Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has reported promising early results from Phase 1 drilling at the Bermol prospect, part of its flagship Idenburg Project in Papua, Indonesia, with assays confirming depth extensions and opening new areas of mineralisation.
The company has now completed 10 holes for 1,169.6 metres across a 650-metre strike length of the Bermol fault and shear zone. Results from holes BRD008 to BRD011 all intersected gold mineralisation, providing evidence of extensions beyond the current JORC resource and validating historical drilling by PT Iriana Mutiara Idenburg.
3D plan map showing locations of completed (yellow), planned (white) and historical (black) drill holes. Refer to Table 1 for completed hole coordinates. The interpreted trace of the Bermol shear zone and quartz vein system is shown in orange.
Strong intercepts highlight Bermol’s potential
Headline intercepts from the four drillholes assayed so far include:
- BRD011: 4.7 metres at 2.26 g/t gold from 92.4 metres, including 1.7 metres at 3.97 g/t, plus 4.0 metres at 2.75 g/t from 160 metres, with higher-grade lenses including 1.5 metres at 6.05 g/t and 0.5 metres at 11.02 g/t;
- BRD008: 5.2 metres at 1.67 g/t gold, including 0.5 metres at 8.72 g/t from 38 metres; and
- BRD010: 2.0 metres at 3.17 g/t gold from 46.9 metres, including 0.9 metres at 6.58 g/t.
Photos of samples collected and assayed from Bermol drillholes BRD010 / 011
TOP Left: From hole BRD010 assay sample BDO15723 (47.4–48.3m) which returned 6.57 g/t Au, 8.6 g/t Ag, 7.4% As, 0.3% Cu over 0.9m, basalt with pervasive shear foliation and abundant coarse arsenopyrite.
BOTTOM Left: From hole BRD011 assay sample BDO15890 (95.4–96.1m) which returned 3.8 g/t Au from a zone of mylonite with sulphides present along shear foliation planes.
TOP Right: From hole BRD011 assay sample BRD16024 (161–161.5m) that returned an assay of 11.02 g/t Au, 1.9 g/t Ag, 5.9% As over 0.5m, section of brecciated quartz veins with overprint of coarse, massive arsenopyrite.
BOTTOM Right: From hole BRD011 assay sample BI0016030 (163.5–164m) that returned 2.7 g/t Au, intense pervasive shear foliated rock with sulphide stringers along foliation planes.
Far East Gold said these early results demonstrate the opportunity to grow the Bermol system beyond current boundaries, with follow-up drilling now advancing into highly prospective targets at North Bermol. Preparations are also under way for maiden programs at the Sua and Kwaplu prospects.
‘Just the beginning’
Far East Gold chief executive officer Shane Menere said the early results build confidence in Bermol’s potential.
“We are very encouraged by the first drill results from the Bermol prospect, which confirm a wide mineralised shear and fault zone with strong geological features consistent with previous exploration work and exploration target,” he said.
“These results validate our belief that Bermol has the potential to host a significant gold system and build on the maiden JORC of 540,000 ounces,” he added. “Importantly, this is just the beginning. Drilling is now moving to North Bermol, where we will be testing highly prospective targets that have never been drilled before.”
Survey work and resource context
Alongside drilling, a 320-line kilometre high-definition drone magnetic and LiDAR survey is being conducted across Bermol and North Bermol, covering around 1,200 hectares. Scheduled for completion by the end of August, the survey is designed to define key structural features along a 4-kilometre corridor linking the two zones.
Bermol currently accounts for 228,000 ounces at 4.8 g/t gold of the Idenburg Project’s 540,000-ounce JORC (2012) inferred resource. Independent modelling by SMGC has outlined an upper exploration target of 1.8 million ounces at 10.0 g/t gold at Bermol alone, pointing to significant expansion potential.
With multiple prospects lined up for drilling, Far East Gold says it is positioned to generate a steady pipeline of results as it works to establish Idenburg as a district-scale gold system.
“Each of these areas has the potential to deliver strong high-grade results and build momentum as we unlock the broader gold potential of this project,” Menere said.