RNI posts Doolgunna gold discovery

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Reconnaissance drilling carried out by Western Australian mineral exploration company Resource & Investment on the south eastern section of its Doolgunna project has identified a new zone of gold mineralisation, with preliminary grades of up to 14.46 grams per tonne.

The area, now called the Ross’s Reef prospect, remains open in all directions.

The nearology for Resource and Investment’s Doolgunna project is impressive being located just three kilometres from the DeGrussa copper-gold discoveries of ASX-listed Sandfire Resources.

Sandfire has reported combined resources at DeGrussa of 14.33 million tonnes grading 4.6% copper and 1.6 g/t gold.

Resource and Investment began a 950-hole drilling program at Doolgunna in May to test 24 priority Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) copper-gold and vein-style gold targets.

By the end of August, 185 holes had been drilled for a total of 15,500 metres.

“The gold mineralisation discovered at Ross’s Reef appears to occur in east-west trending quartz/ironstone reefs that transect the basaltic lithologies,” Resources and Investment said in its ASX announcement.

To date three drill holes on two drill lines, 200 metres apart have intersected significant gold mineralisation.

“At this stage, both the extent and orientation of the gold mineralisation within the Ross’s Reef prospect are unknown,” The company said.

“To determine the orientation of the gold bearing structure, RNI has recently completed follow-up drilling on the two lines where high values were recovered.”

Ross’s Reef prospect also lies 3km east of the Tony’s Find gold prospect within the Doolgunna Project.

Resource and Investment said its geologists believe the two prospects occur on the same east-west trending structural feature.

The company has recently completed preliminary drilling of the Tony’s Find prospect with samples currently at the laboratory awaiting assay analysis.

The two prospects have a shared history of having been worked intensively by prospectors using metal detectors, although Resource and Investment said no details of these operations are available.

The drilling program at the Doolgunna project has now moved to the Marty’s Patch gold target, with drilling of a VMS target located close to DeGrussa expected to follow.