Miramar Resources Ltd (ASX:M2R) has started its 2022 gold exploration program at the Gidji joint venture with reverse circulation (RC) drilling underway at the Marylebone target.
The company is also preparing for aircore drilling at Blackfriars, Highway and Boorara North.
The Gidji project, in which Miramar has an 80% stake, is 15 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Potential for Paddington lookalike
Miramar kicked off exploration at Gidji soon after listing on the ASX in October 2020. It has since spent a year systematically exploring the area and holds the view that there is potential for a new gold camp to be uncovered, predicting there will be multiple new gold discoveries, including a potential 'Paddington lookalike' at Marylebone.
The aim of the RC drilling campaign at the target is to test beneath significant aircore results for the first time and gather information about the local bedrock stratigraphy.
This will allow the company to compare the geology there with that of the 4-million-ounce Paddington gold deposit along strike to the north.
Important milestone
Miramar executive chairman Allan Kelly believes the RC drilling is an important milestone at Gidji.
“We know that other gold deposits along the Boorara Shear Zone, such as Paddington, are hosted in relatively brittle quartz-dolerite units in between softer ultramafic rocks and sediments,” Kelly said.
“The aircore drilling completed to date has focused us in on a 2-kilometre segment of the Boorara Shear Zone with multiple significant aircore results but has given us limited bedrock information due to the presence of the transported cover and stripped weathering profile.
“This RC drill program will test the most prospective part of Marylebone for the first time,” he said.
The current campaign should take about two weeks to complete.
What’s next?
Alongside the current RC bedrock testing of the Marylebone target, the company is planning a substantial exploration program at Gidji during 2022 including:
- Extending the detailed magnetic survey over the northern Boorara Shear Zone;
- Aircore drilling of various targets including Blackfriars, Highway, Boorara North and Boorara South; and
- Refining 'The Jog' target for RC and/or diamond drill testing.
Miramar, like other companies in the current climate, is experiencing considerable delays with assay results, including from the Phase 5 aircore program conducted at Gidji late last year. It will update the market as soon as results are in.