Impact Minerals Limited’s (ASX:IPT) drilling results delivered to date indicate the large scale and high-grade nature of the Silica Hill gold-silver system at the Commonwealth project in New South Wales.
Furthermore, the company’s East Pilbara exploration licenses could potentially benefit from renewed interest in Witwatersrand-style conglomerate hosted gold.
Commonwealth Project background
The Commonwealth Project comprises 315 square kilometres of exploration licences 100 kilometres north of Orange.
The belt is host to many major gold-silver-copper mines including the Cadia-Ridgeway deposits that contain at least 25 million ounces of gold and 5 million tonnes of copper.
READ: Impact Minerals has further evidence of large gold and silver system at Silica Hill
Impact’s drill program has continued to test extensions to the gold-silver system at Silica Hill.
The company’s drill hole returned 15 metres at 4 g/t gold and 61 g/t silver including 3 metres at 10 g/t gold and 20 g/t silver, the highest gold assay to date at Silica Hill.
The new assays and detailed studies show that the system extends over an area of at least 500 by 500 metres in dimension and also to a considerable depth.
Significant potential for exploration upside
The Commonwealth project already hosts an inferred resource of 722,000 tonnes at 4.5 g/t gold for 110,000 ounces of gold.
Large areas of the Silica Hill system remain untested by drilling and it is evident that there is exploration upside.
A detailed review and synthesis of all drill hole data including assays, hand-held XRF data and geological data is underway.
Statutory approvals for new drill pads have been lodged and negotiations are underway to extend the land access agreement with the main landholder at the project.
Impact will prepare a resource update following the completion of the next drill program.
READ: Impact Minerals eyes conglomerate-hosted gold potential in Pilbara
Impact has applied for exploration licences covering 1,300 square kilometres of land prospective for Witwatersrand-style conglomerate hosted gold in the East Pilbara.
The licences are adjacent to ground held by Novo Resources Corp. (TSX:NVO) including the Beatons Creek Deposit (>500,000 ounces gold).
Interestingly, more than 90 kilometres of prospective Fortescue Group conglomerates have been identified on Impact’s licence applications.
Similar to Witwatersrand Basin conglomerate gold
The conglomerates are similar to those that occur in the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa where the majority of the gold-bearing reefs are only 1 to 2 metres wide and easily missed.
Impact is conducting on-ground reconnaissance exploration to ascertain access conditions and to determine the best sampling approach for gold both in nugget form as well as finely disseminated gold, both of which occur in the East Pilbara.