ASX-listed precious and base metals explorer, Godolphin Resources has been buoyed by a promising start to its resource definition drilling program at its Lewis Ponds polymetallic project in NSW’s venerated Lachlan Fold Belt region. The stand-out drill intersection from the company’s first diamond hole at Lewis Ponds was 18.6 metres at an average grade of 1.38 grams per tonne gold, 55 g/t silver, 5.4 per cent zinc and 1.8 per cent lead for a gold equivalent grade of 6.72 g/t from 72m.
Orange-based Godolphin recently released an inferred mineral resource for Lewis Ponds of 6.2 million tonnes of ore grading an average 2.0 g/t gold, 80 g/t silver, 2.7 per cent zinc, 1.6 per cent lead and 0.2 per cent copper.
The company’s mineral resource estimate followed an extensive reappraisal of historical drilling carried out at Lewis Ponds across various periods over the past half a century.
Lewis Ponds has been modelled as a base metals play historically, however, Godolphin says its review of the prior data last year pointed to the “substantial” gold and silver potential of the project.
Historical drilling data from Lewis Ponds included several high-grade gold and silver intercepts such as a seriously wide 91m intersection going 2.3 g/t gold, 79 g/t silver, 3.3 per cent zinc and 2.2 per cent lead.
Contained metal content totals for the company’s revised Lewis Ponds mineral resource are 398,000 ounces of gold, 15.9 million ounces of silver, 170,000 tonnes of zinc, 99,000 tonnes of lead and 11,000 tonnes of copper.
Godolphin has fired up a diamond rig as it looks to firm up and increase the resource in and around the precious and base metals mineralised zones underpinning the mineral resource estimate.
The headline 18.6m drill hit came from the project’s Tom’s Lode below the historic Lewis Ponds shaft, while another notable assay of 11.4m going 0.71 g/t gold, 47 g/t silver, 1.7 per cent zinc and 0.8 per cent lead for a gold equivalent grade of 3.24 g/t from 265m came from the nearby Spicer’s Lode.
According to the company, the first diamond hole supports its mineral resource estimate for Lewis Ponds and the interpretation that higher-grade precious metal zones are associated with the base metal sulphide horizons at the Tom’s Lode and Spicer’s Lode.
Godolphin Resources Chief Executive Officer, David Greenwood said: “This excellent result in the first diamond hole of the current diamond drill program improves our confidence in the recently released mineral resource at Lewis Ponds, and suggests there is potential to significantly increase the Tom’s Lode resource in close proximity to the drill hole.”
Further drill results from Lewis Ponds are expected next month.
Godolphin’s ongoing 3,300-metre diamond drilling campaign has also been designed to provide mineralisation drill core samples for preliminary metallurgical test work.
The 148-square-kilometre Lewis Ponds project area occurs in the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt that hosts a range of base metals in volcanic-hosted massive sulphide, porphyry copper-gold and gold deposits, including Woodlawn, Cadia-Ridgeway, North Parkes, Copper Hill, Tomingley and McPhillamys.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
