Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) has successfully completed an initial programme of resource drilling at its YAM14 Prospect, 8km south of the 6.2 million ounces Gruyere Gold Project, as part of its efforts to define additional high-margin deposits to supplement feed from the planned Gruyere open pit. The prospect has not been icnluded in the Gruyere Feasibility Study which is due for completion in the December 2016 quarter.
Highlights
- Initial resource drilling completed at YAM14 Prospect, 8 km from the 6.2 Moz Gruyere Gold Project
- Potential to improve Gruyere economics as additional source of mill feed
- Targeting Maiden YAM14 Mineral Resource in March 2017 quarter
- High-grade mineralisation confirmed, including: 4 metres at 5.07 g/t Au from 18 metres and 4 metres at 3.56 g/t Au from 89 metres (16DHRC0036), 4 metres at 4.36 g/t Au from 133 metres (16DHRC0034), 2 metres at 3.38 g/t Au from 37 metres (16DHRC0043), 6 metres at 3.22 g/t Au from 45 metres (16DHRC0033)
Gold Road Resources Limited (Gold Road or the Company) is pleased to announce successful completion of a resource drilling programme at the YAM14 Prospect, approximately eight kilometres south of the 6.2 million ounce Gruyere Gold Project in Western Australia, as part of its efforts to define additional high-margin deposits to supplement feed from the planned Gruyere Open Pit. Feasibility Studies to be completed in the December Quarter 2016 for the Gruyere Project do not include YAM14.
The YAM14 Prospect is within short trucking distance of the planned Gruyere processing facility and is situated on the Gruyere granted Mining Lease, making it a high priority for appraisal as another potential source of mill feed for the Project. Mineralisation appears to be higher grade than the existing Gruyere resource. It is also softer oxide material that may allow for increased processing throughput.
The resource drilling programme at YAM14 comprised 26 Reverse Circulation (RC) and diamond holes, which successfully infilled and extended weathered mineralisation over a strike length of 300 metres and identified high-grade mineralisation (greater than 3 g/t Au) at shallow depths. Extensions to primary mineralisation at depth and along strike were also identified.
Geological work is ongoing, with the aim of releasing a Maiden Mineral Resource for YAM14 in the March 2017 quarter.
Gold Road Executive Director – Exploration & Growth Justin Osborne said: “One of the key focuses of our extensive regional exploration programme in the Yamarna Belt is identifying targets within close proximity of the 6.2 million ounce Gruyere deposit that may be able to add flexibility and value to what is already a robust project in final stages of a Feasibility Study. YAM14 bears those hallmarks and we look forward to further confirming its potential as an additional source of feed for Gruyere in the coming months.”
Potential High-Grade Gruyere Mill Feed
YAM14 Prospect’s proximity within the granted Mining Lease and to the proposed Gruyere processing facility, along with the new and existing high-grade drilling results, makes YAM14 a high priority for appraisal as a potential future source of higher-margin mill feed (Figure 1). The Prospect could provide incremental value to the Gruyere Gold Project by displacing the lowest-grade Gruyere mineralisation ranging from 0.4 – 0.7 g/t Au within a global resource averaging 1.3 g/t Au. If economic mineral resources can be proved at YAM14 the added value could be delivered through both the higher grade of mineralisation, and potential of softer oxide material to increase processing throughput compared to the relatively hard Gruyere fresh mineralisation.
Drilling Programme, Geology and Intersection Details
The initial resource drilling programme was designed to infill and extend shallow mineralisation previously defined in Rotary Air Blast (RAB) and RC drilling conducted in 2013 and 2014, and to further test the depth extents following up on high-grade mineralisation defined by diamond drilling conducted earlier in 2016. The RC component of the programme comprised 24 holes for 2,550 metres and primarily was designed to infill existing drilling to a 12.5 metre by 50 metre spacing targeting the weathered zone. The remainder of the RC and two diamond holes (365 metres) tested down-dip and along strike of the infill drilling to provide additional geological understanding and confidence to a 50 metre by 100 metre spacing.
Mineralisation at YAM14 is located at a major flexure in the Dorothy Hills Shear Zone (Figure 1), which hosts the 6.2 million ounce Gruyere Mineral Resource. Mineralisation is hosted in six north-northwest striking, steep to moderate east dipping, discrete shear zones (Figure 2). Mineralised structures are generally four to five metres wide, with local thickening up to eight metres wide associated with a shallowing dip change resulting from a flexure in the stratigraphy (Figure 3). Continuity of this mineralisation is defined in excess of a 300 metre strike length and remains open to the north (Figure 4).
Primary fresh rock mineralisation is associated with quartz veining and albite-chlorite-pyrite-pyrrhotitearsenopyrite alteration within discrete shear zones. The weathering profile at YAM14 is of moderate depth with the transition to fresh rock occurring at a depth of 50 to 60 metres. Mineralisation within the weathered profile is associated with quartz veining and preserved shearing with iron staining after sulphides. Observations of strong primary controls within the weathered zone suggests mineralisation is predominantly in situ with only minor supergene dispersion and localised leaching.
Best intersections included:
- 6 metres at 3.22 g/t Au from 45 metres; including 1 metre at 8.35 g/t Au from 45 metres (16DHRC0033)
- 4 metres at 2.99 g/t Au from 73 metres; including 1 metre at 5.74 g/t Au from 75 metres (16DHRC0034)
- 4 metres at 4.36 g/t Au from 133 metres; including 1 metre at 15.72 g/t Au from 134 metres(16DHRC0034)
- 4 metres at 5.07 g/t Au from 18 metres; including 2 metres at 9.09 g/t Au from 18 metres (16DHRC0036)
- 4 metres at 3.56 g/t Au from 89 metres; including 2 metres at 6.83 g/t Au from 91 metres (16DHRC0036)
- 5 metres at 2.76 g/t Au from 46 metres; including 1 metre at 7.84 g/t Au from 49 metres (16DHRC0043)
Future Work Further
RC and diamond drilling is progressing in the shallow weathered mineralisation to infill and test strike extents to the north. Geological interpretation and modelling is ongoing with the aim of releasing a Maiden Mineral Resource for the YAM14 Prospect in the March 2017 quarter