Godolphin Resources’ JV partner, Orange Minerals is poised to fire up the diamond drill rig for 1200m of exploration at its Calarie gold project in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW after finalising plans for a phase 2 probe. The campaign follows a December RC campaign that delivered a suite of “outstanding” intercepts, including 1m at 48.77 grams per tonne gold from 42m, inside a longer 21m going 4.5 g/t gold from 34m.
Additional results from the previous campaign include a 5m hit at 13.5 g/t gold from 143m in one hole and 14m grading 3.4 g/t gold from 112m in another.
According to Orange, results from its December program validated historical drill hits, confirming the ground’s mineralisation is open along strike and depth, along with underlining the area’s economic potential ahead of a maiden JORC resource at Calarie.
Curiously, project area around Calarie was once an underground gold mine that churned out about 39,000 ounces at 22 g/t gold between the late 1890s to 1908.
Orange’s phase 2 campaign will look to drill-test the ground’s precious metal potential at depth – with the probe aimed at targeting mineralisation beneath the historical mine’s workings. Intriguingly, previous programs in the area unveiled a region of high-grade gold within an inflexion zone: an area where a curve of a slope shifts from being concave to convex.
The company plans to plunge at least four holes at Calarie, testing the inflexion zone beneath the old gold mine’s workings.
The project takes in one mining lease and two exploration licences that collectively make up a 70 per cent earn-in joint venture agreement with Godolphin in the northern Forbes region of NSW.
Outside of its precious metal aspirations, Godolphin is also chasing down rare earths at its newly acquired Narraburra project, about 15km north of Temora in central-west NSW.
The company recently had a four-hole diamond program approved by the NSW resources regulator and could launch the probe within days. Management says the campaign will be followed by a 4000m air core operation aimed at boosting Narraburra’s current mineral resource estimate up to a JORC 2012 standard.
Previous drilling at Narraburra by a previous explorer yielded a JORC 2004-compliant inferred resource of 73.2 million tonnes, with grades of 1250 grams per tonne zirconium dioxide, 327 g/t rare earth oxides, 146 g/t yttrium oxide, 126 g/t niobium pentoxide, 54 g/t gallium oxide and 118 g/t lithium oxide.
Curiously, Narraburra also sits in the Lachlan Fold Belt which is shaping up as a revered district for rare earth projects. The area has seen a swathe of Federal Government support of late, with the projected one of several operations earmarked as critical mineral developments.
The status gives projects such as Narraburra access to a loan facility of up to $2 billion.
Godolphin appears to have plenty of options in NSW, and a hit in either direction could have the company off to the races.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
