ASX-listed junior explorer Latitude Consolidated has scored a high-grade gold hit at the St Anne’s prospect just 3km south of its existing 610,000-ounce Turnberry open-pit deposit, which forms part of its Murchison gold project in Western Australia. The latest drilling highlight from the Perth-based company’s recently completed reverse circulation program was an impressive intersection of 5m at an average grade of 6.77 grams per tonne gold from 103m depth.
Following an independent review of past drilling and exploration data by respected international geological consulting firm CSA Global, Turnberry’s indicated and inferred mineral resource was estimated at 11.3 million tonnes going at an average grade of 1.7 g/t for 610,000 ounces of contained gold.
The Turnberry deposit sat on the backburner while former owner Doray Minerals churned out about 330,000 ounces of gold at the nearby high-grade Andy Well underground mine between 2013 and 2017. Andy Well produced at a cracking average grade of 8 g/t.
Latitude says the “phase one” round of drilling was aimed at testing the auriferous Fairway mineralised trend that stretches for more than 5.5km between Turnberry and St Anne’s.
According to the company, the high-grade mineralisation encountered at St Anne’s displays a similar quartz vein-style and pyrite alteration as seen at Turnberry and occurs on a geological contact shear zone between mafic dolerite and sedimentary shales.
Both these rock types host gold mineralisation at Turnberry, with the dolerite generally containing better continuity of mineralisation and higher grades.
Latitude points out the contact where the high-grade mineralisation at St Anne’s was intersected corresponds with an aeromagnetic and sub-audio magnetic anomaly.
It says the prospective stratigraphy and structure are interpreted to strike for about 800m north of the intersection of 5m at 6.77 g/t and remain open to the north and south, providing a priority target for a forthcoming phase-two RC program.
Latitude Consolidated Chief Executive Officer Tim Davidson said: “This is the first drill program completed by the company at the highly prospective Fairway trend and we are very pleased with the results it has delivered. We have intersected high-grade mineralisation at St Anne’s in a geological setting that is known to host a significant gold endowment at Turnberry, only 3km to the north. We believe St Anne’s displays many similarities to Turnberry and we intend to do further work there during our phase two drilling program later this year.”
At the Bunarra and Far East gold prospects further south of St Anne’s, Latitude also returned some promising RC drill intercepts.
They were 4m grading an average 2.66 g/t from 51m including 1m at 9.01 g/t and 2m at 2.39 g/t from 58m including 1m at 4.51 g/t from Far East and 18m at 1.15 g/t from 235m including 2m at 5.41 g/t and 6m at 1.32 g/t from 20m including 1m at 4.87 g/t from Bunarra.
Latitude’s drilling perforated gold mineralisation at Far East in mafic volcanic and granite rocks, spatially associated with granitic sill contacts and veining. The drill bit also pierced a wide zone of quartz-tourmaline-arsenopyrite-pyrite mineralisation within a shear zone at Bunarra.
Interestingly, the drill hit of 18m at 1.15 g/t from 235m at Bunarra came from down-plunge and along strike of a historical intersection of 10m that went 18.5 g/t from 113m.
Mr Davidson said: “Results received from Bunarra and Far East are also pleasing given both are early-stage exploration prospects, which have had limited work completed to date and have strong potential for further mineralisation to be identified.”
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
