Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE) has added another string to the mineral exploration aspect of its business with intrusion-related gold systems and epithermal gold systems identified on its tenements.
The company, which is primarily focused on materials technology, is encouraged by results of an ongoing technical review of its tenements in gold mineralised districts.
This comes as the precious metal remains in-demand globally and with gold prices at high levels.
Shares higher
Archer's shares have been as much as 6% higher to 62.5 cents intra-day and are up from 18.5 cents at close on May 1 on the back of strong news flow.
The review is being carried out on 100%-owned mineral tenements at Altimeter and Bartels in South Australia and Stanthorpe on the NSW-Queensland border.
Archer Materials is confident that the intrusion-related gold systems and epithermal gold systems identified on its tenements have the potential to host large gold mineralisation.
Altimeter potential
The Altimeter project covers more than 1,000 square kilometres 200 kilometres NNE of Adeliade and hosts the Wonna, Watervale, Hennigs, Hill Grange and Altimeter prospects.
This package covers rocks prospective for Intrusive Related Gold Systems (IRGS) and copper mineralisation, a newly defined (1999) deposit classification that was relatively unknown when exploration was first conducted at the site.
Notably, exploration by Archer at the nearby Blue Hills copper project has identified the presence of IRGS mineralisation.
The NW-SE structures play an important role in fluid control and will become a focus for future exploration.
Location of Altimeter Prospects, South Australia over regional magnetics
Historical exploration
The Altimeter prospect has recorded production (1931-63) of 13.67 kilograms of gold from 351 tonnes of ore and Wonna has a recorded production (period unknown) from the Holders Claim for about 4 tonnes of ore for 31 grams of gold at a grade of 7.7 g/t.
Historical exploration work at Hennigs and Hill Grange in the late 1980s by two different explorers included two separate small gold-focused drill programs which both identified the presence of gold within the tenement area.
At Hennigs, a program of five percussion drill holes for 173 metres was drilled by Nobelex Ltd with hole 2 reporting 1-metre at 1.95 g/t from 7 metres and 2 metres at 1.8 g/t from 31 metres within a sequence of mineralised rocks grading 29 metres at 0.35 g/t from 5 metres.
No follow-up work was undertaken and the company believes that the location of hole 2 to a cross-cutting structure (NE-SW) supports the regional theory that structures oriented in this direction may influence the mineralisation emplacement within the local stratigraphy.
Presence of gold
At Hill Grange, a program of 12 RC drill holes for 1,080 metres was drilled by Fairview Gold with the best result of 20 metres at 0.31 g/t.
At Watervale, the most significant historical exploration results were from quartz veined sandstone rock chip samples 50 metres apart on a NW trending ridge which returned 6.42 g/t and 3.84 g/t.
The most significant results from the sampling at Wonna come from quartz vein samples which returned 8.88 g/t and 1.91 g/t.
Despite the presence of gold mineralisation, there was no follow-up exploration conducted and the Wonna, Watervale and Altimeter prospects have had minimal exploration activity since the cessation of historic gold mining.
Archer believes this history of deep lead and alluvial gold mining in the district supports the widespread mineralisation potential of its tenements.
The mineralising systems at Bartels
Three systems at Bartels
Bartels, on the Eyre Peninsula, was discovered and reported on October 25, 2010, after historical drill core during uranium exploration was assayed for gold and base metals.
Subsequently, Archer has drilled and reported several holes with what is believed to be an ancient epithermal gold mineralised deposit in a low sulphidation system.
The Bartels area contains three low sulphidation epithermal systems in Teresa, Bartels and Patricia.
Geological mapping has defined the Teresa breccia trend over a strike length of 13.5 kilometres, and the Patricia breccia 4.6 kilometres to the SE.
Stanthorpe prospective
The Stanthorpe project is on the NSW state border with Queensland and covers rocks that are prospective for IRGS gold and also covers numerous tin [and gold] and tungsten prospects.
There has been minimal historic gold exploration within the tenement area given the historical focus on exploration for tin and tungsten.
The company believes that the presence of an IRGS target is supported by the association of gold and tin in the mineralising systems.
Location of the Stanthorpe tenement area and the nearby Timbarra gold deposit
Next steps
The gold projects cover a large area of more than 1,500 square kilometres and the company considers the tenements highly prospective for IRGS and epithermal style gold mineralisation.
Archer will continue to gradually explore or seek a partner to expedite the exploration of the tenements in line with its strategy to monetise its mineral exploration assets.