Meteoric Resources NL (ASX:MEI) will soon begin a drilling program at its Juruena Gold Project in Brazil, with the first Geosol diamond drill rig arriving onsite and a second contracted rig expected to mobilise to Juruena within the week.
The 4,700-metre, 26-hole program will initially target the Dona Maria prospect and samples for assay will be sent to lab in batches starting in about three weeks.
Meteoric managing director Andrew Tunks said the company’s exploration ideas could now be tested with the rigs arriving at Juruena.
He continued: “The team have completely built the 3D model for the major prospects at Juruena and used that to guide this phase of drilling.
“We have developed a host of exciting drill targets within the already declared resources of Dona Maria, Querosene and Crentes in addition to new targets at the Mauru, Tomate and Uilliam prospects.”
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Juruena’s mineral resource estimate is 1.3 million tonnes for 261,000 ounces of gold at 6.3 g/t.
This includes the high-grade Dona Maria and Querosense resources amounting to 436,000 tonnes at 14.7 g/t for 205,000 ounces of gold.
Drilling will follow up existing bonanza-grade gold intersections at multiple targets, including:
10 metres at 101.1 g/t gold from 127 metres, including 2.4 metres at 389 g/t at Dona Maria;
8 metres at 62.4 g/t from 100 metres, including 3 metres at 162 g/t at Dona Maria;
3.6 metres at 554.3 g/t from 147 metres, including 1 metre at 1,992 g/t at Querosense
37 metre at 3.7 g/t from 132 metres, including 2 metres at 48 g/t at Tomate; and
9 metres at 15.4 g/t from 204 metres, including 1 metre at 80 g/t at Uilliam.
Detail of geology and planned phase-one drill collars for Juruena's main prospects
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Tunks added that the maiden Juruena drill program had three objectives, including to test the under-drilled shallow portions beneath artisanal workings at the Dona Maria and Querosense prospects.
The program would also test new predictive structural models within the projects and extend the areas of gold mineralisation outside the currently declared mineral resources.
Tunks said: “We anticipate dispatching the first samples for assaying in August and expect assay turnaround of approximately three weeks.
“Samples will be despatched for assaying regularly and we will therefore be updated the market with results as we progress.”
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Juruena and the Novo Astro Gold Project are towards the western end of the Alta Floresta belt, home to more than 40 gold deposits in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state.
The belt has a past production of more than 7 million ounces from known deposits.
Juruena has had extensive artisanal mining with recorded production in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold, mostly produced during a gold rush in the 1980s.