Kingwest Resources Ltd (ASX:KWR) has jumped 38% after initial results from aircore drilling at Lake Goongarrie within the Goongarrie Gold Project (GGP) in WA revealed a gold discovery under the lake.
The company intersected gold intersections up to 3 metres at 6.4 g/t and 3 metres at 4.1 g/t in initial assays from 12 holes on the first line of drilling at Lake Goongarrie.
This recently completed aircore drilling program comprised 233 drill holes for a total of 5,638 metres.
The program included three types of drill holes - deep angled (60 holes for 4422 metres), shallow vertical (158 holes for 513 metres) and deep vertical (15 holes for 703 metres).
These holes were drilled in 22 separate traverses across the central and western parts of the lake.
“Potential major discovery”
Kingwest CEO Ed Turner said: “I am very excited by these results from our first drill traverse beneath Lake Goongarrie which validates the Kanowna Belle litho-structural model that we used to target this particular area.
“To intersect significant mineralisation at this early stage is very encouraging and a credit to our geological team.
“These results support our targeting for a potential major discovery which we have named the Sir Laurence Prospect.”
The results have buoyed investors, with shares as much as 38% higher to 10 cents and have risen from 6.3 cents at the end of August.
Potential gold system
Initial results demonstrate that the drilling has intersected a 500-metre-wide zone of sediment/bedrock interface gold mineralisation, which overlies a 400-metre-wide zone of gold-mineralised bedrock alteration.
Kingwest believes there may be a significant gold mineralised system present within the immediately underlying bedrock.
The gold mineralised zones that have been intersected are open along strike to the north and south as well as at depth.
Line 5 drill samples at the Sir Laurence Discovery within Target A10.
Additional drilling needed
According to the company, it has received only 25% of the assays to date and numerous additional litho-structural targets remain to be tested.
Kingwest is now awaiting additional assays and believes further drilling is required along strike and to reach mineralisation in the bedrock.
Turner said: “We have just scratched the surface of bedrock mineralisation at this stage.
“I look forward to receiving the outstanding assays as well as planning follow up drilling along strike within Target A10, which includes many other similar litho-structural targets.”
Next stages
The company believes, the Sir Laurence gold discovery requires immediate follow-up work, which will define the extent of the underlying gold mineralised system.
Immediate follow-up work will include:
- Additional aircore drilling to map the extent of bedrock alteration and gold mineralisation;
- Passive seismic survey and further aircore drilling to map the configuration and flow direction of the paleo-alluvial drainage system and enable Kingwest to trace the gold-bearing vein quartz lag gravels back to their source; and
- Diamond core drilling to determine the structural controls and configuration of the bedrock gold mineralisation so that it can be effectively explored along strike and at depth.
This work will require lake-capable drilling equipment and support vehicles, which are being scheduled.