Strata Minerals Ltd (ASX:SMX) is preparing to restart drilling at its 100%-owned Zelica Gold Project in Western Australia, with a phase 2 reverse circulation program set to begin in the coming weeks as the company follows up shallow high-grade gold hits from its maiden campaign.
The upcoming program will comprise about 20 holes for 2,500 metres and will focus mainly on step-out drilling designed to test depth extensions to known mineralisation, along with some infill holes intended to help fast-track a maiden JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource estimate.
The restart comes after Strata’s first drilling campaign at Zelica returned a string of shallow, high-grade gold intersections across a mineralised trend extending about 1 kilometre. Better results included 10 metres at 3.18g/t gold from 37 metres in hole SZRC015, including 3 metres at 8.36g/t, and 9 metres at 2.07g/t from 44 metres in SZRC019, including 2 metres at 7.02g/t.
Other notable hits included 7 metres at 3.00g/t from 51 metres in SZRC007, 5 metres at 2.61g/t from 64 metres in SZRC022 and 4 metres at 4.20g/t from 54 metres in SZRC002.
“In what promises to be a transformative year for Strata, we are pleased to mobilise the drill rig back to Zelica and recommence drilling in the coming weeks. This follows the outstanding shallow high-grade gold intersections from our successful maiden drill program. This phase 2 program will target depth extensions of the known mineralisation through step-out drilling, while infill drilling will support a faster path to an initial resource estimate. This will give us a solid foundation on which to build upon and help us assess our options on how to best extract maximum value from Zelica,"Zelica managing director Peter Woods said.
"The recent securing of the Zelica South Project has significantly strengthened our position in this richly endowed district, consolidating an impressive 8 km gold-mineralised corridor with considerable scope for growth.”
Surrounded by gold deposits
The next phase of work would target extensions to this shallow mineralisation, which remains open at depth and along strike, while also tightening drill spacing in parts of the system to support resource work.
Zelica sits on a granted mining licence and is close to existing infrastructure, with the project located within about 50 kilometres of several gold deposits containing more than 1 million ounces and within trucking distance of multiple processing mills.
The company has also expanded its footprint in the district through the recent acquisition of the Zelica South Project, lifting its control over the prospective gold corridor to more than 8 kilometres.
With drilling about to resume, Strata is now seeking to build on the momentum from its maiden campaign and move Zelica closer to an initial resource while continuing to test the broader scale potential of the corridor.