Meteoric Resources Ltd's (ASX:MEI) latest assays from Juruena Gold Project in Brazil have extended high-grade gold mineralisation and revealed an entirely separate style of porphyry-hosted gold-copper mineralisation.
The new zone, revealed in results from holes JUDD009 and 010, is interpreted to be part of a larger gold-rich copper porphyry system.
Hole JUDD009 intersected 1.2 metres at 45.83 g/t gold from 248.9 metres at the base of the high-grade epithermal Dona Maria resource of 88,000 ounces at 12.7 g/t gold.
JUDD010 intersected a thick zone of gold‐copper mineralisation at Crentes prospect, immediately adjacent to Dona Maria, with 54.3 metres at 1.33 g/t and 0.23% copper from 171 metres, including 12.0 metres at 4.54 g/t gold and 0.25% copper from 178.5 metres.
“Exciting exploration opportunity”
Managing director Andrew Tunks said: “I couldn’t be happier to report that JUDD009 has confirmed high-grade gold mineralisation at Dona Maria is open at depth as our structural models suggested.
“This hole intersected high-grade gold at the base of the current resource, deeper than any historic drilling and has allowed us to plan follow-up deep drilling that, if successful could significantly increase this resource.
“The gold-copper mineralisation in JUDD010 and 011 is incredibly exciting and builds on our belief that the high-grade prospects like Dona Maria and Querosene are epithermal gold deposits related to a proximal porphyry gold-copper system.
“This intersection opens a new and exciting exploration opportunity for Meteoric and the geology team is working hard to understand the potential of this gold-copper mineralisation before planning further drilling.
“Novo Astro exploration is ongoing, and drilling will now ramp up with a second GEOSOL rig having mobilised to the project and first assay results expected in late November.”
The mineralised intersection in JUDD009 at the base of the resource
The gold intersection in JUDD009 confirms the Dona Maria structure, along with alteration and mineralisation continuing to the base of the current resource.
JUDD009 is the deepest hole at Dona Maria and planning is underway to test below the hole during the current drill program.
Crentes target
Drill holes JUDD010 and JUDD011 targeted the southern end of Dona Maria toward the Juruena Fault and was designed to pass into the Crentes target.
Hole 010 intersected a thick package of variably altered sulphide-rich gold-copper porphyry-style mineralisation, which is the first copper-gold mineralisation the company has intersected and is the widest copper zone drilled so far.
This porphyry gold-copper zone is substantially different geologically to the bonanza grade, epithermal-gold style mineralisation at Dona Maria.
Hole 011 intersected multiple zones of similarly hydrothermally altered coarse granites, the largest being around 20 metres wide.
The results have been sampled and despatched with assays expected in late November.
Further results
A total of 19 diamond holes were completed at Juruena for 3,431 metres of a 4,000-metre program.
Results from JUDD011-017 are expected in December.
Rig-1 will remain at Juruena to complete the current drilling program but rig-2 will move to Novo Astro to fast track the company’s maiden drilling program.