Buoyed by positive gold assays, ASX-listed Askari Metals has started a third round of RC drilling at its Burracoppin gold project in WA’s eastern Wheatbelt. The program will probe up to 3500m, with the explorer launching a volley of 13 holes before adjusting its aim and firing another barrage of up to 40 holes.
As it circles back for its third pass over the project, Askari now has several targets to test, including strike extensions of its prospects Burgess Find and Christmas Gift, three untested geochemical anomalies and a depth extension of a stellar 8.5m hit going 4.88 grams per tonne gold.
The multitude of historical workings and shafts across the project from the 1930s provided Askari with plenty of targets for its first program where it easily confirmed the high-grade heritage of its ground. Significant gold hits included 4m at 4.27 g/t gold from 25m and 3m at 3.57 g/t gold from 40m.
The second phase nailed mineralisation west of Burracoppin’s main historical workings, delivering a standout intercept of 2.5m going 11.24 grams per tonne gold within the stellar 8.5m strike running 4.88 g/t gold from 19.5m.
Askari Metals Vice President of Exploration and Geology, Johan Lambrechts said: “The Burracoppin Gold Project has presented the Company with several geochemical, structural and extensional targets. We have systematically tested a number of these targets and have been rewarded with excellent results from each previous phase of RC drilling. Phase III will see the drill rig return to the main mineralised trend and will test areas that have never been drilled before.”
The ongoing drill program aims to add new mineralised zones to Askari’s suite of gold-bearing units already identified at Burracoppin, with its key focus on tabling additional extensions to known mineralisation. The company is eyeing a maiden mineral resource estimate and possibly a scoping study in the future.
Historical data and results from Askari’s preliminary drill holes have been plugged into the project’s first-ever three-dimensional mineralisation model to guide further exploration.
The company expects the model to become more robust as the work continues.
Historical high-grade drill results from Burracoppin include 18m at 5.64 g/t gold from the surface and 14m at 13.7 g/t from 32m.
Askari’s project was mined by artisanal workers in the 1930s, producing grades of up to 49g/t.
Notably, along strike and 25km to the north-east lies ASX-listed Ramelius Resources’ Edna May gold mine. More than 1 million ounces of gold has been produced from the mine, with annual production ranging between 66,000 and 99,000 ounces since 2011.
As the company keeps the drill bit spinning, it is awaiting results from surface samples it collected across its Yarrie and Barrow Creek lithium projects in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
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By Matt Birney
