Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) will drill for gold at the expanded Yandal project in Western Australia, with field reconnaissance this month to refine this year's drilling targets and wider grassroots exploration plans.
Expansion and infill drilling of known mineralisation is proposed for Lowland/Lowlands South gap, in addition to drilling of untested geophysical targets.
The gold mineralisation at Lowlands deposit is located in a geological setting where a north-south trending mineralised altered magnetic basalt intersects with a northwest trending shear zone, creating a southwest plunging mineralised deposit.
The new Lowlands South mineralisation was identified in Artemis’ 2012 drill campaign, with a single hole targeting a north-south trending geophysical target returning 12 metres at 1.78grams per tonne gold from 80 metres depth. This mineralisation is open in all directions
Artemis' drilling plans in the Yandal Greenstone Belt received a fillip with the successful grant last week of exploration licence E53/1689, increasing the area covered by the Artemis group granted tenements by 20% to 28,000 hectares.
The company has also submitted applications for another 22 exploration and prospecting licences which, when granted, would further increase its holdings by another 17,450 hectares.
The Yandal Greenstone Belt has been an extremely productive gold belt over the past 25 years, with the discovery and successful exploitation of multi-million ounce gold mines such as Newmont's Jundee (7 million ounces gold produced), Navigator Resources' Bronzewing (3.4 Moz) and Mt McClure (1.8 Moz).
The belt has produced over 12 Moz of gold, the majority of which has been won since the 1990s indicating that this belt is relatively underexplored in comparison with other mature Yilgarn Block greenstone belts.
The market’s focus for gold has returned to the Yandal–Wiluna region over recent times, also evidenced by entrepreneur Joe Gutnick’s recent return via a stake in Blackham Resources.
Artemis had a cash balance of $1.35 million at the end of last quarter.
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