Zuleika Gold has wrapped up a plethora of soil-sampling surveys at its Zuleika, Goongarrie and Menzies projects in Western Australia’s golden heartland.
More than 2000 samples were collected from the trio of projects, with samples submitted to LabWest in Perth to undergo “Ultrafine” analysis – a cutting-edge technique developed by the CSIRO. The assaying method can detect subtle anomalies alluding to blind deposits blanketed by transported sediments.
The company previously highlighted a 2 km-long gold anomaly coincident with a string of historical underground workings at its Menzies project, a mere 120km north of Kalgoorlie along the Goldfields Highway. Despite its proximity to the nearby 1 million-ounce Menzies gold camp, management says only shallow and limited drilling has tested the area with grades peaking at up to 4.16 grams per tonne gold.
With regulatory approvals firmly in place, the Menzies project now looks set to be the first cab off the rank to feel the bite of the drillbit in the second half of this year.
At the company’s Zuleika project, which takes in a large swathe of the world-class Zuleika Shear gold conduit, more than 1000 samples were gathered covering the Browns Dam, Breakaway Dam, Castle East, Little T, Star Well, White Flag Lake, Zuleika North and Carbine prospects.
Management has etched out a grab-bag of compelling anomalies with elevated gold trending up to 3km at Zuleika North, up to 2km at White Flag Lake and 3.5km at Breakaway Dam.
Zuleika says many of its new underexplored targets coincide with favourable structures and lithological contacts known to host gold mineralisation in the area. The company is wasting no time landing boots on ground to validate and rank the anomalies for its upcoming drilling program.
Previous anomalism identified at Zuleika North and Grants Patch have been ground-checked with drill approvals now in place.
Recognising the prospectivity of the Grants Patch area, Zulieka is upping the ante and increasing its foothold by pegging three additional prospecting licenses for a sizeable 578 hectares, in addition to applying for a new 613ha exploration license adjoining the Star Well and Little T prospects, just west of the Kundana gold mine.
The company’s namesake project is nestled amid Norton Gold Fields’ 4 million-ounce Paddington gold mine and Evolution Mining’s 7 million-ounce Kundana gold mine, along with a myriad of other deposits with upwards of a million ounces, just 25km north of Kalgoorlie.
Just up the Goldfields Highway at Zuleika’s Goongarrie project, 90km north of Kalgoorlie, the company has tidied up the station tracks and accessed a prospective sequence of folded and sheared mafic and ultramafic rocks in the Wongi Hills greenstone belt. A total of 743 samples were collected at Goongarrie, which sits 50km north of Ora Banda Mining’s 5.5 million-ounce Siberia mining centre.
Results from the survey highlighted a 5km-long zone of gold anomalism, in addition to a nickel zone stretching 15km, with upcoming drilling designed to test for both in-demand metals.
Zuleika lays claim to an enviable landholding in WA’s prolific goldfields, which are host to a treasure trove of world-class gold deposits. With the rig of truth warming up to test what lies beneath, time will now tell if it can join the ranks of the magic million-ounce club.
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By Helen Barling
