Spectrum Metals’ Phase II drilling campaign at the Penny West project near Youanmi, WA, has gotten off to a rousing start with the first holes at the Penny North prospect returning a metre at more than 6 ounces of gold to the tonne.
This intersection of 180.3 grams per tonne gold from 206 metres down-hole is located within a broader zone of 3m @ 70.8g/t gold from 205m.
Results from the other two holes received to date were also encouraging with 11m @ 11.7g/t gold from 229m down-hole including 7m @ 17.5g/t gold from 230m and 3m @ 6.3g/t gold from 205m including 1m @ 12.3g/t gold from 205m.
The top two results are located down-dip of a Phase I intersection of 6m @ 47.4g/t gold from 150m and add about 80m to, and effectively double, the down-dip extent of the Penny North lode on this section.
Results are currently pending for two up-dip holes on the same drill section.
Together with the Phase I drilling results that included such zingers as 4m @ 105.2g/t gold from 151m down-hole and 11m @ 25.8g/t gold from 120m, the Penny North prospect is certainly stacking up.
Spectrum Managing Director Paul Adams said: “We are very excited to see the high tenor and high width of gold mineralisation continue in our Phase II program, particularly within hole SPWRC040 which is the deepest hole yet assayed at Penny North.”
“It appears that the Penny North structure again widens at this location and remains open down-dip and along strike.”
The Penny West gold project is situated on two granted mining leases about 25km south from the Youanmi mining centre in the Murchison district of Western Australia.
The original mining operation produced 85,000 ounces of gold from 121,000 tonnes at a sweet grade of 21.8g/t gold during 1991 and 1992 at a time when the gold price was about a quarter of what it is today.
Penny West currently has a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 230,000 tonnes grading 4.8g/t gold for 36,000 ounces below the historical pit.
Given the numerous high-grade hits returned from the drilling at Penny North to date, Spectrum could well be looking at a sizeable upgrade to this resource in the not too distant future.
By Matt Birney
