Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) has fielded significant high-grade gold assay results from early regional exploration drilling at the Branches prospect, part of the company’s Wallbrook gold project, 140 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
Initial follow-up regional drilling has been trained on Branches, which sits on a mineralised corridor, MC1, defined as being over 5 kilometres in length and some 300 metres wide.
Open and untested
The mineralised corridor remains completely open and untested to the north, where Nexus’ tenure continues along strike for a further 5 kilometres to beyond the Gap prospect.
Three parallel potential gold mineralised corridors, MC2, MC3 and MC4, lie to the east of the Crusader to Branches prospects corridor (MC1) and remain to be tested.
The gold is hosted in the same structural setting and “rightrocks” that host Nexus’ Crusader-Templar prospect mineralisation, 3 kilometres along strike to the south, raising the prospect that the two might join up.
Recent results from the 26-hole program across 3,750 metres include:
- 4 metres @ 7.23g/t gold, within 10 metres @ 3.33g/t gold from 115 metres;
- 4 metres @ 7.47g/t gold, within 8m @ 3.96g/t gold from 73 metres;
- 8 metres @ 3.65g/t gold, within 27 metres @ 1.16g/t gold from 26 metres;
- 3 metres @ 4.21g/t gold, within 27 metres @ 1.19g/t gold from 27 metres;
- 3 metres @ 3.90g/t gold, within 8 metres @ 1.51g/t gold from 124 metres; and
- 5 metres @ 3.45g/t gold (within 16 metres @ 1.23g/t gold from 38 metres.
Significant previous Branches drilling results included:
- 5 metres @ 17.91g/t gold, within 8 metres @ 11.37g/t gold from 118 metres;
- 5 metres @ 5.45g/t gold and 3 metres @ 6.07g/t gold, within 36 metres @ 2.04g/t gold from 43 metres;
- 12 metres @ 5.21g/t gold, within 24 metres @ 2.23g/t gold from 25 metres;
- 8m @ 7.59g/t gold, within 25 metres @ 2.86g/t gold from 43 metres; and
- 6m @ 3.95g/t gold, within 31 metres @ 1.31g/t gold from 113 metres.
The Branches prospect is now defined over 650 metres in strike and is open in all directions, with cross-sections demonstrating the continuity of mineralisation along strike.
Nexus managing director Andy Tudor said: “To have received such strong gold results from this early-stage drilling at Branches validates our exploration strategy, which continues to reap rewards and demonstrates our growing understanding of the district mineralisation.
“This early success in testing the first prospect outside of our Crusader-Templar prospect really opens up the opportunity of the four mineralised corridors to host significant gold mineralisation.
“These results are extremely positive and lead Nexus to believe that we may be sitting on a significant gold camp.”