Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has identified gold and lithium anomalies in a first-pass 315 auger hole program at the wholly owned Pianto project 85km north of Kalgoorlie. Samples were taken from surficial transported material in an area of limited outcrop in a campaign targeting gold in granite and lithium pegmatites.
The fresh gold anomalism up to 23 parts per billion is located along the southern margin of a fault-related northwest striking demagnetised zone. Lithium anomalies up to 60 parts per million mirror tantalum, niobium and tin anomalies turned up along the northwest striking fault structure, whilst outcropping pegmatites were found at two locations near lithium anomalies along with minerals tentatively identified as spodumene.
The auger drilling program was spaced at 400m by 200m and covered a northwest trending 11km by 3km area that was centred on a magnetic low associated with an interpreted northwest trending fault. The area has transported surficial granite sand cover which KalGold says leads to the low-level anomalism being of direct interest, especially when the anomalies are coherent and extensive. The new lithium anomalies are parallel to those of gold but lie some 1km to the northeast.
KalGold has collected minerals presumed to be spodumene for further laboratory analysis and confirmation and is now undertaking further field validation and sampling to confirm the presence of lithium bearing minerals in order to inform the design of follow-up programs.
The explorer argues its Pianto project is a historically poorly explored area but has gold in granite targets similar to the northwest striking 340,000-ounce Federal gold project of Norton Gold Fields some 50km further south. The Federal project is targeting a northwest trending fault hosting gold mineralisation in pyritic vein quartz with a broader low-grade gold halo in granitic rocks.
Kalgoorlie Gold Managing Director and CEO, Dr Matt Painter, said: “Anomalism is possibly related to lithium and gold mineralisation at depth. Follow-up work is required to fully define anomaly extents before drill testing beneath cover. It is important to note that while gold exploration will always remain KalGold’s first priority, the company will additionally test for other commodities, like lithium, on our landholdings in an effort to maximise return for shareholders.”
KalGold notes that while gold and lithium are not typically geologically associated with one another, at Pianto the anomalies are probably from different genesis mechanisms as a result of a long lived active structure with different events of hydrothermal gold fluids and fractionated melt pegmatites.
Elsewhere, the company is in the process of defining a maiden JORC resource at its La Mascotte project 35km east of Kalgoorlie. Gold ore at La Mascotte commences from surface and the company will progress the next phase of work at Pianto whilst continuing its gold development and exploration across its considerable Kalgoorlie centred tenements.
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