Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV, OTC:MGVMF) has doubled down on a new, high-grade gold trend during a regional reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at the flagship Cue Gold Project in Western Australia.
The exploration program, undertaken to the west of Cue’s starring Break of Day deposit, pinpointed what’s now known as the Waratah trend and intersected as much as 53.2 g/t gold.
What’s more a follow-up drilling program at Cue’s Amarillo prospect has also hit further high-grade gold, with as much as 35.1 g/t reported from the exploration target.
Assays are pending for roughly 100 drill holes at targets across the Cue gold camp, with drilling set to recommence on or around January 10, 2022.
Defining new targets
Speaking to the new gold trend, Musgrave managing director Rob Waugh said these were further strong results that supported the Cue project’s upside prospectivity.
“We continue to define new targets and hit new mineralised zones. The new Waratah zone is only 400 metres east of Break of Day.
“All new intersections sit outside the mineral resource estimates and the drill spacing is still very broad at roughly 200 metres, with further infill required.
“Interestingly, Waratah was a lower priority target which coincided with the proposed waste and tailings storage facility locations in the early PFS design works.
“This preliminary design will obviously now need to be re-assessed.
“The potential for future resource additions at Big Sky and White Heat will likely impact design planning as well.
Waratah trend
The biggest find from Musgrave’s regional drilling program at Cue was a new mineralised trend, 400 metres east of the Break of Day deposit.
It is interpreted to extend for more than 4 kilometres of strike with gold mineralisation identified in at least three separate zones that individually account for between 200 metres and 400 metres of strike.
Importantly, the new gold mineralisation is near the surface and remains open down-plunge — and to the south in zone three.
All up, 27 RC drill holes were drilled to test this new corridor. Highlights include:
- 2 metres at 28.1 g/t gold from 78 metres, including 1-metre at 53.2 g/t from 78 metres;
- 2 metres at 6.1 g/t from 87 metres;
- 2 metres at 5.8 g/t from 31 metres;
- 5 metres at 2.6 g/t from 36 metres;
- 8 metres at 1.7 g/t from 33 metres; and
- 5 metres at 2.0 g/t from 98 metres.
Amarillo prospect
Roughly 1.2 kilometres to the southwest of Break of Day, Musgrave also conducted RC drilling at the Amarillo prospect, formerly known as Target 14.
During the campaign, the explorer hit regolith gold mineralisation, where material intersections included:
- 9 metres at 8.7 g/t gold from 44 metres, including 2 metres at 35.1 g/t from 51 metres; and
- 3 metres at 11.3 g/t from 45 metres.
Basement follow-up drilling is pencilled in for the target in late January.
Future plans
Work at the Cue Gold Project is expected to pick back up again before mid-January as the field crew returns from the holiday break for a busy February season.
Initially, they’ll focus on follow-up drilling at the new, high-grade Mosaic gold lode, with assays due back early next month.
In the meantime, resource definition drilling will get underway at one of Cue’s largest prospects — the Big Sky target.
Further assays are anticipated in early February as Musgrave builds towards a maiden mineral resource estimate for the target.
Resource conversion diamond drilling is also on the cards at the Break of Day and Lena deposits.
RC pre-collars have already got underway, with diamond tails set to commence next month.
Musgrave is also working to progress pre-feasibility level studies at the deposits, where mining studies, environmental monitoring and assessments, metallurgical, processing, design and geotechnical test-work continues.
Finally, the explorer has embarked on a regional aircore campaign to test a dolerite extension that originated on the Evolution joint venture (JV) to the north.
As part of this agreement, Musgrave is also completing follow-up diamond drilling at the Lake Austin Target and is waiting on assays from this and the West Island prospect.
Waugh concluded: “Resource RC drilling and diamond drilling will recommence in the new year at Big Sky.
“This work will enable a maiden Big Sky resource estimate in late quarter two of 2022.
“The results show that exploration continues to identify strong gold mineralisation in previously untested and poorly tested areas as demonstrated by the newly identified near-surface, high-grade Waratah gold trend east of Break of Day.”
Cue project
Musgrave’s Cue Gold Project is roughly 30 kilometres south of the township of Cue in the Murchison district of Western Australia.
The Lena and Break of Day deposits are only 5 kilometres from the Great Northern Highway, approximately 600 kilometres north of Perth.
The current resource estimate for the Cue Gold Project totals 6.4 million tonnes at 3.2 g/t gold for 659,000 ounces.
This includes the Break of Day deposit, spanning 797,000 tonnes at 10.2 g/t for 262,000 ounces of contained gold, and the Lena deposit, measuring 4.3 million tonnes at 2.3 g/t for 325,000 ounces.
Recent gold discoveries at the White Heat, Big Sky, Amarillo, Waratah and Mosaic targets all lie outside the existing resource areas, representing future upgrade potential.