Augustus launches follow-up gold hunt near Leonora in WA

Augustus Minerals has wasted little time getting back on the rig at its Music Well gold project near Leonora in WA, launching an immediate follow-up drilling campaign after a promising maiden program at the Clifton East prospect.

The company has planned 10 additional reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes inclined at 60 degrees to a depth of 150 m to test along strike from the first phase of drilling completed in March.

The new program is designed to tighten spacing between the earlier drill sections and give Augustus a better handle on the strike continuity and dip of the gold mineralisation defined in the first phase.

The original phase one program put in 11 RC holes for 1100m across just 350m of a longer 1.2km trend outlined by soil sampling and rock chips. 

The best result from that earlier program delivered 16m at 1.46 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 28m, featuring a run of 12m at 1.91g/t gold.

A second hole returned 12m at 0.80g/t gold from 68m, while the third best outcome was 32m at 0.90g/t gold from 40m, including 4m at 2.72g/t gold.

Augustus says anomalous gold was defined in four-metre composite samples from eight of the 11 holes, pointing to a broad mineralised system that remains open along strike at this stage.

The company followed up by resampling 4m composite samples that returned better than 0.1g/t gold and has sent the resulting one-metre re-split samples to the laboratory for fire assay. Results are expected within four weeks.

Augustus Minerals general manager of exploration Andrew Ford said: “The phase one drilling program at Clifton East has delivered excellent results and the follow-up program to further define the strike and dip of the gold mineralisation has begun. I’m back on the rig and looking forward to getting more holes into this exciting prospect.”

Only last week, Augustus locked in $2.5M from investors to help fast-track the current phase two drilling at Music Well, with funding earmarked for Clifton East, a first-pass program at St Patrick’s Well and additional surface geochemistry to propel other prospects towards drill-ready status.

Soil sampling is also planned at the company’s Black Cat East and Teutonic East prospects, as it broadens the gold search across its 1242-square-kilometre Music Well ground package. 

If this round of follow-up drilling can confirm continuity of mineralisation at Clifton East, the company could soon have a stronger grip on where its Leonora play is heading next.

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