Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) has intersected primary gold mineralisation in an initial programme of diamond drilling at the YAM14 Prospect, nine kilometres south of its 6.2 million ounce Gruyere Gold Project. Results from the programme include 3.05 metres grading 4.89g/t Au from a depth of 137.68 metres. YAM14 was identified in 2013 and drilling since has been limited, but the prospect has now taken on a higher priority due to its proximity to Gruyere. Further drill testing is to follow.
FIRST DIAMOND HOLES DRILLED AT YAM14 PROSPECT CONFIRM HIGH-GRADE GOLD MINERALISATION
(South Dorothy Hills Camp)
Highlights
- First diamond holes drilled into YAM14 Prospect, nine kilometres southof Gruyere Project
- 16DHDD0002 intersected 3.05 metres at 4.89 g/t Au from 138 metres
- Gold mineralisation hosted in discrete shear zone with visible gold
- Mineralisation remains open along strike and down dip
Gold Road Resources Limited (Gold Road or the Company) is pleased to announce that an initial programme of diamond drilling at the YAM14 Prospect has intersected high‐grade primary gold mineralisation in a discrete shear zone below previous Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling. Diamond drill hole 16DHDD0002 intersected 3.05 metres at 4.89 g/t Au from 137.68 metres in a very strong sulphide alteration assemblage, with minor visible gold and narrow quartz veins (Figure 1). The YAM14 Prospect is located in the South Dorothy Hills Camp, approximately nine kilometres south of the 6.2 million ounce Gruyere Deposit, within the granted mining lease, and occurs within the same Dorothy Hills Shear Zone which hosts the Gruyere deposit.
YAM14 was discovered in October 2013 as part of the drilling programme that discovered the Gruyere Deposit. Although drilling has been limited since the initial discovery programme, YAM 14 now assumes a high priority due to its relative proximity to Gruyere. Gold mineralisation extends over a strike length of 850 metres and remains open to the north and south, and at depth. The high‐grade intercept in 16DHDD0002 is located on the current northern most drill section, with the next closest drill traverse located one kilometre to the north in the Toto Prospect area (Figure 2).
Both high‐grade supergene and primary gold mineralisation have been intersected at YAM14, suggesting additional complexity and structural controls which were not obvious in the earlier RC drill programmes, and which add additional scope to expand the mineralised footprint of the prospect. A follow‐up programme of RC drilling, expected to commence in the September 2016 quarter, is being planned to scope the greater potential of the prospect area.
Best intersections within the previous YAM14 RC drilling (ASX announcement dated 4 November 2013) were:
- 13 metres at 3.05 g/t Au from 50 metres; including 8 metres at 4.20 g/t Au from 50 metres (13GYRC0004)
- 1 metre at 2.09 g/t Au from 51 metres and 4 metres at 6.56 g/t Au from 56 metres (13GYRC0005)
- 12 metres at 1.80 g/t Au from 88 metres; including 6 metres at 2.84 g/t Au from 93 metres (13GYRC0003)
- 9 metres at 1.65 g/t Au from 37 metres; including 5 metres at 2.57 g/t Au from 37 metres (13GYRC0003)
- 9 metres at 1.34 g/t Au from 46 metres and 5 metres at 2.09 g/t Au from 63 metres; including 3 metres at 3.04 g/t Au from 64 metres (13GYRC0008)
- 7 metres at 1.68 g/t Au from 70 metres; including 5 metres at 2.15 g/t Au from 70 metres (13GYRC0006)
Justin Osborne, Executive Director, said: “The YAM14 Prospect was discovered during the same drilling programme that identified the 6.2 million ounce Gruyere Deposit in October 2013. Due to YAM14’s smaller size, at the time we focussed all attention on Gruyere which we rapidly grew into a world class resource. Now that we have had the time to re‐assess the YAM14 mineralisation ‐ together with the addition of this exciting new diamond hole, which has intersected one of the best looking shear intersections we have seen so far on the Yamarna Belt ‐ we have the incentive to start assessing the size potential of this prospect more thoroughly. Given its proximity to the Gruyere Project and within the granted mining lease, any resource we can define at YAM14 should positively impact the Gruyere project economics.”
South Dorothy Hills diamond drilling programme
A three‐hole (669.4 metres) diamond drilling programme was completed in the South Dorothy Hills Camp in May 2016. The programme comprised of two diamond holes at the YAM14 Prospect, and one at the Monteith Target area located approximately 13 kilometres south of the Gruyere Deposit (Figure 3).
The YAM14 drilling (16DHDD0001 and 16DHDD0002) tested for primary gold mineralisation beneath existing gold mineralisation, predominantly hosted in the weathered rock zones, that was identified in aircore and RC drilling in 2013. The diamond drilling provided the first detailed and important structural and stratigraphic information relating to the geological setting of the YAM14 mineralisation.
A single diamond hole (16DHDD0003) was drilled at Monteith, testing below an alteration zone, identified by limited RC drilling, at the contact of an ultramafic unit and a felsic intrusive rock with similar geochemical signature to the Gruyere Porphyry. While16DHDD0003 did not intersect anomalous gold, it returned valuable structural information relating to the greater Dorothy Hills Shear Zone structural setting.
Drill intersection details
Diamond hole 16DHDD0002 is situated on the northern most drill traverse drilled to date at the YAM14 Prospect and was targeted to test for gold mineralisation beneath two RC drill holes completed in 2014 that contained several zones of regolith‐hosted anomalous gold mineralisation (Figure 1). An intersection of 3.05 metres at 4.89 g/t Au from 137.68 metres is hosted within a discrete shear zone at the contact between a coarse grained volcaniclastic unit and finer grained shale units and porphyries. The primary gold mineralisation is associated with thin quartz veins and strong albite‐chlorite‐pyrite‐pyrrhotite‐arsenopyrite alteration, with fine‐grained visible gold observed in core. This is a similar assemblage as occurs at the Gruyere Deposit and is interpreted to be related to the same gold mineralising event, suggesting a regionally extensive mineralising event. The mineralised shear zone itself is located within the same Dorothy Hills Shear Zone that hosts the Gruyere Deposit.
Diamond hole 16DHDD0001 targeted the central part of the YAM14 deposit area, 300 metres to the south of 16DHDD0002. The hole tested bedrock beneath several broad RC intersections, including 13 metres at 3.05 g/t Au from 50 metres (14GYRC0004), and 4 metres at 6.56 g/t Au from 56 metres in 14GYRC0005. A best intersection of 0.8 metres at 0.81 g/t Au from 155 metres in 16DHDD0001 represents the continuation of the shear zone. Additionally, detailed structural and intrusive observations derived from the drill core have significantly advanced the understanding of the structural regime of the Dorothy Hills Shear, and timing of important porphyry intrusive rocks, which enable improved targeting along the length of this prospective gold hosting shear zone.
Gold mineralisation at YAM14 remains open to the north of 16DHDD0002, with the next closest drill traverse situated approximately one kilometre to the north, at the southern end of the Toto Prospect. There is potential for YAM14 to host a significant high‐grade shear‐hosted gold deposit in the local vicinity of the Gruyere Deposit.
A programme of additional RC and diamond drilling is now being planned to define the structural regime and controls, and scope the size potential, of the YAM14 Prospect.
