Resources & Energy Group Ltd (ASX:REZ) has intersected two primary zones of primary mineralisation each up to 150 metres wide while completing drilling at the Mount Mackenzie Gold-Silver Project in central Queensland.
The drilling program was designed to recover cored intervals through the entire ore body for metallurgical testing and also to investigate primary mineralisation below currently drilled extents.
It is also aimed at infilling current drilled intervals and upgrading the resource at South West Slopes to the indicated category.
The original program envisaged recovery of 600 metres of core (HQ3) which was to be distributed over seven holes.
However, this was reduced to 400 metres due to difficult drilling conditions which slowed down-hole progress due to frequent tripping, short runs and water circulation issues.
The completed holes penetrated the full width of mineralised zones, each about 150 metres in width and the zone, in both cases, was around 20-25 metres thicker than the model.
Test program
The bore core has been loaded on to pallets and dispatched to ALS Townville.
Initial metallurgical test-work will be carried out and will include core photography, splitting, half core assays and determination of density over selected intervals.
Following the completion of this work, JT Metallurgical Services Pty Ltd will prepare a combination of master and variability composite for evaluation.
As part of the program, the effectiveness of gravity preconcentration, cyanide leaching and flotation will be investigated.
Background
REZ is developing the Mount Mackenzie project, which is around 150 kilometres northwest of Rockhampton.
A scoping study in July 2020 returned an indicated and inferred (JORC2012) resource of 3.42 million tonnes at 1.18 g/t gold and 9 g/t silver totalling 129,000 ounces of gold and 862,000 ounces of silver.
This work also generated a production target of 2.2 million tonnes with a head-grade of 1.32 g/t gold and 8.5 g/t silver for an estimated 67,000 ounces of gold and 329,000 ounces of silver.
Previous test work and interpretation highlighted the high amenability of weathered mineralisation at Mount Mackenzie to standard gravity/CIL and further core was required to complete work on the transitional and the fresh zones.
The July study also noted that subject to validation by additional metallurgical investigations, there may be the opportunity to transition the plant from leach-only to crushing, grinding and bulk sulphide floatation process.
The adoption of a flotation process to produce a polymetallic concentrate could unlock additional primary ore at Mount Mackenzie, which is currently not included in the optimised pit shell.