White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has received the first batch of assays from its current drill program at its 90%-owned Aucu gold deposit located in the Kyrgyz Republic of central Asia.
Drilling aims to expand the current JORC resource of 1.8 million tonnes grading 5.2 g/t gold for 302,000 ounces of contained gold.
The company has completed 42 holes for 4720 metres across five zones at Aucu and expects to complete a total around 6200 metres of drilling in 2017.
Results include seven holes from the Lower Gold Zone (LGZ), 15 holes from the Quartz Zone, five holes from the Eastern Gold Zone, eight holes from the Chanach Copper Porphyry and two holes from the Camp Gold Zone.
Higher grade extensions to the LGZ were identified, featuring 1-metre intersections of 11.53 g/t gold, 2.8 g/t gold, 2.52 g/t gold and 1.04 g/t gold.
Drilling at the Quartz Zone has intersected wider zones of lower grade copper and gold mineralisation including 9 metres at 1.7 g/t gold and 0.32% copper from 118 metres and 27 metres at 0.41% copper and 0.24 g/t gold from 119 metres.
Drilling continues - a second diamond drill rig has been mobilised to site to complement the two reverse circulation rigs and one diamond rig currently drilling.
White Cliff also plans to drill test new regional targets where rock chips grading up to 102.3 g/t gold have been recorded.