WA minerals explorer Terrain Minerals has uncovered a 600m-long induced polarisation (IP) anomaly at its Smokebush gold-lithium project in Western Australia’s Mid West region.
The anomaly, found during the company’s ongoing IP survey, is situated parallel to its Monza gold prospect in Smokebush’s north. It will be the target of drill-testing in coming weeks.
Terrain revealed at the beginning of this month that it was extending its Smokebush IP survey for a further fortnight after it uncovered several new targets. Two of those targets were at the Hurley and Paradise City prospects, close to historic gold intersections.
The third was just north of Terrain’s two successful drill campaigns at Monza. Historical results at Monza include 2m at 11.3 grams per tonne gold from 70m and 2m going 9.2g/t gold from 124m.
Terrain’s theory is that its previous drill campaign in 2021, while it did intersect gold mineralisation, missed the main target to the east by about 50m and merely skimmed the outermost “halo” of the sulphide zone. The company is now optimistic it is onto the “mother lode” and a proposed drill hole to rectify the miss and explore its theory is part of a new program scheduled for June and July.
Terrain entered a farm-in joint venture at Smokebush in 2019, but now wholly-owns the project, which is about 350 kilometres north of Perth and 85km east/north-east of Perenjori in the State’s Mid West region. The project’s five prospecting and exploration licences constitute about 1254 hectares within the Yalgoo Mineral Field.
Yalgoo is a mineral province that hosts some handy mineral deposits such as Silver Lake Resources’ Rothesay gold operation, 29Metals’ Golden Grove copper-gold-silver-zinc-lead mine to the north, and Warriedar Resources’ Golden Range gold project that was formerly known as the Golden Dragon mine.
Terrain says its drilling database highlights a potentially positive relationship between gold mineralisation and sulphide minerals such as iron sulphide at Smokebush. It says it is a positive relationship similar to that reported by Warriedar at its Windinne Well pit at Golden Range.
The company’s fieldwork has identified no fewer than four north/north-east-trending shear zones at Smokebush. The zones had been the focus of its accelerated exploration program during the past six months.
Terrain has now started establishing access tracks and building drill pads for a reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program, targeting a start late next month. It will come after drilling of Smokebush’s pegmatites, which is due to start early next month.
Management believes Smokebush holds the potential to be a lithium play and it has identified a dozen pegmatites, ranging up to 10m wide and 200m long before going undercover that it believes are all drill-worthy.
Like many an explorer, Terrain is seeking the “next big thing” and says it is committed to making a company-defining discovery this year. With the gold price once more heading to the US$2000 (AU$3007) mark and predictions that lithium prices are ready to now rebound after bottoming out, the company’s next drilling assays will be eagerly-awaited to see if Monza will be “that” discovery.
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By Mark Irving
