Medallion Metals Ltd (ASX:MM8) has intersected a potentially high-grade zone down dip of the historical Beryl shaft and underground workings at Gem deposit of Kundip Mining Centre (KMC) within the Ravensthorpe Project of Western Australia.
Recent resource extension drilling has returned several visible gold occurrences in a short interval.
Medallion’s 2021 drilling campaign is almost complete, with about 29,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling completed to date.
Extensional drilling testing areas of the Gem deposit intersected visible gold at about 102 metres down hole with assays expected in February 2022.
The historical mining and underground workings at the Beryl lode recorded some of the highest gold and copper grades from the Kundip Mining Centre, with assays from MM8’s previous extensional drilling at Gem returning:
- 3.3 metres at 10.1 g/t gold, 3.1% copper and 38.6 g/t silver from 54 metres;
- 12 metres at 3.4 g/t gold, 0.2% copper and 1.5 g/t silver from 78 metres;
- 20 metres at 2.6 g/t gold, 0.1 % copper and 2.3 g/t silver from 71 metres; and
- 34 metres at 1.56 g/t gold, 0.2 % copper and 2.06 g/t silver from 91 metres.
“Potentially high-grade zone”
“We know there is coarse gold at Kundip from gravity gold recovery test-work and previous sightings of visible gold in drill core and chips, however, this is the largest and most significant occurrence observed during our 2021 drill program,” managing director Paul Bennett said.
“The multiple occurrences within a short interval suggest we are drilling a potentially high-grade zone of the orebody.
“We have confidence that the Beryl lodes are open down dip and down plunge and given the proximity to the base of the current Gem pit design, we’d expect to see high-grade additions to the mine plan come from this area.”
Medallion believes this most recent drill core with visible gold indicates the Beryl lode remains open at depth, situated well outside the current pit design and about 130 metres beneath the surface.
The drill core will be logged and sampled in the next few weeks, with assays not expected until early next year. Medallion is already planning its 2022 drill program for the KMC.
Next steps
Medallion has a single RC rig deployed at KMC in the lead up to Christmas. Activities into the new year will include:
- A single 300-metre diamond hole is being drilled at the Old Gregg prospect about 10 kilometres north of the KMC;
- All drilling will be paused at Ravensthorpe on December 21, 2021;
- RC drilling at KMC and diamond drilling at Old Gregg will resume on or around January 5, 2022; and
- A second diamond rig will mobilise to the Meridian prospect on or around January 9, 2022.
About Medallion Metals
Medallion Metals is a minerals exploration company based in Perth, Western Australia. The company is focused on increasing the established resources at its 100%-owned Ravensthorpe Gold Project, 550 kilometres southeast of Perth.
Located in an historically proven mineral field, the Ravensthorpe Project represents a belt-scale advanced exploration opportunity which Medallion is confident will grow to one day support a long life, low-cost gold mine.