White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has identified gold in-soil anomalies at the Comet Well prospect located within the Merolia gold project located in Laverton near Western Australia.
The anomalies extend along 2.3 kilometres of strike and are up to150-350 metres wide.
Assayed samples contain a maximum gold value of 169ppb but are more commonly 20-50ppb gold with several samples greater than 100ppb gold.
Infill sampling will be carried out in the next three months.
Todd Hibberd, managing director, commented: “This is the fourth significant gold anomaly we have identified at the Merolia gold project.
“The gold grades are highly anomalous and the strike extents are very encouraging. Infill soil sampling will be conducted in conjunction with drilling at the Comet Well prospect.”
Merolia: Comet Well prospect
The Merolia gold project hosts the Ironstone, Comet Well and Burtville East gold anomalies.
Gold nuggets were discovered within the regional Ironstone Gold prospect in February 2016.
Detailed metal detecting then identified a significant number of gold nuggets at surface over a 3 kilometre long trend (the Comet Well gold trend) that coincides with a major regional fault structure.
The nuggets were located by prospectors operating under a formal tribute agreement with the company.
Recent prospecting by the tribute group has identified visible gold from a 2 metre deep pit occurring adjacent to a quartz vein where 4 ounces of gold has been recovered.
Along the 3 kilometre trend a total 40 ounces of gold has been recovered with the largest nugget weighing 20 grams.
Evaluation of the regional magnetic data over the Ironstone gold project has identified several shear systems that have the potential to host substantial gold mineralisation.
Background
White Cliff is advancing its 90% owned Aucu gold deposit located in the Kyrgyz Republic and its 100% owned Merolia gold project located near Laverton, Western Australia.
Aucu hosts a resource of 1.15 million tonnes grading 4.2 g/t gold for 156,000 ounces of contained gold at a 1.0 g/t cut-off grade.
Drilling has discovered significant surface expressions of visible gold along strike from this resource including 8 metres at 55.2 g/t gold and 4 metres at 59.9 g/t gold.
Historical drilling at Merolia has intersected substantial mineralisation including 5 metres at 33 g/t gold, 2 metres at 6.65 g/t gold and 3 metres at 5.3 g/t gold.
Upcoming lithium soil sampling
White Cliff was also recently granted a 20 square kilometre tenement immediately north of its Lake Percy joint venture tenement located in Western Australia where a lithium anomaly was recently discovered.
Joint venture partner Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR), who is earning up to a 70% interest, recently identified a two kilometre long lithium anomaly at the Lake Percy project.
White Cliff owns 100% of the newly acquired adjacent tenement where previous exploration identified numerous pegmatites in existing drilling and mapping.
White Cliff will undertake a comprehensive soil sampling program in February.
The tenements are located 430 kilometres east of Perth in the emerging Forrestania lithium province which includes the Mt Cattlin spodumene mine operated by Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) and the Mount Day lithium discovery.
While Lake Percy was originally farmed out as a non-core asset allowing White Cliff to focus on its flagship Aucu and Merolia gold projects, acquiring adjacent land to the recently identified lithium anomaly has potential to deliver inexpensive value to shareholders.