Kingston Resources Ltd (ASX:KSN) has begun the first drilling program in more than 20 years at the high-priority Misima North target within the flagship Misima Gold Project in Papua New Guinea.
The initial program is expected to comprise 10 diamond holes with planned depths of 80-130 metres for total drilling of about 1,100 metres.
These holes will target a northwest-trending breccia with anomalous surface geochemistry and will also add data to the company’s structural interpretation of the area to enhance the geological model and assist in planning future holes.
Aerial view over the Ara prospect with drill rig locations
"Exciting location"
Kingston's managing director Andrew Corbett said: “The Misima North area is a hugely exciting location with a large prospective footprint along a 4-kilometre corridor and multiple high-quality targets.
“It represents the third new regional target outside the existing 2.8 million-ounce resource to be drilled by Kingston and follows the discovery of the Abi prospect within the Quartz Mountain area last month.
“With a second diamond rig on site, we have drilling underway at two key regional targets with drilling also commenced on Umuna East."
Shares have been up as much as 16% to an intra-day high of 2.2 cents.
Misima North drilling underway
Misima North is a prospective target corridor trending NNW from the former Umuna open pit.
Recent fieldwork and structural interpretation has elevated the potential at Misima North, suggesting that previous drilling has not properly tested the shear position and subsidiary structures.
Known anomalism and mineralisation at Misima North is indicative of supergene enrichment within structures adjacent to and within the Umuna Fault Corridor.
Trenching results
Previous field exploration by Kingston at Misima North included three short trenches dug within the prospective Ara area.
Ara includes a number of historical underground workings that were active prior to World War II.
Kingston's trenches were designed to test lithological and structural contacts between prospective outcropping greenstone and limestone adjacent to the Umuna Fault Corridor.
The trenches intersected significant gold grades in two contact areas:
- 12 metres at 3.76 g/t, including grades up to 6.87 g/t; and
- 15 metres at 1.98 g/t, including grades up to 4.01 g/t.
Exploration has been conducted by previous companies within the 4-kilometre-long Misima North corridor:
Historical drilling –
- 8 metres at 4.68 g/t gold from 8 metres;
- 10 metres at 2.36 g/t from surface; and
- 10 metres at 3.2 g/t from surface.
Historical channel samples –
- 119 metres at 1.63 g/t;
- 176 metres at 1.12 g/t; and
- 45 metres at 0.88 g/t.
Small-scale historical underground production was undertaken in the 1940s with sampling having recorded up to 16 metres at 21.3 g/t gold, however, Kingston has not verified these historical records.
Second rig commissioned
Corbett added, “Commissioning of the second drill rig occurred during September with additional support fleet and equipment arriving on the island during the third week of September.
"It was a great effort by our drilling contractor and the Kingston team to bring this rig online ahead of schedule.
"We are now well placed to deliver a material uplift in drill metres and an acceleration in drill testing these exciting regional targets.”