Surefire Resources has received assays for two more RC holes at the company’s Yidby gold project in the Murchison district of WA’s Mid West region. The 4m assays have revealed a high tenor of gold grades with one 4m-sample going as high as 10.4 grams per tonne gold from 72m downhole.
The company recently completed a drilling campaign of 23 RC holes for 2754m, primarily aimed at testing mobile metal ion anomalies. So far it has only looked over expedited assay results, with more to come.
The drilling has confirmed the explorer’s geological model, highlighting two distinct styles of gold mineralisation, within newly coined “western” and “central” zones.
At the western zone, Surefire encountered intercepts of 20m at 0.43 g/t gold from 104m and 32m at 0.32 g/t gold from 144m within the same hole.
At the central zone, a single broad 60m strike going 1.04 g/t gold from 32m including the standout 4m at 10.4 g/t from 72m was encountered.
The nature of the 60m-strike in tandem with a previously drilled 8m-hit going 1.43 g/t gold suggests to the explorer that the gold is contained within a structure separate, parallel and to the west of the central zone.
Importantly, the western zone occurs 400m to the north-west of the project’s namesake deposit where Surefire intercepted broad gold hits in its maiden drilling program in 2020.
The new western zone significantly increases the golden footprint at the project whilst exhibiting large widths with typically higher-grade gold within a mineralised halo.
The explorer’s model predicts the central area will feature wide zones of gold with localised higher grades similar to that seen in the reported hole.
Surefire expects to receive the remaining assay results within the next six weeks and has lined up a round of six diamond drill holes to begin within four weeks.
In terms of gold, Yidby is not short on notable neighbours.
Several gold deposits surround the project, including the 1.1-million-ounce Minjar gold project 65km to the north-west, the one-million-ounce Kirklocka gold project 70km to the north-east, the sizeable 2.1-million-ounce Mount Gibson gold project 30km to the south and the 540,000-ounce Rothsay gold project 30km to the west.
The US Geological Survey reports 3000 tonnes of gold was produced last year and pegs Australia as the world’s second-biggest producer with a total of 330 tonnes, outgunned only by China and its 370-tonne-haul for the year.
Going one step further, Australia’s authoritative geological body, Geoscience Australia says in 2018 two-thirds of the nation’s gold came from Western Australia where Surefire is a player with its project in the Murchison region.
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By Matt Birney
