Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) has intersected high-grade gold in a maiden geochemical aircore drilling program at Ora Banda South Gold Project, 90 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in the West Australian Goldfields.
The phase one aircore program comprising 168 holes for 10,869 metres was designed to test the bedrock potential along the Carnage Shear, identified from aeromagnetics with results including:
- 4 metres at 8.82 g/t gold from 40 metres;
- 8 metres at 2.74 g/t from 48 metres, including 4 metres at 5.1 g/t from 52 metres; and
- 12 metres at 0.44 g/t from surface.
Carnavale’s aircore program confirms the prospective Carnage Shear occurs along the 15-kilometre-long tenement package and shows anomalous gold, arsenic, bismuth and lead with three new gold prospects identified that contain high-grade gold intersections.
“Multiple high-grade gold zones”
Carnavale CEO Humphrey Hale said: “We are delighted with the results of our first aircore drilling at Ora Banda.
“Our initial wide-spaced reconnaissance drilling has confirmed a very large, 15-kilometre corridor of gold anomalism along the Carnage shear with multiple high-grade gold zones in the regolith profile.
“These new prospects will be followed up with more detailed drilling very soon. We have a drill rig booked to return to Ora Banda in early 2022 to expand and develop these exciting new gold zones.”
Aircore program
Carnavale’s aircore drilling program tested targets identified by previous soil sampling program, previous aircore gold anomalies and structural targets under alluvial cover.
The object of the aircore program was to test for the geochemical gold signature in the regolith that would lead to structurally hosted gold mineralisation undercover that could be similar to the Invincible discovery at St Ives.
Encouragingly, this new phase of drilling has generated three broad gold anomalies - Carnage, Highlander and Ghan Dam - which are all open along strike and at depth.
Other strong results from the aircore program include:
- 4 metres at 1.40 g/t from 24 metres;
- 4 metres at 0.76 g/t from 56 metres;
- 4 metres at 0.72 g/t from 16 metres; and
- 9 metres at 0.31 g/t from 56 metres, hole ended in mineralisation.
Carnavale's aircore drilling with significant intercepts
Soil geochemistry
In addition to outlining significant gold anomalism in the regolith, Carnavale has gained an improved understanding of the geology and structure, the depth of transported material as well as the depth of weathering within the regolith profile across the tenement package.
The company’s multi-element geochemistry from the recent assays has helped to understand the geology and distribution of the anomalous gold mineralisation along the Carnage shear.
Promisingly, Ora Banda has an analogous geological setting target to the 2.5 million ounces at 4 g/t Invincible deposit, discovered by Gold Fields Limited near Kambalda in 2012.
Soil sampling geochemistry with drilling geochemistry.
Forward plan
Carnavale is planning more detailed, follow up aircore drilling to extend and expand the exciting new anomalies at the Carnage, Highlander and Ghan Dam prospects, with an aircore rig booked for February 2022.
As part of a systematic exploration approach and, subject to the results of this additional aircore drilling, the company intends to drill test the deeper extensions of the regolith anomalies with RC drilling.