Octagonal hooks high-grade gold at Frenchman’s Reef

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Octagonal Resources (ASX: ORS) has received results of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling recently completed at Frenchman’s Reef, Wehla, in Central Victoria.

Frenchman’s Reef is located within the Wehla Goldfield, 60 kilometres northwest of the company’s Porcupine Flat gold processing plant at Maldon, and just over one kilometre to the north of its Black Reef open pit.

The Wehla Goldfield historically produced around 100,000 ounces of high-grade gold from a two kilometre long line of reef, however, as Octagonal explained, the company has yet to gain a full understanding of the structural controls and nugget effect on the distribution of gold.

 

Main Wehla reefs and historic drilling results. Source: Company announcement

 

Octagonal is currently working to resolve these issues by mining a trial open pit at Black Reef, which it anticipates will supply information to assist in interpreting drilling results and justify a larger open pit operation in the Wehla Goldfield.

Assay results of recent drilling include:

–    6 metres at 24.3 grams per tonne gold from 18 metres, including 1 metre at 138.8 grams per tonne gold from 20 metres;

–    1m at 20g/t gold from 44m; and

–    2m at 4.1g/t gold from 33m.

“The results from this drilling program confirm that there is high-grade and nuggetty gold in the Wehla Goldfield,” Octagonal Resources managing director Anthony Gray said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“With fantastic results like 6 metres at 24 grams gold surrounded by lower grades it is essential that we understand the nugget effect and distribution of gold in this goldfield.

“This is exactly why we are currently mining a trial open pit at Black Reef, because if the high-grade gold is more widespread than indicated in drilling, there is the potential for substantial near-surface gold in this goldfield.”