Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has delivered another strong set of drilling results from its Idenburg Gold Project in Papua, Indonesia, confirming a lateral extension of high-grade and bonanza-grade mineralisation at the Sua Prospect.
The latest assays come from diamond drillhole KSD027, the fifth hole reported from the company’s current drilling campaign at Sua. The hole was drilled as a 50-metre step-out from earlier holes KSD025 and KSD026 and has confirmed a continuation of high-grade gold zones along strike and at depth.
Map showing prospect and resource areas within the Idenburg COW tenement. FEG drilling is currently in progress within the Sua and North Bermol prospect areas. The areas of announced PIPPIB forest reclassification are also indicated.
Multiple high-grade and bonanza-grade intervals
KSD027 returned several high-grade gold intersections, highlighted by a broad zone grading 49.47 grams per tonne gold over 4.85 metres from 73.85 metres.
That interval included a series of exceptional sub-intervals, including 62.12 g/t gold over 3.85 metres, 93 g/t over 1.0 metre and a peak grade of 175 g/t gold over 0.55 metres.
Additional high-grade mineralisation was intersected elsewhere in the hole, including 8.55 g/t gold over 1.7 metres from 14.4 metres, 11.2 g/t over 0.5 metres from 96.15 metres and 5.51 g/t over 0.8 metres from 112.9 metres.
Far East Gold said the high-grade zone intersected in KSD027 remains open down-dip and along strike to the northeast, reinforcing the prospectivity of the Sua vein system.
Image showing the Sua prospect area and the locations of completed FEG drillholes (KSD023 to 032). Assays have been received for FEG holes KSD023-027). Also shown are planned holes (yellow italics) that will test the downdip extension of defined mineralised zones.
Building confidence in continuity at Sua
The company noted that all five Far East Gold diamond drillholes reported to date at Sua have intersected high-grade gold within multiple stacked quartz–sulphide veins, extending and confirming mineralisation previously identified by historical drilling.
Non-executive chairman Justin Werner said the results are building confidence in the continuity of the system.
“KSD027 confirms that high-grade gold continues below the historic intercepts and within numerous veins,” Werner said. “This is the pattern we wanted to see at Sua in an orogenic lode system — continuity of structure and grade down-dip and along strike.
“The more holes we drill, the more confidence we gain that Sua is a highly fertile gold system with substantial untested potential.”
Interpreted cross section (looking Northeast) showing the trace of hole KSD027 and historical holes KSD009, 012, and 016.
Resource context and drill program update
The Sua Prospect sits within the approximately 5-kilometre-long Sua–Afley shear zone at the Idenburg Gold Project, which hosts a JORC (2012) inferred mineral resource of around 540,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 4.1 g/t. Of that total, about 296,000 ounces at 3.7 g/t are attributed to the Sua Prospect.
Including the latest drilling, 24 of 27 holes assayed at Sua have intersected gold mineralisation. Far East Gold has now completed its planned initial 10-hole diamond drill program at the prospect, totalling 1,836 metres, with assays received for five holes so far.
Importantly, the company said the high-grade gold intersected in KSD027 is associated with little or no supergene alteration and very low arsenic concentrations, a feature that may be favourable for future development considerations.
Photos of drill core from drillhole KSD027. A) Deformed and chloritized metadiorite at right with abundant coarse pyrite that appears to have formed along shear foliation planes. From KSD027 assay interval of 93 g/t Au over 1m from 74.5 to 75.5m (sample BDO17231), B) Intensely chloritized metadiorite with coarse pyrite. From KSD027 assay interval of 22.96 g/t Au over 0.65m from 76.5 to 77.15m (sample BDO17234), C) Quartz breccia with overprint of very coarse pyrite. From KSD027 assay interval of 175 g/t Au over 0.55m from 77.15 to 77.7m (sample BDO17235).
Next steps
Following the success of the initial program, Far East Gold has approved a focused extension of drilling at Sua, comprising five additional diamond holes for a planned 1,360 metres.
Assays are pending from the remaining five holes from the initial program, which were designed to expand the defined mineral resource area by up to 150 metres along strike and extend known mineralisation further down-dip.
The company said future work will target extensions of the high-grade zones, while an infill drilling program is also being considered to upgrade the current Inferred resource to Indicated classification.