Vango Mining Ltd (ASX:VAN) has seen further exploration headway at the Ned’s Creek joint venture property, where partner Lodestar Minerals Ltd (ASX:LSR) has closed out a reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign.
Lodestar recently drilled 29 holes, covering 3,715 metres, in a two-stage operation across Ned’s Creek’s gold prospects, including the highly promising Contessa target.
With all assays now submitted for analysis, it’s hoped the coming results will help establish a mineral resource estimate, which could underpin a future open-pit gold mine at the WA property.
Vango is eager to earn a 51% stake in the emerging gold play, so it’s agreed to expend $5 million on Ned’s Creek exploration over three years.
Results awaited with “great anticipation”
Speaking to the program, Lodestar managing director Bill Clayton said “Although the outcome of the drilling will not be known until assay results are received, the identification of an extensive hydrothermal alteration system associated with the granite contact has confirmed the conceptual model and shown that it is of significant scale."
“We await results with great anticipation,” he added.
Drilling program at Ned’s Creek
During its latest drilling campaign, Vango’s JV partner drilled 29 holes, comprising:
- Twelve vertical RC holes, drilled to a set depth of 90 metres to verify significant supergene gold intersected in previous aircore drilling and support a maiden resource estimate for the supergene hosted mineralisation;
- Fourteen holes targeting the Contessa granite contact as a potential source of the widespread supergene and nugget related gold discovered in the Contessa area; and
- Three additional RC holes on the contact zone 1,500 metres southwest of Contessa at the Central Park prospect.
In the past, aircore drilling at Contessa has unearthed extensive supergene and nugget-related gold mineralisation, so the most recent program was designed to target deeper, primary gold occurrences.
Some of the best aircore results included:
- 15 metres at 3.1 g/t gold from 40 metres;
- 21 metres at 3.01 g/t from 40 metres;
- 20 metres at 1.61 g/t from 48 metres;
- 12 metres at 1.3 g/t from 48 metres;
- 8 metres at 3.35 g/t from 48 metres; and
- 16 metres at 2.16 g/t from 84 metres, including 4 metres at 9.63 g/t.
Ultimately, results from the recently completed program will support a maiden resource estimate for a potential open-pit operation at Contessa.
Exploration drilling also targeted the granite contact at Contessa for the first time, testing a strike distance of more than 600 metres.
With all results now with the lab, it’s likely Vango and Lodestar will have more news to report in the coming weeks.