THE DRILL SERGEANT: Crater Gold Mining (ASX: CGN) has begun a detailed evaluation of the High Grade Zone (HGZ) at the company’s Crater Mountain project in Papua New Guinea.

The company has completed a total of 55 metres of adit driving completed and is about to commence an underground drilling program to evaluate the extent of the HGZ.

Crater Gold indicated it has already encountered several zones of crosscutting gold with gold grades of up to 70 grams per tonne gold being returned in channel samples while instances of coarse visible free gold have been recorded during mapping of the underground development.

 

High Grade Zone portal entrance. Source: Company announcement

 

“By developing and exploring underground we can rapidly and cost-effectively evaluate the HGZ,” Crater Gold Mining exploration director Peter Macnab said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Being able to directly map the fresh exposures in the adit and crosscuts will provide us with a better understanding of the controls to mineralisation.

“The opportunity to drill from underground has enormous advantages compared to costly and difficult drilling from surface.”
 
Crater Gold Mining said the detailed geological mapping and sampling of the adit, cross‐cuts and drill core will allow it to develop a comprehensive understanding of the mineralisation than is possible from mapping and drilling from the surface.

The company has obtained a variation of the terms of its EL 1115 Exploration Licence work program to drive an adit with crosscuts and underground drilling in order to target potential gold deposit beneath the surface gougings and shallow underground workings left by local village miners.

When it has completed the current development and drilling at the HGZ, Crater Gold Mining anticipates it will have produced enough data to meet the requirements for the grant of a mining lease – which includes being able to demonstrate it is an economic resource.

At this stage the company said it will apply for a Mining Lease under the PNG Mining Act.

Crater Gold Mining explained the adit and associated crosscuts, currently being developed to initially identify future production zones, will also be used in the mining phase.

This, it expect, will result in the transition from the current development phase to the mining phase with the least additional cost and in the shortest time frame.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Blackham Resources (ASX: BLK) has received results from 18 hole, 3,454 metres RC program recently conducted at the company’s Matilda gold project in Western Australia.

The drilling was carried out to test potential new lode positions at the M1, M2, M3 and M4 deposits at the Matilda Mining Centre.

 

M4 North and M2 hole locations. Source: Company announcement

 

The company said it had been encouraged by the results, in particular those from the M4 North and M2 areas.
 
Results from the M4 North area returned mineralisation at much shallower depths than Blackham was expecting.

Best results include:

–    6 metres at 3.31 grams per tonne gold from 42 metres, including 1 metre at 14.3g/t gold; and

–    4m at 2.64g/t gold from 29m.

Drilling conducted during the program was the first deeper drilling underneath the M2 deposit.

Blackham explained the M2 deposit is characterised by broad zones of lower-grade mineralisation within the oxide zone, however recent investigations have suggested that higher-grade mineralisation may exist in fresh rock, similar to the high-grade shoots that extend beneath the M1 and M4 Deposits.

The company has interpreted these shoots to plunge northwards from beneath the pit floor.

Only two holes were drilled as part of this program with a best result of:

–    7m at 3.38 g/t gold from 197m.

“Unfortunately the hole did not reach target depth due to unstable ground conditions and failed to test all potential lode positions,” Blackham Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“However, the result does provide proof of concept and encouragement for further depth testing that may identify potential underground extensions to mineralisation.”

Results from M1 and M3 confirmed the presence of interpreted lode positions with M3 demonstrating mineralisation continuity.

Blackham said this provided it with some confidence new resources can be found between M2, M3 and M4.

Further interpretation of drill results and planning of future programs is underway.

“Open pit targets are currently being prioritized, however the company believes vast potential remains for discovering new deep deposits that could sustain a long-lived mining operation,” Blackham said.

“The exploration focus has also broadened beyond the immediate mining centre and planning is underway for regional exploration programs designed to discover new deposits.”

Preparations are also well advanced for the company’s maiden drilling program to be conducted at the Williamson Mine.

Blackham indicated this drilling will test for extensions of mineralisation beneath the existing open pit that would facilitate a cut-back.

Blackham’s resource inventory at the Matilda gold project is currently 25 million tonnes at 1.9g/t gold for 1.5 million ounces of gold.

The company has taken the Matilda Mining Centre resource from 68,000 ounces from its acquisition in November 2011, to 14 million tonnes at 1.8g/t gold for 784,000 ounces of gold.

 

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cradle Resources (ASX: CXX) has received the validated final assay results from the final four holes (PHDH008, 011, 012, and 013) of a 13 hole drill program recently conducted at the company’s Panda Hill niobium project in Tanzania.

Cradle explained the drill program was designed to confirm the grade and geology that had been indicated by historical drilling at the project, from which the current 56 million tonnes at 0.5 per cent niobium inferred JORC resource had been defined.

The drilling was also planned to obtain representative metallurgical samples for testing.

Highlights from the final assays include:

–    68 metres at 0.52 per cent niobium (PHDH008);

–    67m at 0.43 per cent niobium (PHDH011);

–    61m at 0.61 per cent niobium (PHDH012); and

–    72m at 0.48 per cent niobium (PHDH013).

 

Local geology of Panda Hill showing the location of the 2013 drill holes (red). Source: Company announcement

 

“We are pleased with the results from the last 4 holes,” Cradle Resources managing director Grant Davey said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These holes continue to confirm that the historical drilling results can be repeated and, in the case of Hole PHDH013, dramatically extended.

“This 13 hole drill program has supported our belief that there is significant resource upside potential available at depth and within the poorly drilled regions of the carbonatite deposit.

“The significant intercepts of the 2013 drill program clearly indicate that this is a world class niobium resource with significant economic potential.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has prioritised six nickel targets at the company’s East Laverton property in the NE Goldfields of Western Australia.

St George Mining recently reclaimed 100 per cent ownership of all nickel prospects at the East Laverton property after BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) pulled out of the Project Dragon Joint Venture.

The company considers the identification of the six priority targets to be the launch of a new nickel exploration program over the best nickel prospects across the entire property.

“Our technical team has reviewed the nickel targets across the entire East Laverton property and selected six priority prospects,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.     

“Our exploration is now unconstrained by third party interests and we can expedite the exploration work to test the best targets.

“This is the first time we have been able to execute a nickel exploration program on a property‐wide scale and we are very excited at these new opportunities.”

St George explained its next phase of exploration at these targets will involve ground electro‐magnetic (EM) surveys, which it expects will identify any conductors that may represent  massive nickel sulphides at depth.

These would then be tested by drilling.

Previous work has already identified EM anomalies at Cambridge and St George anticipates the implementation of new, more powerful EM technology will further validate these conductors, and better define the drill sites to test for massive sulphide bodies.

The company also has a fixed loop EM (FLEM) survey planned for specifically selected areas of the Cambridge dunite body.

 

The priority nickel targets are shown over aeromagnetics (TMI) at the East Laverton property. Source: Company announcement

 

The six priority targets identified are:

Cambridge:  A large lenticular dunite body located on the Stella Range Ultramafic Belt. Drilling at Cambridge in 2012 identified minor amounts of nickel sulphides associated with PGE (Platinum Group Elements.

Desert Dragon North: An area on the Stella Range Ultramafic Belt immediately south of Cambridge, situated on a NE‐SW lineament called the Churchill lineament, which St George believes may be a control on mineralisation.

Desert Dragon ‐ Windsor: Covers over 10 strike kilometres of ultramafic along the Stella Range Belt. Drilling in 2012 identified disseminated nickel sulphides in two holes, returning 6 metres at 0.48 per cent nickel, and 4m at 0.57 per cent nickel.

Bristol: Presents as a large and strong TMI (Total Magnetic Intensity) response on the Central Ultramafic Belt with an extensive strike over 7 strike kilometres of moderate to high manganese oxide ultramafics.

Drilling in 2012 identified minor amounts of nickel sulphides and anomalous levels of PGE.

Athena: Located along the north of the major regional Minigwal Belt and on the Churchill lineament and displays a strong TMI (Total Magnetic Intensity) response.

Cambridge North:  Interpreted from the strong Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) response as a thick ultramafic zone covering over 3 strike kilometres on the northern extension of the Stella Range Belt. No drilling has been completed at this time.

The northern part of Cambridge as well as Desert Dragon North, Bristol, Athena and parts of the Desert Dragon‐Windsor prospect were previously within the Project Dragon JV with BHP.

All these targets are now owned 100 per cent by St George.

Disclaimer: The Roadhouse holds St George Mining shares

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Plymouth Minerals (ASX: PLH) has secured an agreement to acquire an 80 per cent beneficial interest in the Morille tungsten-tin project in Spain.

Plymouth has negotiated to acquire a 100 per cent holding in Spanish company, Castilla Mining, which has an 80 per cent beneficial interest the Morille project from Aurum Mining.

The Morille project comprises five Investigation Permits covering multiple historic underground and open pit tungsten and tin mines covering a contiguous area of over 57 square kilometres.

Over 50 mineral occurrences/workings have been documented within the tenements, the majority of which were small artisanal workings operated during fragmented tenure ownership.

The larger of these historical mines within the project area are known as the; Alegria, Claudina, Mundaca and Anarbellas tungsten mines.

Plymouth described the project as a brownfields exploration and development opportunity.

It is located in the Salamanca Province, within the Castilla y León Region, in central Spain.

Plymouth said it views the project to be an excellent opportunity, which produced a sought-after, high-quality tungsten concentrate until its closure in 1985 due a rapid decline in the tungsten price.

The company aims to commence exploration activities in the near future, and plans to explore for extensions of known mineralisation, repeats and new discoveries.

A first phase of drilling is planned for late 2013 or early 2014.

“The Morille project brings together the specialty metal and development skills of the Plymouth Board and management and combines them with an advanced tungsten project in a tungsten producing region,” Plymouth Resources managing director Adrian Byass said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The tungsten price is robust with strong fundamentals going forward.

“This acquisition complements other projects currently under review by Plymouth in the region and is further evidence of the company’s growing regional focus in the Iberian Peninsula.

 

Location of Morille project in relation to other Plymouth
projects under review in the Iberian region. Source: Company
announcement

 

“We consider the acquisition has exciting potential to deliver a solid tungsten project in a mining friendly district, and the company remains well funded to acquire the project.

“We look forward to working with our partner, Aurum Mining PLC in advancing this project as rapidly as possible.”