demonstrated that gold mineralisation at Orpheus extends over more than 800 metres of strike,” Echo Resources CEO Simon Coxhell said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The system remains open to the north-west and south-east and further drilling to expand the known gold mineralisation is planned in the coming weeks.

“These results support Echo’s ability to expand its Resource and Reserve base with an active exploration program ongoing.

“Over the past 12 months we have collated and compiled all available geological and geophysical data to interpret and understand regional controls on gold mineralisation.

“This work has defined a number of targets considered highly-prospective for new million-ounce gold deposit.”

Echo Resources outlined its exploration program to be focussed on building Reserves across the company’s Yandal landholding to provide sufficient mine life to support a decision to mine.

Echo believes it can quickly move to production utilising its key infrastructure asset, the 2 million tonnes per annum Bronzewing processing hub, which a bankable feasibility study has confirmed can be refurbished and operational in less than six months from a decision to mine for a capital outlay of $12.5 million.

Email: admin@echoresources.com.au

Website: www.echoresources.com.au

Alliance Resources Outlines Potential Gold Occurrence

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Alliance Resources (ASX: AGS) claimed to have continued definition of a gold anomaly during recent exploration activities carried out at the company’s Nepean South nickel-gold project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.

Alliance Resources said the previously reported gold anomaly has been better defined following a third phase of auger soil sampling at the project, located 26 kilometres southwest of Coolgardie.

The company declared the main gold anomaly (>6.5ppb) is now 1,350m in length, has a variable width up to 850m and remains open in the north.

Alliance considers the size and concentration of this gold anomaly could be potentially indicative of a primary gold occurrence.

Alliance has just completed a third phase of auger soil sampling at the Nepean South project consisting 642 samples collected on a 50 metre by 50 metre and 50 metre by 200 metre spaced grid to infill and extend previously identified gold anomaly defined by 200 metre by 50 metre spaced sampling.

“The results of this soil survey have better defined the main gold anomaly (>6.5ppb) at Nepean South,” Alliance Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The anomaly strikes northwest, is 1,350 metres long, has a variable width up to 850 metres, and is open to the north.”

The recent work also identified a second area of gold in soil anomalism via a 200m spaced line located 650m to the northeast of the main gold anomaly.

Alliance has determined this area warrants infill and extensional auger soil sampling.

“The next phase of exploration at the project is infill and extensional auger soil sampling in the north of the survey area to continue to further define the distribution of gold to assist with targeting primary gold mineralisation,” Alliance said.

“A 342 sample program is proposed using a combination of 50 metre by 50 metre and 50 metre by 200 metre spaced grids.

“Alliance proposes to test the anomalies with aircore drilling shortly after soil sampling concludes.”

Email: info@allianceresources.com.au

Website: www.allianceresources.com.au

Plymouth Minerals Encounters More High-Grade Spanish Lithium

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Plymouth Minerals (ASX: PLH) released drilling results from a maiden drilling program at the company’s San Jose lithium project in Spain.

Plymouth Minerals has received results for seven of ten holes completed in the current reverse circulation (RC) and Diamond drill program.

The company said the drilling, and drilling by Joint Venture partner Tolsa, has demonstrated the San Jose Lithium deposit is open along strike and at depth with lithium mineralisation extending from surface to in excess of 250 metres vertical and in excess of 500m along strike.

High-grade intercepts include:

142 metres at 1.2 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O) from 67m;
68m at 1.1 per cent Li2O from 91m;
52m at 1.1 per cent Li2O from 18m;
45m at 1.0 per cent Li2O from surface;
34m at 1.3 per cent Li2O from 103m; and
250m at 1.0 per cent Li2O from surface.

“Drilling confirms San Jose is a globally significant lithium deposit with potential to be significantly enlarged,” Plymouth Minerals said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The deepest hole drilled by Tolsa, hole number SJ-1A, which reached 391.5 metres down-hole and significantly to illustrate the size and scale of the deposit ended with a significant intercept of 6.5 metres at 1.62 per cent Li2O from 386m.

“The deepest diamond hole drilled by Plymouth, MSJ-DD-003 on section 4 reached 250 metres down-hole reported 250 metres at one per cent Li2O and ended in significant grade of 1.08 per cent Li2O.”

Plymouth indicated it is currently reviewing detailed metallurgical testwork reports commissioned by Tolsa for its earlier feasibility study.

Tolsa produced lithium carbonate via a sulphuric acid route and a sulphate roast process with good recoveries.

Plymouth Minerals said it expects to initiate a next stage of the metallurgical testwork program, utilising lessons learned by Tolsa, in the next few weeks to fast track the mineral processing flow-sheet.

Email: admin@plymouthminerals.com

Website: www.plymouthminerals.com