Precious and base metals exploration and development company, Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) is launching a new exploration programme at the Eastern tenements of its Ernest Giles gold project in western Australia.
The area has virtually not been subject to historical exploration and the exploration programme will include Mobile Metal Ion surface geochemistry, broad-spaced gravity traverses and geological field reconnaissance. The results of the exploration programme are expected by September 2017.
The main objective of the programme is to highlight the potential prospectivity of these almost untested new licences and to establish gold exploration targets for further follow-up work, the company said.
READ: Greatland Gold spots 'interesting' new targets at Ernest Giles after ground gravity survey
The Ernest Giles gold project is home to several successful exploration discoveries such as the Tropicana - AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG) - which contains over 7mln ounces, and Yamarna/Gruyere - Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) - with over 6mln ounces.
Greatland Gold is targeting large 5mln-plus ounce deposits and clusters of several camp-type 1mln-plus ounce gold discoveries at Ernest Giles.
The Ernest Giles gold project covers more than 1,800 square km, including a large north-south trending sequence of prospective rocks which represent an extension of the gold prospective greenstone sequences. The Eastern portion of the project, known as Ernest Giles East, is the most remote part of the project and is virtually unexplored.
"Same large scale, 'big company' approach to exploration"
In today's statement, Greatland Gold's CEO, Gervaise Heddle said: "This new exploration programme targeting the Eastern portion of the Ernest Giles gold project is designed with the same large scale, 'big company' approach to exploration that has already yielded significant benefits on other parts of the Ernest Giles project."
He added that the technical team has designed a systematic exploration programme covering both geochemical and geophysical elements, that seeks to demonstrate the potential "for large gold camps" at the Eastern portion.
"We will make further announcements as the various elements of the exploration programme commence. At this stage, we expect initial MMI and gravity results to be received by early September," Heddle said.
The new exploration programme follows on from recent significant developments at the project including the identification of two large zones of gold mineralisation, announced in January 2017, and an agreement with a subsidiary of Newmont Mining PLC (NYSE:NEM), one of the world's largest gold producers.
