Tanami Gold (ASX: TAM) has received further high grade results from diamond drilling at the Sandpiper Deposit, Western Tanami.
The Sandpiper deposit is part of the Company’s Bald Hill open pit mining operations, located 35 kilometres north of the Coyote Mine and treatment plant at its Western Tanami Operations in Western Australia.
The Tanami region hosts the world class Callie deposit and several smaller 0.5-1.0 million ounce deposits including Tanami Gold's Coyote-Bald Hill operations. Despite the exciting potential of the province to deliver more of these significant stand alone gold deposits, the area remains largely unexplored.
A total of 14 diamond drill holes (4,409 metres) have now defined the Sandpiper mineralisation to over 400 metres down plunge from the base of the open pit.
Best intersections at Sandpiper included: 11m @ 4.9g/t and 2.6m @ 30.1g/t.
The company said "that the Sandpiper mineralised system may be improving at depth with increasing grades evident within shears that previously returned lower grade intervals higher up plunge and additional parallel zones (now up to four discrete zones)."
Tanami, aiming to re-commence gold production next year at Central Tanami Project, last week reported a 105% increase in the CTP mineral resource to a total Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 11.7 million tonnes grading 2.8g/t gold for 1.06 million ounces of contained gold.
Drilling has now commenced at CTP and "marks the first step towards the planned re-commencement of gold production next year."
The initial drilling programs are designed to confirm extensions to the recently updated Mineral Resource and obtain metallurgical samples.
The drilling at the Hurricane-Repulse pit, the first of several high priority prospects, is within close proximity of the Central Tanami Treatment Plant.
Previous reverse circulation and diamond drilling beneath the base of the Hurricane Pit returned significant down hole intervals including:
- 19m @ 10.9 g/t Au from 176m in TDD24;
- 8m @ 20.9 g/t Au from 75m in TRC1059; and
- 14m @ 11.3 g/t Au from 141m in TRC1425.
The Hurricane-Repulse deposit contains an Inferred Resource of 413,000 tonnes grading 4.0g/t for 52,600 ounces Au (contained within the 151,000 ounce Resource for MLS153).
The company said a review of the Hurricane-Repulse geological data has highlighted that significant upside exists to quickly grow the Resource at a minimal cost.
Much of the mineralisation outlined to date is readily accessible from the current pit floor and will be an important source of mill feed once mining and milling operations resume at the CTP.
The company is aiming to further increase the CTP Resource inventory as the foundation for a second production hub to operate alongside the existing Western Tanami Operations, which is currently producing at an annualised rate of 50,000 ounces.
The CTP includes the 1.2Mtpa Groundrush gold treatment facility, which is currently on care and maintenance.