Lodestar Minerals (ASX: LSR) has identified anomalous values of gold, silver and other minerals, known as the “Contessa” anomaly, at the Ned’s Creek Project, within the Doolgunna project.
Lodestar has a 2,200 square kilometre tenement holding in the Peak Hill-Doolgunna project, and has undertaken intensive exploration programs in the region during 2011.
A rotary air blast drilling program at Ned’s Creek is due to start in October.
Sampling of outcropping quartz veining bearing visible sulphide mineralisation has returned maximum values of 17.9 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.46g/t gold, 798 parts per million bismuth, 569 parts per million molybdenum and 798 parts per million lead.
The veining is associated with bismuth-molybdenum and silver anomalies that extend over 2.5 kilometres, and occurs within the Marymia granite in close proximity to the granite-sediment contact.
Two discrete gold anomalies of 35 parts per billion and 40 parts per billion, within the granite south west of the Contessa area, are untested.
In-fill soil sampling covering the area of the vein outcrop and the extension of the silver and bismuth-molybdenum anomalies to the north east is now complete.
An immediate work program, including geological mapping, sampling and additional geochemical surveys if required, will assess the potential for extensions to mineralisation.
Marymia drilling
Four reverse circulation holes and 37 rotary air blast drill holes were completed in September at the Marymia Project, also part of Lodestar’s Peak Hill-Doolgunna project.
The drilling program intersected a black shale unit overlying the basal chert horizon, believed to be responsible for a variable time electromagnetic anomaly previously identified at the site.
Gossanous surface samples of chert breccia collected near the base of the sedimentary sequence have been identified as pyritic stromatolite.
Coupled with the base metal geochemical suite noted in lag and soil geochemistry, the identification of pyritic units reinforces the basin’s potential as a host to sedimentary exhalative-style base metal mineralisation, which commonly displays lateral zoning to distal units containing iron, phosphate, barite or silica. Samples from the RC program have been submitted for analysis.