White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM, OTCQX:WRMCF) has intersected further high-grade gold during underground drilling at Kenny’s target area of Morning Star Underground Mine within the Woods Point Gold Project in Victoria, Australia.
Notably, the northern extension of the Whitelaw Reef shows good potential for a second significant new mining area.
Recent assay results from the Whitelaw Reef include:
- 4.3 metres at 9.3 g/t gold, including 0.3 metres at 68.3 g/t gold; and
- 0.2 metres at 56.6 g/t gold.
This high-grade gold target area on the Whitelaw Reef is potentially more than 100 metres in strike length and up to 30 metres across strike and is centred on an area of limited historic mining which is close to existing development.
Drilling program
In 2022, an underground drilling program comprising six holes totalling 526 metres was completed from nine-level to provide infill definition of the Whitelaw high-grade target area along the eastern edge of the dyke.
This program was a follow-up to an earlier program in 2021 where 27 holes for 1,002 metres were completed from seven-level.
Previous results from Whitelaw Reef included 0.8 metres at 34.1 g/t gold including 0.3 metres at 107 g/t gold and 0.6 metres at 74.8 g/t gold.
Consequently, together with previous historic drilling and underground face sampling of minor stoping, a high-grade gold target area of some 100 metres strike length and up to 30 metres across strike width has been defined on the Whitelaw Reef.
Forward plan
The Whitelaw Reef target area, which contains numerous high-grade drill intersections will now undergo a detailed assessment of its mining potential before being included in any production restart forecasts.
While the McNally Reef is being drilled, White Rock will undertake a mining assessment of the Whitelaw Reef to determine whether it can be included in future development and production plans or requires additional drilling to reach a decision point.
The current drill programs potentially deliver four working areas for future mining, dependent on the outcome of an assessment of drilling results for each, providing White Rock with a pathway to recommence mining at:
- McNally Reef extensions where development is in place to commence mining immediately;
- Dickenson Reef where sufficient development is in place to commence mining in the short term;
- Stacpoole/Age of Progress Reefs where development is in place and minor infrastructure requirements will allow mining to commence in the short term; and
- Whitelaw Reef where minor development is required and more substantial infrastructure is needed to enable mining to commence in the mid-term.