Core Lithium Ltd’s (ASX:CXO) early reconnaissance exploration work has discovered visible gold at surface at the new Pickled Parrot Prospect (PPP) within Bynoe Gold Project in the Northern Territory.
Visible gold was found in one of the first geological mapping campaigns at the new prospect, which was initially identified by re-assaying lithium soil samples for gold.
Based only on moderately elevated arsenic and bismuth, re-assay of conventional soil samples collected by Core resulted in an impressive 828 parts per billion gold anomaly.
Further soil sampling over recent weeks has improved the prospectivity of the area with the gold in soil anomaly now peaking at close to 2 g/t gold.
“Promising indication”
Core Lithium managing director Stephen Biggins said: “To have discovered visible gold at surface at the Pickled Parrot Prospect, in one of the first geological mapping campaigns, is another very promising indication that we are on the right track with this exciting new prospect.
“We look forward to updating the market as further assay results come to hand.”
Notably, the new visible gold is only 700 metres away from a 106 g/t rock chip at Covidicus West.
PPP has also been geological mapped by Core over recent weeks and found to be the focus of a series of quartz veins in an area of least 300 metres in length and 100 metres wide with veins varying between 1 centimetre and 10 metres wide and individually up to 100 metres long.
Magnetic image for the southern Bynoe Gold Project showing the location of the BBF Gold Field including the Pickled Parrot and Covidicus West prospects.
Low-cost exploration
Core is testing and confirming the gold prospectivity of the Bynoe project by taking advantage of the vast library of lithium exploration samples collected by Core over the past five years from the Finniss Lithium Project tenements.
In recent months, Core has also undertaken field investigations of more than 15 targets, including mapping, rock chip sampling and soil sampling - with further assay results expected soon.
Highly prospective region
Numerous gold targets have been generated and based on the early success of the re-assay program, the company is confident of finding further gold targets.
Core believes it is well-positioned in terms of tenure, easy access, local expertise and gold prospectivity to progress the gold exploration potential at both the Bynoe and nearby Adelaide River gold projects.
This highly prospective Pine Creek Orogen gold province in the NT hosts more than 10 million ounces of gold resources and has the potential for long-term, profitable mining operations in a historic mining district with over 4.5 million ounces of gold produced over the past four decades.