Northern Star increases Paulsens potential

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Northern Star Resources has received a boost to its production target hopes in the form of high-grade drilling results from a recently discovered fault offset limb running parallel to the main Voyager One lode at the company’s Paulsens gold mine In Western Australia.

Results from the recent drilling at Paulsens include:

–    5.0 metres at 16.4 grams per tonne gold, including 1.15 metres at 44.5 grams per tonne gold;

–    3.2 m at 12.3 g/t gold;

–    4.5 m at 9.5 g/t gold;

–    4.6 m at 9.6 g/t gold; and

–    3.0 m at 6.3 g/t gold.

The new high grade zone is a fault offset of the Voyager One lode immediately adjacent to the area currently being mined.

 

High grade drilling in un-development resource outline of the upper zone offset limb. Source: Company announcement

 

The company is pleased by this as it said it can be included in the 2012 mine plan easily and quickly.

Northern Star said this will help underpin increases in production and mine life.

The company is now targeting an increase in production at Paulsens from around 80,000 ounces of gold per annum to 100,000 ounces of gold per annum.

It also aims to produce a further 100,000ozpa at its neighbouring Ashburton project.

According to Northern Star managing director Bill Beament the latest results continued to highlight the exploration potential at Paulsens, not just at depth, but within the immediate surrounds and, more importantly, in the upper levels where the capital infrastructure has already been spent.

“These are great results by any standards but they are particularly valuable in this case because the mineralisation can be cheaply and easily mined, providing a rapid boost to production and cashflow,” Beament said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

As well as adding to the company’s performance forecasts, Northern Star said it considers the results to be important as they highlight potential to find additional gold mineralisation within the existing Paulsens mine area, which has been exposed to little or no exploration and evaluation.

As part of the 100,000oz per annum expansion strategy, the mine will take delivery of a second development jumbo in December.

Once this unit arrives, development out to the offset limb will commence.

Hemisphere picks up encouraging drill results

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Perth-based diversified exploration play Hemisphere Resources has announced the receipt of further encouraging results.

The results stem from a recently completed drilling program carried out on the company’s Yandicoogina South iron project.

The Yandicoogina project has a defined maiden JORC Indicated Resource of 4.3 million tonnes at 55.8 per cent iron.

The project is located six kilometres south of Rio Tinto’s Yandicoogina mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and according to Hemisphere represents a tributary of the Marillana Creek system.

 

Location of the Yandicoogina South Project. Source: Company announcement

 

Hemisphere Resources managing director Danny Costick said the aims of the recent drilling program were to test mineralisation in a tributary channel running south from the main Yandicoogina South ore body.

It was also set the tasks of testing the outcropping surface mineralisation the company had previously identified on hills around the existing Indicated Resource, and to infill gaps in the current drilling grid.

“Drilling at Yandicoogina South continues to return encouraging iron values, and each campaign adds to our growing understanding of the mineralisation,” Costick said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
 
“The latest results extend the known mineralisation and further extensions to the south require the grant of additional tenements that are currently under application.”

The company noted the surface rock chips recorded in the bedrock mineralisation were not replicated in the latest drilling.

It said this demonstrated the mineralisation to be a surface feature with no development at depth.

Altona drilling returns encouraging results

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Altona Mining announced a batch of encouraging drilling results from the company’s 100 per cent-owned Roseby copper project located in the Mt Isa-Cloncurry mining district in Queensland.
 

Altona has completed a 15 hole and 2,850 metre RC drilling program at the Ivy Ann copper-gold deposit, situated 30 kilometres south-east of the main Roseby project area.

The company identified the most significant result from the drilling program to be a high-grade portion of mineralisation of 2m at 19 per cent copper, which was intersected at shallow levels at the north of the deposit where it remains open to the north.

Altona said it had designed the drilling to increase resources and improve understanding of the continuity and style of mineralisation at Ivy Ann.

The drilling will also provide the company with material for initial metallurgical test work.

Highlights received from 12 drillholes so far at a 0.30 per cent copper cut-off grade include:

–    13 metres at 3.42 per cent copper and 0.45 grams per tonne gold from 21m, including 2 metres at 19.4 per cent copper and 2.69 grams per tonne gold from 22 metres;
 
–    25m at 1.21 per cent copper and 0.15 g/t gold from 184m, including 9m at 2.17 per cent copper and 0.29 g/t gold from 185m;

–    23m at 1.18% copper and 0.25 g/t gold from 41m, including 7m at 2.16 per cent copper and 0.48 g/t gold from 42m; and

–    35m at1.10 per cent copper from 88m.

“The significance of the Ivy Ann deposit is that it has the potential to provide supplementary feed to the proposed new mine and mill at Little Eva at a higher grade than the average grade of Little Eva,” Altona Mining said in its ASX announcement.

“Drilling was designed to test possible extensions to the west, north and down-dip and to infill existing drilling.

“The majority of the holes intersected sulphide copper-gold mineralisation.

“Assay results have been received for 12 holes and confirm continuations to north, west and down dip.

“Numerous zones of mineralisation up to 35 metres down hole were intersected often including high grade intervals above one per cent copper.”

Encounter hits new copper target

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Encounter Resources has identified a new large scale copper oxide position to the south of the BM1 prospect.

Broad spaced aircore drilling completed in October at the BM7 prospect has identified broad zones of copper/cobalt anomalism with a number of holes ending in mineralisation.

The BM1 and BM7 prospects are two of several prospects situated within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Yeneena project.

The Yeneena project covers 1300 square kilometres of the Paterson Province in Western Australia.

The targets Encounter has identified at Yeneena are located adjacent to major regional faults and have been located through electromagnetics, geochemistry and structural targeting.

 

Yeneena project leasing and targets areas. Source: Company announcement

The BM7 prospect is located 2.5 kilometres south of Encounter’s BM1 copper discovery and, according to the company, has extended the area of copper oxide mineralisation along the regionally extensive McKay fault to over 8km in strike.

“The eight kilometre long copper system includes the BM1 high grade copper discovery, the BM6 copper oxide position and the recent BM7 oxide discovery,” Encounter Resources said in its ASX nnouncement.

“Encounter controls a further eleven kilometres of strike along the McKay Fault to the south of the BM7 discovery.

“The location of the higher grade copper mineralisation along the McKay fault is coincident with the intersection of three identified north-east trending structures.”

The north-east trending structure at BM7, the Queen fault, is mineralised over 3.5km of strike and remains open along strike.

Encounter said the copper oxide mineralisation it has seen at BM7 is most extensive at the intersection of the Queen and McKay faults.

“At this location, the copper oxide anomalism in excess of 0.1 per cent copper extended over an area approximately one kilometre by 750 metres.

“It is also noted that the anomalism seen at this location often extends from the base of cover to the bottom of the aircore drill holes.”

Encounter has commenced a two hole diamond drilling program at BM7.

The first hole in this program tested a discrete electromagnetic conductor along the McKay fault in the north of BM7.

A zone of visible disseminated copper sulphide mineralisation was observed from a depth of 246m to 260m.

The company will now conduct a downhole EM survey to determine if the observed copper sulphides are associated with the modelled conductor.

The second diamond hole has commenced that the company anticipates to be completed within the next two weeks.

Millennium encouraged by Nullagine drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Millennium Minerals has received assay results from RC drilling undertaken this year at the Crow and Condor deposits, situated within the Golden Gate area of the company’s Nullagine gold project.
 
Millennium recently completed a total of 15 Reverse Circulation holes for 987 metres at the Condor and Crow deposits at the Golden Gate area.

The company said recent intersections received from the Crow & Condor deposits at the Golden Gate area demonstrate them to be open along strike and down dip.

Recent gold intercepts include:

–    6 metres at 7.17 grams per tonne gold from 48 metres (Crow);

–    9m at 4.77 g/t gold from 75m (Condor);

–    6m at 3.28 g/t gold from 18m (Condor);

–    4m at 4.06 g/t gold from 18m (Condor);

–    3m at 5.14 g/t gold from 39m (Condor);

–    6m at 1.79 g/t gold from 64m (Condor);

–    3m at 3.26 g/t gold from 10m (Condor);

–    3m at 2.41 g/t gold from 43m (Crow); and

–    2m at 3.15 g/t gold from 18m (Crow).

The Golden Gate area consists of six deposits; Golden Gate (ABCD Reef), plus the five Golden Gate satellites deposits of Falcon, Condor, Crow, Harrier and G-Reef.

 

Golden Gate and Satellite Deposits Location Plan. Source: Company announcement

The RC drilling program was designed to infill, test along-strike extensions, and for parallel lodes to the mineralisation outside the current proposed pit designs at the Golden Gate deposits.

“Results have now been received for all the recent RC holes drilled at Condor and Crow,” Millennium Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

“Previously drilling at Golden Gate has been somewhat constrained by the relatively steep topography.

“However, the Company has committed to fully testing the area to realise its’ potential, and has planned an additional 6,000 metres RC drilling.

“The Golden Gate area is highly significant to the Nullagine project. Although the deposits are relatively small, they contain the highest grades in the whole project.

“Due to their high grades, the deposits at the Golden Gate area are expected to impact very strongly on anticipated project cash flow once construction of the 1.5 million tonnes processing facility is completed at Golden Eagle in 2012.”

Santa delivers early for Integra

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Integra Mining said that recent RC drilling has provided further confirmation of the Santa trend’s potential for an open pit as well as underground production for the Randalls gold project in Western Australia.

Additional diamond drilling undertaken at the Cock-eyed Bob prospect has also maintained its delivery of strong results.

Results from drilling on the Santa Area include:

–    14 metres at 5.58 grams per tonne gold, including 5 metres at 8.47 grams per tonne gold;

–    5m at 13.21 g/t gold;

–    9m at 4.68 g/t gold; and

–    7m at 4.21 g/t gold.

Cock-Eyed Bob results include:

–    3.25 metres at 25.10 g/t gold, including 1.65 metres at 47.00 g/t gold.

Santa and Cock-eyed Bob are located 16km east and 13km east, respectively of the company’s Randalls gold processing facility.

According to Integra the Santa Trend carries on at depth displaying potential for underground extraction while also continuing along strike demonstrating potential for additional open-pit production.

The company remains confident the high-grade BIF-hosted gold deposits at Cock-eyed Bob, Santa and Maxwells continue to emerge as potential future sources of underground and open pit material for the Randalls gold project.

Integra commenced pre-stripping at the Maxwells openpit and stockpiling ore in the June Quarter in preparation for fully fledged production from Maxwells in 2012.

That company said it anticipates that, subject to regulatory approvals, trial underground mining will commence in December at the Cock-eyed Bob deposit.

“An agreement has been reached with a preferred underground mining contractor,” Integra Mining said in its ASX announcement.

“The Mining Proposal has been lodged with the Department of Mining and Petroleum in preparation for a December start-up.

“If the trial mining proves successful, underground mining will continue to the next level at Cock-eyed Bob and underground development at the Santa gold deposit will commence.

“Upon completion of open pit mining operations at the Maxwells gold deposit, underground development would commence from the base of the open pit.”

Phoenix Gold increases Resources

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Kalgoorlie-based Phoenix Gold has increased its total Mineral Resources to 29.6 million tonnes at 1.8 grams per tonne gold for 1.68 million ounces of gold.

This represents an increase of 72 per cent to the resources when Phoenix released its Prospectus for its Initial Public Offering and an increase of 182 per cent from when the company initially acquired the project.

The recent increase comprises maiden Resources at Rayjax and Magdala.

It also increases Castle Hill through a recent drilling program and by acquisitions made within the Broads Dam area during the year.

 

Project location and Phoenix tenements. Source: Company announcement

The company said it anticipates further Resource growth once it has received results from a 70,000 metre drilling program currently underway at Broads Dam, Castle Hill and Ora Banda, which commenced in September.

Phase 1 of this program comprises 32,000 metres to be completed in the 2012 financial year through a combination of reverse circulation (“RC”) for resource growth and rotary air blast (“RAB”) for target generation in greenfields areas.

Phoenix is expecting drill results from Castle Hill to be ready by December with a further Resource update based on all recent drilling anticipated in the March Quarter next year.

Phoenix Gold managing director Jon Price said the Resource upgrade to 1.68 million ounces had given the company confidence to continue to push ahead with its strategy.

“This result is an important milestone for Phoenix, not just because we have shown an ability to deliver on our promises, but because we have clearly demonstrated the upside potential of the project area and confirmed the strategy to grow the Resources further to build the platform for a significant mining project pipeline,” Price said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Phoenix is now in a strong position to generate early cash flow from treatment of stockpiles and self-fund development of a number of mines commencing with Catherwood in early 2012.

“This cash flow will allow us to continue our targeted greenfields and brownfields exploration programs while minimising dilution for Phoenix shareholders.”

Robust drilling develops Batu Hitam understanding

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Robust Resources has received a string of positive assay results from 21 diamond drill holes from its Batu Hitam prospect area, where the company claims over 90 per cent of holes intersected potentially economic mineralised rock.

The company said the exploration drilling program has been useful in expanding its knowledge of the Batu Hitam mineralisation.

Samples from this program will form part of the dataset Robust will use to calculate a maiden resource for the Romang Island project, which it anticipates to announce early December.

 

Batu Hitam map showing continuity and intensity of mineralisation and
open directions for further exploration. Source: Company announcement

The assay results have been reviewed in three sections: Batu Hitam West, Batu Hitam South, and Batu Hitam East.

Batu Hitam West has returned consistent intervals of near-surface gold silver mineralisation as well as underlying polymetallic breccias.

Drilling highlights include:

Batu Hitam West

–    81 metres at 1.24 grams per tonne gold equivalent (0.89 grams per tonne gold, 17 grams per tonne silver) from surface; and

–    13m at 2.52g/t gold equivalent (2.10 g/t gold, 20 g/t silver) from surface, including 2m at 10.49 g/t gold (10.12 g/t gold, 18 g/t silver) from surface.

Batu Hitam South

–    80.5m at 1.02 per cent copper equivalent (0.19 g/t gold, 17 g/t silver, 0.09 per cent copper, 1.20 per cent lead, 1.22 per cent zinc) from 2.5m; and

–    17m at 1.99 g/t gold equivalent (1.11 g/t gold, 42 g/t silver) from 7m including, 3m at 3.95 g/t gold equivalent (3.92 g/t gold, 2 g/t silver).

Batu Hitam East

–    21m at 2.23 per cent copper equivalent (0.56 g/t gold, 81 g/t silver, 0.30 per cent copper, 2.51 per cent lead, 0.75 per cent zinc) from 3m, including 3m at 4.56 per cent copper equivalent (1.66 g/t gold, 210 g/t silver, 0.80 per cent copper, 3.32 per cent lead, 0.48 per cent zinc) from 8m.

“These latest results clearly expand the number of mineralised zones at Batu Hitam and give us added confidence in the potential scale of the Romang Island project,” Robust Resources director Gary Lewis said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The new zones reported today are open in all cardinal directions, and in many cases at depth, and this reaffirms our view about the long term potential for Romang Island.

“It is also important to note that our maiden resource estimate when it is published will only be an interim statement and that further drilling is very likely to substantially increase the mineral resource.

“The company is awaiting some additional assays results from our continuing exploration program and we expect these to be reported prior to the announcement of our resource estimate.”

Talga Gold scores more high-grade hits

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Talga Gold has received final one-metre assay results from a 35-hole Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling exploration program at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Talga Talga gold project in the Pilbara region of  Western Australia.

The 2,626 metre drill program was conducted at the McPhees and Quartzite prospects with drilling designed to explore for a larger zone of gold mineralisation extending along strike and down dip from historic workings and previous RC drilling.

The program consisted 29 drill holes being completed at McPhees, ranging in depths from 24m to 160m downhole depth.

 

McPhees prospect drillhole location plan with selected 2010 and 2011 drill intercepts highlighted. Source: Company announcement

The Quartzite prospect located 1400m northeast from McPhees was subjected to a further six scout drill holes.

Best assay results received included:

–    1 metre at 35.0 grams per tonne gold from 56 metres downhole; and

–    1m at 18.5 g/t gold from 24m downhole.

“The most significant outcome of the program is that drill results have successfully demonstrated gold mineralisation extends for a further 100 metres along strike of where the company intersected high grades in 2010,” Talga Gold said in its announcement to the ASX.

Talga said the gold mineralisation returned from the drilling at McPhees occurs in a higher stratigraphic position than the main target vein, and as such represents a new parallel gold target at the prospect.

The company said the results from Quartzite are also encouraging as they occur a further 1400m along strike.

“The McPhees mineralisation extends at shallow depth, as the gold lodes dip at low angles (35-40°) from surface,” Talga said.

“The shallow depth makes bulk sampling an option to further advance the project.

“Preliminary metallurgical studies on the drill samples will now commence to better understand the nature and grade of the gold mineralised zones defined to date.

“Should the results of the preliminary metallurgical work be positive; studies towards bulk sampling will be assessed.”

The company has also received results of a soil geochemical survey completed over the remainder of the Talga Talga project.

This has identified a number of strong gold anomalies, mostly along strike of the McPhees and Quartzite prospects.

Blackthorn receives encouraging copper assays

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Blackthorn Resources has received copper assay results from the second drill hole of its Phase 5 drilling campaign, which is testing 16 targets at the company’s Mumbwa project in Zambia.

The drill hole was designed to intersect and drill through a higher-grade core of copper mineralisation the company had previously identified at Kitumba.

 

Phase 5 Drill hole location plan for the Kitumba Mineral Resource area, Mumbwa project. Source: Company announcement

Drilled thickness intercepts from the drill hole include:

–    272.6 metres at 0.72 per cent copper between 142.4 metres and 415 metres; which included

–    3.9m at 2.59 per cent copper between 144.6m and 148.5m;

–    12.6m at 1.8 per cent copper between 160.4m and 173m;

–    6m at 1.78 per cent copper between 348m and 354m;

–    9m at 2.85 per cent copper between 362m and 371m; and

–    25m at 1.03 per cent copper between 375m and 400m.

A total of 722 samples of core were taken from the entire length of the drill hole.

Only copper assay results have been received by the company to date as gold assay results for the two completed holes are overdue as a result of delays in freight, customs and international border crossings.

The Phase 5 drilling campaign was designed to enable Blackthorn to test the inferred mineral resource it had already defined at Kitumba.

The aim of the program is to potentially upgrade the mineral resource category by further defining the geological model through tighter drill hole spacing.

The Phase 5 program has been planned to drill test 16 targets at Mumbwa through a series of fourteen ‘infill’ and ‘step-out’ drill holes.

Two more holes are currently being drilled at Kitumba and have reached approximately 301 metres and 316 metres depth, having respective target depths of 500 metres and 600 metres.

“These excellent assay results provide yet more evidence of high-grade copper mineralisation at Mumbwa,” Blackthorn resources managing director Scott Lowe said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Drilling delays notwithstanding, we are very pleased with the results and very positive about the future of this project.

“In addition to enhancing the already attractive mineral resource at Kitumba, the company is very excited about testing new target areas at Mumbwa.

“2012 will no doubt be a very important year at Mumbwa as the project evolves.”