White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has identified a new high-grade gold structure at its Aucu project in the Kyrgyz Republic, with trenching results grading as high as 53.6g/t gold.
This work establishes a fourth major mineralised system containing high-grade gold at surface within the project. The new area, now known as the Camp gold zone (CGZ), is parallel to the three previously discovered structures.
Assays from the new trenching recorded 3 metres at 23.8g/t gold, including 1 metre at 53.6g/t gold.
CGZ occurs 400 metres south of the Southern gold zone (SGZ) and has the same sub-vertical dip and west-northwest orientation.
CGZ has also been identified in hillside outcrops along strike 500 metres to the east of the initial trench discovery.
Mineralisation, including visible gold, occurs in all three rock types in a 3-metre-wide shear zone containing brecciated quartz, sulphides and clays.
The discovery follows quickly on a drill program at SGZ, where visible gold has been identified in three separate locations over a length of 2,500 metres.
Targeting work at the western outcrop of visible gold in this area followed up trenching results of 3 metres at 11 g/t gold.
SGZ is just 400 metres south of the inferred Aucu gold resource of 1.2 million tonnes at 4.2g/t for 156,000 ounces and is easily accessible from existing tracks.
Ongoing drilling is also targeting the upper and lower gold zones as well as extensions of these zones to the east and west. White Cliff intends to drill up to 3,000 metres (weather permitting) over the next six weeks consisting of about 30 holes with depths ranging from 50 metres to 200 metres.
On completion of drilling at SGZ, the rig will move up the hill to the Lower gold zone (LGZ) to test extensions to the visible gold panned from a 1 kilogram sample taken from the outcrop at 2,730 metres elevation. Mineralisation occurs as a 10 metre wide zone cutting across silicified sandstone and mudstone.
This in turn will be followed by drilling at the Upper gold zone (UGZ), where visible gold was initially panned from outcrop at 3,200 metre elevation.
Multi-million-ounce potential
Recent exploration success at Aucu has been building excitement for the project, particularly since the project is located in an area known for enormous gold operations.
A number of operating mines are within 50 kilometres of the site, including Charaat Gold’s (AIM:CGH) 6-million-ounce Charaat mine and Fortune LLC’s 5-million-ounce Ishtamberdy mine.
White Cliff’s properties in the region remain 90% undrilled and lie at the epicentre of the famed Tien Shan Gold Belt, which hosts to some of the largest gold mines on the planet, including Kumtor at 19 million ounces and Kalmakyr with 93 million ounces.
Murntau, across the border in Uzbekistan, boasts a whopping 110 million ounces of gold.
The broader project
Aucu is part of the Chanach porphyry copper deposit which holds an Inferred Mineral Resource of 10 million tonnes at 0.41% copper containing 40,000 tonnes of copper.
Total project tenure is 83 square kilometres and can be converted to mining permit for 25 years. The site is 25 kilometres from a local village in an uninhabited valley with an elevated access road and a water mill.
An exploration target of 80,000 tonnes of copper has been set at the site.
Of the 25 holes drilled at Chanach, 22 have contained copper mineralisation at potentially economic grades. Channel sampling has delivered 33 metres at 0.85% copper, including 8 metres at 1.72% copper.
Analysis
Discovery of yet another major gold structure at Aucu further reinforces expectations that the project represents a potentially huge gold resource with the company valued at an enticing $5.4 million.
This view is also supported by the endowment of the immediate jurisdiction, which hosts several large gold operations.
The close proximity and apparent similarities between CGZ and previously established gold zones bodes well for the success of future development using the current exploration techniques.
With drill samples from SGZ dispatched to the laboratory – initial results are expected in early November - anticipation is building. SGZ is located just 400 metres south of the early Aucu gold resource of 156,000 ounces grading 4.2 g/t gold.
Ongoing exploration at prospects CGZ, UGZ and LGZ represents further drivers for White Cliff.
Aucu also benefits from a number of infrastructure advantages, including access roads 200 kilometres to rail, power at US$0.02 per kilowatt and support in two regional mining hubs.
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