Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) has enhanced the golden potential of the Kookynie Project south of Leonora in Western Australia with new shallow high-grade gold results returned from recent drilling around the McTavish East deposit.
Reverse circulation (RC) results of up to 5 metres at 4.91 g/t gold from 87 metres, including 1-metre at 20.3 g/t were returned from the new Tiptoe discovery, which is 200 metres northeast of McTavish East.
New shallow RC drilling also produced extensions to high-grade gold mineralisation at Champion South, about 800 metres northeast of McTavish East with up to 3 metres at 6.83 g/t gold from 107 metres.
Resource potential
These strong results have the potential to increase gold resources which the company is confident will be demonstrated in a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) and mining study evaluation for McTavish East which is due to be completed during the current quarter.
Tiptoe provides cause for optimism for Carnavale as it remains open along strike and down dip. Other results include:
- 4 metres at 2.91 g/t gold from 80 metres;
- 3 metres at 3.13 g/t from 97 metres;
- 6 metres at 1.41 g/t from 83 metres; and
- 4 metres at 1.63 g/t from 47 metres.
“Exciting resource targets”
“We are excited about our ongoing exploration at Kookynie," CEO Humphrey Hale said. "Work is underway to establish a maiden resource and mining option study at the McTavish East Prospect.
"We anticipate the development will comprise of both open cut and underground mining and utilise an existing third-party processing plant.
"These new shallow high-grade gold results in fresh rock represent new targets and provide exciting new resource targets along strike from the bonanza style mineralisation at McTavish East.
"Exploration continues with the recently completed aircore program targeting additional high-grade structural gold targets at Kookynie.”
RC drilling at Tiptoe
The new results are from the February 2024 RC campaign comprising 14 holes for 1,694 metres which followed up previous aircore anomalies at Tiptoe and regolith anomalies at Champion South.
Ten shallow RC holes were drilled into Tiptoe prospect targeting shallow high-grade gold similar to the high-grade plunging shoots encountered at McTavish East. It was the first RC drilling at Tiptoe.
Mineralisation encountered has the same quartz, disseminated sulphides and free gold mineral assemblage as the high-grade zones within the Swiftsure lode at McTavish East and could represent a repeat of this style of mineralisation.
CAV is planning further drilling to test the extents of this new zone.
Champion South results
Champion South was identified prior to CAV exploring the Kookynie Gold Project and is along the strike of the mineralised structure and 2.5 kilometres south of the historic Champion mine.
The area is overlain by 10 metres of alluvial cover and a depleted saprolite sequence that masked significant gold mineralisation.
Four RC holes were drilled here in the recent campaign and apart from the 3-metre intersection, other results include 1 metre at 4.01 g/t gold from 49 metres, 1 metre at 2.79 g/t from 79 metres and 3 metres at 1.38 g/t from 103 metres.
Previous high-grade gold intercepts by Diamond Ventures NL in JV with Kookynie Resources NL include:
- 1 metre at 13.1 g/t gold;
- 3 metres at 6.8 g/t, including 1 metre at 14 g/t;
- 3 metres at 2.76 g/t (hole ended in mineralisation); and
- 4 metres at 3.27 g/t (ended in mineralisation).
The mineralisation in the RC drilling is similar in character to Tiptoe and McTavish East with fine-grained disseminated sulphides and quartz veining and the company is planning to drill test the prospect in more detail.
Testing along trend
After identifying the Kookynie-Leonora region as being highly prospective in 2021 Carnavale discovered high-grade gold at McTavish East and continues to test the highly prospective 2-kilometre-long trend and other targets within the tenement package.
It believes the exploration potential to discover repeats of the high-grade McTavish East mineralisation within the tenement package at Kookynie remains high with major structural targets identified from an aeromagnetic survey and geochemistry.
Carnavale has also recently completed a 4,249-metre program of aircore drilling following the RC campaign.
This was designed to test new structural and geochemical anomalies within the Kookynie Project using pathfinder geochemistry and structural analysis derived from the McTavish East and Tiptoe discovery.
Cube Consulting Pty Ltd of West Perth has been commissioned to undertake an initial (MRE) for McTavish East and initial scoping economic studies into potential open pit and underground mining scenarios.
The combination of open pit and underground development together with multiple third-party processing opportunities provides significant scope in the economic evaluation of the project.
Detailed test work
Initial metallurgical test work on oxide and fresh rock samples was very encouraging with recoveries ranging between 97% and 99%.
More detailed metallurgical test work has been awarded to Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd with this work designed to evaluate gold recoveries and reagent consumption from the McTavish East mineralisation that would be expected from a commercial CIL/CIP gold processing plant.
Carnavale’s goal is to discover high-grade, truckable resources, of a similar size to the historic Cosmopolitan Mine that can be processed at an existing third-party nearby processing plant.
McTavish East is 15 kilometres from Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD)’ Ulysses Project and 63 kilometres from their Gwalia processing plant at Leonora.