Saturn Metals Ltd (ASX:STN) advanced development at its Apollo Hill Gold Project in Western Australia during the December 2018 quarter, upgrading the mineral resource by 36% and the deposit grade by 14%.
The upgraded resource estimate now comprises 20.7 million tonnes at 1 g/t gold containing 685,000 ounces.
A total of 3.3 million tonnes at 1.1 g/t (containing 116,000 ounces) was upgraded to the indicated category, representing a conversion of 22% of the previous inferred mineral resource.
The rapid growth in Apollo Hill’s mineral resource reflects important breakthroughs in the understanding of the deposit’s geological controls.
Step-out reverse circulation (RC) drilling during the quarter further highlighted the potential to grow Apollo Hill’s mineral resource.
At the Ra zone, intersections 1 kilometre along strike to the south and north included: 27 metres at 1.12 g/t from 61 metres, including 11 metres at 2.1 g/t from 66 metres; and 7 metres at 1.19 g/t from 61 metres.
In addition, widely-spaced shallow drill intercepts about 150-300 metres along strike from Apollo Hill’s main deposit outlined a 300-metre-wide corridor of mineralisation requiring infill drilling.
Follow-up resource extension RC drilling is due to restart in early February with a 35-hole, 3,600-metre program planned.
READ: Saturn Metals eyes expansion of Apollo Hil gold resource and discovery of new deposits
Regional exploration in the December quarter focused on geochemistry and mapping at the Hermes, Athena and Hades prospects.
Significant geochemical anomalies returned include:
A 12.1 g/t rock chip in newly-identified quartz reef at Hermes;
A 250-metre-long plus-20 ppb gold soil anomaly at Athena; and
A 0.3 g/t and a 0.1 g/t rock chip collected on the completely unexplored northerly extension of the Apollo shear at Hades, 8 kilometres along strike of Apollo Hill.
Saturn will soon begin a 5,000-metre, 125-hole aircore drilling program to test these emerging regional targets.
Prospective tenure
The company’s cash position at December 31 last year was $3.38 million and it was also awarded a $35,000 grant in the last round of the WA Government’s exploration incentive scheme.
Saturn currently has 56.5 million shares on issue and was last trading at 16 cents a share.
Apollo Hill comprises 20 gold exploration and prospecting licences covering about 1,065 square kilometres, as well as two mining leases.
Access to the project is via Kalgoorlie along the goldfields highway and is accessible through a network of dirt roads, station roads and historical mining tracks.