Octagonal completes Inferred estimate at Specimen Reef

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Octagonal Resources has estimated an inaugural near-surface Inferred Mineral Resource at the Specimen Reef located near Dunolly in Central Victoria.

The Inferred Resource has come in at 114,000 tonnes grading 2.9 grams per tonne gold for 10,480 ounces of gold.

The estimation follows two phases of reverse circulation drilling, totalling 47 holes for 2,650 metres that were recently completed at the Specimen Reef.

 

Reverse circulation drilling at Specimen Reef. Source: Company announcement

“This Mineral Resource estimate has been calculated within 10 months of the discovery of the deposit in July 2011 and was produced to allow for the application of a mining licence,” Octagonal Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The resource has been calculated over 440 metres strike length and to 60 vertical metres depth.”

Octagonal said substantial scope exists at Specimen Reef for it to increase the size of the resource with additional drilling as gold mineralisation remains unconstrained by drilling along strike to the north, south, and down plunge.

The company indicated it intends to complete further drilling at the Specimen Reef during the second half of 2012 while it awaits the approval of a mining licence application.

“This drilling will focus on identifying near-surface gold mineralisation that can be exploited using open pit mining techniques and transported to Maldon for processing at the company’s Porcupine Flat gold processing facility,” Octagonal said.

“Significantly, the volume of ore already defined at Specimen Reef, if economically viable to mine, represents over nine months full-time feed for the Porcupine Flat gold processing facility and would supplement ore produced from the Union Hill mine at Maldon that is currently being developed to access the Alliance South deposit.”