East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST) said it was pleased with the data interpretation and subsequent targeting work of after 481 sq km of close-spaced drone magnetics flown over the Dalny licence in the southern part of the Chu-Ili orogenic gold belt in Kazakhstan.
The gold and copper explorer said that provided 11 target areas (see images) have been identified as prospective for gold mineralisation, along faults totalling more than 50km of strike.
New targets were identified beneath alluvial cover, which the company said indicated the potential for subcropping gold mineralisation not previously identified in historic exploration.
The large-scale Zhenis gold target, which has coinciding geochemical, resistivity and induced polarisation anomalies, is now interpreted as being 9km long and up to 900m wide, the East Star said, with the area favourable for gold mineralisation associated with second and third order faults.
Alatagyl, a 2km by 1.2km target in the far north-eastern tenement area, has been interpreted as a potential intrusion-related gold deposit.
Historic work at the Alatagyl target zone included 12 IP anomalies of which only three were tested for gold where results included 3m at 7g/t gold and 4m at 2.85g/t gold.
Alex Walker, chief executive of East Star, said: "We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the data interpretation and subsequent targeting work conducted by our consultants and in-house geological team.
"The results widely confirm our approach to the Chu-Ili gold belt as a primary target for orogenic gold deposits in addition to the traditional intrusion-related gold systems and shale hosted gold deposits which we have seen repeated consistently along the belt.
"We intend now to conduct detailed geological mapping and geochemical surveys of these targets before the commencement of drilling in Q2 2022.''