Excelsior scores bonanza results from Zoroastrian drilling
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Excelsior Gold (ASX: EXG) has received assay results from drilling conducted at the Zoroastrian deposit in the company’s Kalgoorlie North gold project, which it claims has continued to demonstrate the high-grade gold resource potential of the area.
The latest drilling has returned a notable intercept of 4 metres at 753 grams per tonne gold within the broader interval of 11m at 275g/t gold from 128 metres, which included an individual one metre interval assaying 2640g/t gold and represents the Royal Mint Lode position to the west of the previously mined Zoroastrian open pit.
Zoroastrian drilling results and structural model – cross sections. Source: Company announcement
The company pointed out that this particular intersection, as remarkable as it may be, is not the highest grade drill result recorded in the Zoroastrian area.
This feat was achieved in 1990 by Aberfoyle Gold, which intersected 9.8m at 1,746g/t gold from 31.8m and included 2m at 2,134g/t gold from 36.6m depth.
Indicated and Inferred gold resources of 3.19 million tonnes at 2.79g/t gold for 286,300 ounces defined to date at Zoroastrian are restricted to less than 220m vertical depth.
“The current drilling is designed to extend the gold mineralisation adjacent to the western sheared dolerite contact along strike and to approximately 350 metres depth over 900 metres of the total interpreted two kilometre strike length of the gold mineralised system,” Excelsior Gold explained it is ASX announcement.
The company said the drill results above and others: including 5m at 3.01g/t gold from 89m and 3m at 5.01g/t gold from 101m; extend the stockwork and vein gold mineralisation in the Zoroastrian area to the north and establish mineralisation for over 1.4 kilometres of strike.
A deeper result of 1m at 65.0g/t Au from 187m has been interpreted by the company to represents the intersection of the Zoroastrian West structure which is located approximately 40m east of the Royal Mint mineralisation.
Excelsior has also completed shallow RC drilling immediately to the south of the Zoroastrian resource to infill previously reported gold intercepts over 240m of strike
“The infill results to date confirm the extension of shallow mineralisation to the south in areas hosting historical shallow gold workings but where no previous drilling is evident,” Excelsior said.
Recent Zoroastrian south drilling results include:
– 10m at 1.98g/t gold from 38m;
– 12m at 1.37g/t gold from 29m; and
– 17m at 1.16g/t gold from 0 metres.
Excelsior indicated it still has approximately 17,000m of drilling is planned for the current drill program which is scheduled for completion in January 2013.