Strickland Metals has hit a golden patch at its Millrose project in the Yandal Belt of WA.
The first hole targeting an extension 50m north of known resources returned 54m at 1.8 g/t gold from 130m including 23m grading 2.4 g/t gold.
An initial hole, targeting depth extensions beneath existing resources, returned 95.5m going at 2.0 g/t gold including a high-grade intercept of 8m at 14.6 g/t gold from 215m.
The deep gold hit was the first time the high-grade lode has been intersected at depth. Strickland said results highlight an emerging large gold system at its Millrose project.
Strickland will mobilise another RC drilling rig to the project next month to step up the hunt for extensions along 13km of strike of the mineralised footwall of the banded iron formation and at depth below shallow resources.
The company already has two rigs going flat out at Millrose on a 23,000m drilling program and it will deploy an air-core rig in the second half of 2022 in a 30,000m program probing for more targets to drill out.
Currently, the RC rig is targeting southern extensions of the interpreted ore zone. The diamond drilling rig is busy extending RC holes that did not reach target depth. Strickland will soon start a 700m diamond hole to test for high-grade extensions under current mineral resource zones.
Approximately 50 RC drill holes have been completed with 27 of these extended with diamond drill tails. Samples from 28 holes are currently being assayed indicating a strong news flow to come.
Andrew Bray, Chief Executive Officer of Strickland Metals, said: “Millrose is continuing to deliver fantastic results and, importantly, grow the mineralisation footprint. Our initial drilling is demonstrating that we are indeed dealing with a very large gold system. Our geological model remains robust across the project area. The BIF unit in the footwall is continuing to be a key marker horizon for the interpreted ore zone.”
The northern extension drill result of 54m at 1.8 g/t gold, including 23m grading 2.4 g/t gold, is viewed by Strickland as an encouraging first step with more drilling planned along a considerable additional strike length.
The high-grade depth extension lode, that yielded 95.5m at 2.0 g/t gold including 8m at 14.6 g/t gold from 215m, is interpreted by the company as the top of a new mineralised zone rather than an extension of previously intersected shallow lodes. Other intercepts in the hole may represent extensions of mineralisation discovered at shallower depths.
The result ties in with the exploration concept of multiple gold mineralised lodes lensing in and out with a broader mineralised shear zone up to 160m wide. Previous results above the new deeper intersection included 2m at 10.9 g/t, 25m grading 5.1 g/t and 55m returning 2.4g/t gold.
Millrose has a 346,000-ounce JORC-compliant gold resource and is part of the 603,000-ounce Yandal Belt total gold resource owned by Strickland. The project is only 30km east of Northern Star’s 10 million ounce – and counting – Jundee deposit.
With three drilling rigs and a rapidly growing mineralised system, Millrose is looking like the flagship of a potential 1-million-ounce Yandal Belt resource for Strickland. Although time will tell, with 603,000 ounces already in the bank and long high-grade gold intersections coming with monotonous regularity it feels like the real news may be just around the corner.
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By Matt Birney
