Venus Metals and Rox Resources say they have identified what looks to be a new gold lode parallel to the old Youanmi mine at their joint ventured Youanmi gold project in WA. The JV partners’ continuing drilling campaign at Youanmi recently returned a pulse quickening 4-metre intersection going an impressive 45.5 grams per tonne gold from 341m including 1.33m grading an even more impressive 129.3 g/t gold from 341.75m.
According to the Perth-based joint venture partners, the high-grade intercept perforated a previously untested hanging wall zone at the Junction prospect and points to a potential new gold-bearing lode parallel to and adjacent to the historic mine near Mount Magnet in the state’s central Yilgarn Goldfield.
Venus and Rox say the blockbuster high-grade hit occurs at a newly defined position in the hanging wall to the Youanmi main lode structure in an area roughly halfway between the old Bunker pit and the old Youanmi main pit.
Follow up drilling is planned to further probe the new high-grade hanging wall shoot.
Other stand-out recent high-grade gold hits from infill and extensional drilling at Junction were 16m at an average grade of 4.22 g/t gold from 56m including 3m at 16.4 g/t from 66m and 3m at 15.17 g/t from 108m.
The JV says the latest assays from the Youanmi diamond and RC program are likely to culminate in an increase in both tonnage and grade for Junction in subsequent mineral resource estimations.
Deep step out holes were also drilled more than 100m from historical drilling in a zone at Junction that has not seen any drilling in the past.
Best of the intersections from the wider step out drilling were 0.87m grading an average 15.4 g/t gold from 596m, 0.51m at 15.93 g/t from 381.09m and 4.63m at 3.7 g/t from 549m.
The latest diamond core results suggest the Youanmi Main Lode structure continues at depth and the companies say drilling remains on track to deliver further increases in the Youanmi gold resource.
Venus and Rox recently tabled an updated mineral resource estimate for Youanmi in the wake of about 48,000m of diamond and RC drilling.
Youanmi’s near-surface and deeps inferred and indicated resource now stands at 12.48 million tonnes weighing in at 2.97 g/t for 1.19 million ounces of contained gold.
Rox Resources Managing Director Alex Passmore said: “We are very pleased to report strongly mineralised intersections in a newly identified structure near the Youanmi mine and up-sequence from the Main Lode orebody. This an exciting development as it lies within a previously untested area.”
"In addition, extension and infill drilling at Junction continues to deliver high- grade results that will contribute to resource growth at Youanmi and is likely to add ounces in crucial areas that will improve project economics.”
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By Matt Birney
