ASX-listed gold hopeful, Middle Island Resources, continues to eke out promising RC drill results from an array of satellite deposits at its historic Sandstone gold project in WA as it works towards the potential recommissioning of the old mine site’s mothballed treatment plant.
Latest numbers from the Old Town Well deposit from 44 new holes include 3m going 20.6 grams per tonne gold from 16m, 14m at 2.22 g/t from 15m, 6m at 3.23 g/t from 40m, 14m at 1.00 g/t from 23m and 8m at 1.80 g/t from 26m.
The Old Town Well deposit is located only 600m north of the Perth-based company’s 100% owned, 600,000 tonne per annum gold processing plant within a granted mining lease.
Near-surface assays over a 60m aggregate width and 340m strike length from the latest phase two drilling campaign at Old Town Well have complemented previous intercepts.
Middle Island’s Sandstone infill and extension drilling blitz has so far totalled more than 37,000m.
According to the company, the Old Town Well satellite deposit represents a larger, albeit more modest grade, low-stripping-ratio open-pittable oxide gold deposit with a blanket of mineralised laterite from surface.
In light of the broad zones of quartz veining and sulphide mineralisation discovered in the primary zone at Old Town Well, Middle Island says it is possible drilling to date has only scratched the surface and there may be more to the deposit at depth, beyond the scope of the current campaign.
Old Town well will now be assessed as part of Sandstone’s full feasibility study, which the company plans to finish by the end of the year.
Middle Island aims to define open-pittable resources for five new satellite deposits at the Sandstone project – McClaren, McIntyre, Ridge, Old Town Well and Plum Pudding. It is looking to incorporate the results from the drill campaigns at these prospects into the pit re-optimisation studies for the Sandstone feasibility study.
All new satellite deposits are located on existing mining leases within 2.5km of the mothballed gold processing plant. The company’s current drilling activity is focused exclusively on infilling and extending these deposits.
Further drilling results from the satellite deposits are expected in coming weeks.
Middle Island last week updated the global Sandstone indicated and inferred resource, based on the Shillington, Two Mile Hill and Wirraminna deposits. The resource estimate now stands at 17.97 million tonnes grading 1.13 grams per tonne for a contained 650,600 ounces of gold.
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