Millennium Minerals' resource estimates for Nullagine Gold Project to get boost

Perth-based Millennium Minerals (ASX: MOY) has received high grade gold intersections from Otways and "spectacular" gold zone intersections from assay results from reverse circulation drilling at Shearers, part of the Nullagine Gold Project, in the East Pilbara District of Western Australia.

The Nullagine Gold Project is a 1.15 million ounce JORC compliant gold resource contained within 7 deposits on granted mining leases. The largest deposit is Golden Eagle located approximately 10 km south of the township of Nullagine.

The primary objective for this round of drilling was to convert Mineral Resources to Ore Reserve status at Shearers, to increase the mining inventory from this ore body over that currently assumed in the life of mine production plan.

At Otways, the objective was to upgrade the confidence levels of the Mineral Resource estimates such that the deposit can be assessed for inclusion in the Project’s Ore Reserve and mining inventory. These objectives are now more likely to be achieved.

In addition, the drilling targeted gold mineralisation at the Otways prospect, located adjacent to the Shearers pit. This drilling is aimed at upgrading the Inferred Mineral Resource estimate to Measured and Indicated with a plan to assess the prospect for ore reserve potential.

Shearers

Signficant Shearers gold results included:

- 41 metres at 4.2 g/t Au from 89 metres, including 3 metres at 29.6 g/t, 1 metre at 9.67 g/t Au, and 1 metre at 12 g/t Au;
- 14 metres at 6.57 g/t Au from 106 metres, including 2 metres at 29.5 g/t Au from 107 metres and
- 4 metres at 4.09 g/t Au from 100 metres.

At Shearers the new results, just 20 metres below the current proposed southern open pit, show very strong potential to expand the pit design with further infill drilling. At Shearers, the final fire assay results for the last 9 holes were received from Ultra Trace in Perth.

Many of the new and very strong intersections fall outside the current southern pit design. The results to date confirm that there are several zones with potential to expand Shearers mineral resources.

Wide, locally very high grade gold intersections have now been demonstrated along over 80+ metres of strike, within the broader current southern pit design. The recent results show excellent continuity with mineralisation incorporated within current pit designs.

These, and previously released results also show potential to merge the current southern and northern pit designs. With further infill drilling, it is anticipated that Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources will be defined in this area with the view to deepening the southern pit and materially increasing contained gold ounces.

Otways

Significant gold results from Otway included:

- 17 metres at 3.72 g/t Au from 16 metres, including 1 metre at 44.1 g/t Au from 17 metres;
- 7 metres at 5.39 g/t Au from 79 metres, including 1 metre at 31.5 g/t Au from 83 metres;
- 5 metres at 3.87 g/t Au from 2 metres;
- 6 metres at 2.66 g/t Au from 23 metres;
- 9 metres at 2.04 g/t Au from 0 metres and
- 19 metres at 1.46 g/t Au from 0 metres

Results show moderate to broad zones of shallow mineralisation which, with further planned extension and infill drilling, has potential to further upgrade the current Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate to Measured and Indicated. The assays confirm that the mineralisation strikes for over 600 metres, and provides good support for potential extension a further 150 metres further to the east.

Gold mineralisation at Otways is hosted by east‐north easterly trending quartz veins within siltstone, sandstones and conglomerates of the Mosquito Creek Formation and dips between 80 and 90 degrees to the northwest.

Brian Rear, managing director of Millennium Minerals said the company is very pleased with the results from the RC drilling at Shearers and Otways.

He said the potential for continuing development of the Mineral Resource base indicated by the drilling
to date in and around Golden Eagle, Shearers and Otways also continues to be encouraging, and will warrant further exploration work both on strike and at depth.

Future work will target gold grades suitable for both Carbon –in – leach (CIL) and heap leach potential aimed at building the CIL Ore Reserve and providing the basis for engineering studies of the stage 2 heap leach project.

The assay results from Shearers and Otways were final. Outstanding assay results from the final 12 holes at Golden Eagle will be reported as they come to hand.

Millennium said the geological data collected from the work at all three deposits will now be added to the existing databases so that revised Mineral Resource estimates can be determined. The results of this work will be included in a re‐assessment of pit designs and Ore Reserve estimation. This work is expected to take approximately 8 weeks from receipt of final assay results.