Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL)’s latest update on exploration activities at the 100%-owned Gordons Gold Project, 30 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia, brings tidings of a new high-grade gold discovery at Malone prospect.
Final assay results have been received from 24 reverse circulation (RC) holes drilled at Malone, 500 metres west of the Gordons Dam gold deposit, in a campaign following up encouraging mineralisation defined by aircore and limited RC drilling.
Mineralisation is open in all directions and follow-up RC drilling has commenced in light of the positive results.
"Positive start for 2022"
Managing director Lorry Hughes said: “The new high-grade gold discovery at Malone is exactly the sort of intercept the team has been searching for in this area over the past year and it is a very positive start for 2022.
“Last year there was a strong focus on testing the extensive felsic-mafic Malone Contact both in the ‘Kink Zone’ and further along strike.
“We drilled a number of RC and diamond holes into the Kink Zone and intersected a number of narrow high-grade and broader low-grade intercepts from within sulphidic quartz veins, small shears and intrusive porphyry rocks.
“This new intercept in drill hole, YRLRC0727, potentially represents a strengthening of the Malone system, 300 metres directly west of the Kink Zone.
“The extent of the mineralisation is unknown at this stage with large areas nearby considered untested. The two follow-up holes in progress will provide further geological control on mineralisation.”
Investors have also greeted the news, driving shares as much as 17.6% higher to $0.335 intraday.
New zones of mineralisation
The most encouraging result, returned from hole YRLRC0727 which was drilled to test beneath anomalous aircore holes, revealed three new zones of mineralisation including:
- 17 metres at 0.4 g/t gold from 101 metres including 1-metre at 2.1 g/t from 106 metres;
- 15 metres at 0.80 g/t from 145 metres including 1-metre at 6.2 g/t from 147 metres; and
- 16 metres at 2.8 g/t from 204 metres including 5 metres at 7.7 g/t from 210 metres.
The high-grade core of the deepest intersection contains individual 1-metre assays including 1-metre at 10.9 g/t from 210 metres and 1-metre at 15.4 g/t from 212 metres.
Yandal is highly encouraged by the result and follow-up RC drilling is underway to confirm the geometry of the high-grades and then to test mineralisation up to 400 metres north along the interpreted strike.
Previous drilling to the north of hole YRLRC0727 was not deep enough to penetrate into the primary rock – the company, therefore, considers this area to be untested, providing a fresh high-priority exploration target.
Other prospects
The company has received assay results from 48 aircore drill holes across 3,376 metres for the Malone and Malone North prospects, up to 1.5 kilometres north of the Malone Kink Zone.
A number of anomalous intersections were returned including:
- 2 metres at 0.5g/t gold from 49 metres;
- 3 metres at 0.5 g/t from 48 metres;
- 1-metre at 0.6 g/t from 65 metres; and
- 1-metre at 0.1 g/t at end-of-hole.
At Gordons Dam prospect, individual 1-metre fire-assay results have been received from 24 RC holes completed for 2,335 metres.
Several significant intersections were returned including:
- 18 metres at 1.8 g/t gold from 42 metres including 5 metres at 4.9 g/t from 44 metres;
- 19 metres at 1.1 g/t from 33 metres including 1-metre at 10.7 g/t from 38 metres and 1-metre at 5.6 g/t from 45 metres; and
- 3 metres at 1.7 g/t from 37 metres and 1-metre at 4.2 g/t from 37 metres.
Next steps
For the remainder of the March quarter the company plans to:
- Complete priority follow-up RC drilling at the Malone prospect;
- Receive and interpret pending aircore, RC results from the Star of Gordon, Malone, Challenger, Parmelia, Success and HMS Sulphur prospects;
- Complete cutting and sampling of diamond core from the Star of Gordon and Bradman prospects;
- Compile an initial open pit mineral resource estimate for the Gordons Dam prospect; and
- Start detailed planning and execution of heritage surveys over key prospect areas within the Ironstone Well and Barwidgee projects.