Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) (FRA:YBB) has commenced the third phase of aircore drilling of 7,300 metres at the Kookynie Gold Project, targeting the high-grade gold targets identified in the March 2021 drilling program.
Previous aircore drilling identified high-grade, structurally controlled gold mineralisation in regolith, undercover at McTavish East with high-grade intercepts including:
- 2 metres at 16.25 g/t from 54 metres;
- 2 metres at 3.11 g/t from 14 metres;
- 2 metres at 2.27 g/t from 50 metres; and
- 2 metres at 3.40 g/t from 70 metres.
At McTavish North, over 160 metres of strike and remains open to the North, with high-grade intercepts including:
- 2 metres at 3.43 g/t from 2 metres;
- 1 metre at 4.54 g/t from 31 metres; and
- 4 metres at 3.24 g/t from 14 metres (ended in mineralisation).
The company expects the program will be completed over a period of three weeks, with the first results released at the end of June 2021.
“Following up strong high-grade anomalies”
Bostech Drilling has completed two programs of aircore drilling at Kookynie consisting of 256 holes for 12,506 metres, which initially identified multiple gold anomalies and structural features in the weathered rock profile with prospective gold mineralisation open along structural corridors.
The second phase of aircore drilling significantly expanded the footprint of this gold anomalism in the weathered profile.
The third phase of aircore drilling has been designed to infill the areas of known anomalism at McTavish East, McTavish North and Champion South that contain high-grade gold intercepts and explore the limits of this anomalism in the weathered profile.
Carnavale chairman Ron Gajewski said: “The company is excited about this round of aircore drilling at the Kookynie Gold Project.
“The earlier aircore drilling produced some strong high-grade gold anomalies that warrant immediate follow-up.
“We are targeting these high-grade intercepts with infill and extensional aircore drilling that will provide definition to the gold mineralisation prior to RC drilling into bedrock.”
Carnavale tenement holdings with aircore drilling intercepts.
McTavish North Prospect
Notably, the McTavish North Prospect has abundant old workings and pits developed by historic miners that have not been tested by modern exploration techniques until now.
Rock chips from around these old workings have returned gold assays that include 33.21 g/t and 9.93 g/t.
The recent aircore drilling has identified wide zones of gold mineralization in the regolith profile that provides a vector to potential high-grade mineralization at depth.
The new zone identified by recent drilling strikes 160 metres to the north and remains open.
In the current aircore program, this anomalism will be infilled by detailed drilling to define the McTavish North anomalies prior to RC drill testing.
Exploration strategy
The project is in the central portions of the historic Kookynie mining centre, which has produced over 650,000 ounces from high-grade gold lodes and is along strike and adjacent to Nex Metals Explorations Ltd (ASX:NME) (FRA:41N) and Metalicity Ltd’s (ASX:MCT) (FRA:P8O) high-grade Leipold, McTavish Cosmopolitan and Champion deposits, being successfully explored by MCT under an earn-in agreement.
The company’s strategy is to explore and define sufficient high-grade gold resources that can be mined and transported to a processing plant nearby.