Junior explorer Askari Metals has bagged further high-grade assay results from a second phase of RC drilling at its Burracoppin gold project in WA’s eastern Wheatbelt region. Significant results include a high-grade hit of 2.5m going 11.24 grams per tonne gold contained within an 8.5m strike running 4.88 g/t gold from 19.5m.
Another 1m intersection grading 13.2 g/t gold from 34m was also recorded.
Notably, eight of the 12 holes drilled returned intercepts of greater than 1 g/t gold over at least 1m.
The drilling focused on the central portion of the current mineralised area and has brought forth a substantially larger lode gold target.
The results have been plugged into the project’s first-ever 3-dimensional mineralisation model and have revealed multiple sub-parallel mineralised units.
The 3D model will allow the company to design drill targets – a feat that has not been achieved at Burracoppin before – and will be concept tested with future drill campaigns. The model is then expected to become more robust as the work continues.
The exploration also tested a second and parallel zone of mineralisation to the west, substantially increasing the project’s potential.
Based on the drill results from its two RC drilling campaigns, the company believes Burracoppin has a potentially large gold endowment.
Askari Metals Vice President of Exploration and Geology, Johan Lambrechts says: “The Phase II drilling focused on the central portion of the current mineralised area and has resulted in a substantially larger lode gold target than we started with, supporting our belief that the Burracoppin Project can support a potentially large gold endowment.”
A further 3000m of RC drilling is planned to start before the end of the month to expand the known areas of gold mineralisation and test new targets.
The work will probe for strike extensional opportunities identified by the first and second phases to the west of the main lode.
In terms of untested zones, the upcoming exploration will explore a new area of potential mineralisation identified by soil samples east of the main mineralised zone.
The opening phase of drilling at Burracoppin in mid-2021 was designed to target mineralised zones and possible extensions associated with historical workings from the 1930s.
Significant intersections from the initial campaign at Burracoppin include 4 metres at 4.27 grams per tonne gold from 25m downhole and 3m that gave up 3.57 g/t gold from 40m.
Askari’s project is located 25km southeast and along strike of ASX-listed Ramelius Resources’ Edna May gold mine. More than 1 million ounces of gold has been produced from the deposit with annual production ranging between 66,000 and 99,000 ounces since 2011.
Geoscience Australia says gold is very rare, only making up about 3 parts per billion of the Earth’s crust.
The geological authority pegs Australia as one of the top gold producers in the world and interestingly says about 60 per cent of the nation’s gold resources occur within Western Australia.
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