49 Metals Ltd (ASX:49M) has delivered its best gold intercept to date at the Gold Mountain Project in Nevada, with reverse circulation drilling returning a high-grade oxide gold result from hole DRC#9.
The standout assay was 9.1 metres at 21.9 g/t gold from 224 metres, within a broader intercept of 27.4 metres at 8.3 g/t gold from 221 metres.
A second mineralised zone in the same hole returned 25.9 metres at 1.4 g/t gold from 158.5 metres, including 1.5 metres at 6.6 g/t gold from 169.2 metres.
Best result to date
The company said the 227 gram-metre intercept was the strongest result recorded at Gold Mountain by any company to date.
Importantly, the mineralisation was encountered in the oxidised zone and at a relatively shallow vertical depth of about 200 metres, or around 120 metres below the natural flat topography of the surrounding piedmont.
The deeper high-grade zone may represent a structurally controlled feeder zone within the broader Gold Mountain epithermal gold system.
Significance of feeder zone
The result is considered significant because feeder structures can act as pathways for mineralising fluids and may point towards broader zones of gold mineralisation at depth and along strike.
49 Metals said the interpreted feeder structure remained open at depth and in all directions, materially increasing the prospectivity of the wider project.
The company also noted elevated pathfinder elements, including arsenic, antimony, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphorus, strontium and tungsten, which may indicate a hotter or more proximal part of the hydrothermal system, although this interpretation remains preliminary.
CEO sees breakthrough
49 Metals chief executive officer Phil Carter said the result appeared to represent a significant breakthrough in the company’s understanding of the Gold Mountain system.
“We are extremely pleased and excited by the results of DRC#9 which appears to represent a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the Gold Mountain system, with the deeper high-grade mineralisation potentially representing a feeder structure within a much larger epithermal system,” Carter said.
“We have commenced planning for additional holes to test for extensions to this feeder structure and look forward to updating investors on what may prove to be a significant new gold discovery in Nevada.”
Drilling program advancing
DRC#9 was drilled from the same collar location as DRC#8, which previously returned 33.5 metres at 1.1 g/t gold from 182.9 metres, including 1.5 metres at 4.8 g/t gold.
The company said the repeatability of mineralisation between the 2 holes supported its interpretation that the Adit Zone hosts a significant mineralised system rather than isolated high-grade occurrences.
To date, 49 Metals has completed 13 RC holes for 4,460 metres at Gold Mountain.
What’s next
Drilling is continuing across priority targets, with the rig currently testing prospects along the southern margin of the Oddie Rhyolite at Sealy Ridge.
At the same time, 49 Metals is building additional drill pads at the Adit Zone to test extensions to the newly discovered high-grade mineralisation.
Assays remain pending for holes DRC#10 to DRC#13 and will be released as they are received, validated and integrated into the company’s geological model.