Aurumin Ltd (ASX:AUN) has started reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its 100%-owned Mt Palmer Project, about 40 kilometres east-southeast of Southern Cross in Western Australia’s Goldfields.
The company plans 29 holes for 2,500 metres in its first drilling at the project to test for extensions north and south of the historical mine and at specific lodes in and around the mine.
Mt Palmer is Aurumin's second project with a history of high-grade production, historically producing around 158,000 ounces of gold at 15.9 g/t before ceasing commercial operations in 1944.
Generating new data
Aurumin managing director Brad Valiukas said: "Mt Palmer is our second project and produced more gold at a higher grade than Mt Dimer.
"This first program will get us started on both testing remnants and extensions.
“We have done what we can from the historical records and it is now time to start putting holes in the ground and generating new data.”
Mineralisation at Mt Palmer
Gold mineralisation at Mt Palmer was historically found within five quartz reefs - Main, East, West, New and Egan’s Lodes, within amphibolite facies quartz-biotite schists.
Mining records indicate that the high-grade shoots were developed within stratabound veins on the limbs and closures of pre-existing folds.
Major historical workings at Mt Palmer were mined from 1934 to 1944 and in that time produced 310,715 tonnes at an average gold grade of 15.9 g/t for a return of 158,428 ounces.
The deposit was mined over 360 metres with individual lodes mined over a strike length of 200 metres and to depths of 155 metres from the surface with most production coming from the Main Lode and East Lode.
The Main, East, West and New Lodes were accessed from the main shaft while the Egan Lode was mined from a separate shaft to the north of the main shaft.