Millennium Minerals confirms pit expansion potential

THE DRILL SERGEANT: East Pilbara-focused gold exploration company Millennium Minerals has received the results of RC drilling at its Nullagine gold project, at the Shearers deposit.

The Nullagine gold project is a 1.24 million ounce gold resource contained within seven deposit locations on granted mining leases.

The largest of these deposits is Golden Eagle located approximately 10 kilometres south of the township of Nullagine and containing 70% of the total Mineral Resource inventory.

Millennium Minerals recently completed a total of 43 Reverse Circulation holes for 2,707 metres at the Shearers deposit.

The drilling program was designed by Millennium to follow up RC drilling carried out earlier this year to further infill and test along strike extensions to mineralisation at Shearers.

Secondary drill targets were drilled in areas adjacent to the current main pit design that contains the bulk of the Shearers mineralisation.

Significant gold intercepts from the recent drilling include:

– 5 metres at 7.51 grams per tonne gold from 49m;

– 17m at 0.91 g/t gold from 65m;

– 4m at 3.60 g/t gold from 13m;

– 6m at 2.18 g/t Au from 35m;

– 8m at 1.42 g/t gold from 24m;

– 9m at 1.01 g/t gold from surface; and

– 11m at 0.72 g/t gold from 29m.

“These results, which follow the recent completion of a comprehensive 43‐hole drilling program, confirm that robust and shallow ore grade mineralisation continues for at least 140 metres to the south of the current proposed Shearers pit design limits,” Millennium Minerals chief executive officer Brian Rear said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“They also demonstrate new zones to the east and west of the main Shearers lode.”

Millennium said the latest results confirm robust and shallow potential ore grade mineralisation continues for at least 140 metres to the south of the current proposed Shearers pit design limits.

The company considers this mineralisation is very likely to be incorporated into an enlarged main pit, or new satellite pit designs once new Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates are completed later this year.

“The results provide Millennium with strong impetus for additional follow‐up drilling, and, similar to our adjacent Otways deposit, demonstrates the potential for additional upside to be realised at Shearers,” Rear continued

“Encouragingly, Millennium’s ongoing drilling program has already resulted in a 25 per cent increase in the Nullagine gold project’s ore reserves and a subsequent 25 per cent increase in forecast gold production, as announced in January 2011.”