Inaugural reverse-circulation (RC) drilling in three locations at Brightstar Resources’ new Menzies gold project has returned multiple high grades of up to 39 grams per tonne gold from its Aspacia and Lady Irene zones.
The company says results in early assays from the first 10 holes of its recently-completed 37-drillhole program, for a total of 4486m, confirms the high grades typical of the historic underground mines of the renowned Menzies goldfields.
A total of 19 holes were drilled for 2040m at the Aspacia target. Assays have been received for nine holes comprising 1206m of drilling, with assays pending from the remaining 10 holes drilled through 834m.
The Aspacia results all returned more than 0.5g/t gold-mineralised intercepts, with highlights from four separate holes including an impressive 1m hit at 39.58g/t from 56m downhole. Three other drillholes returned intercepts of 1m at 12.12g/t gold from 113m, 4m at 3.1g/t from 48m and 2m at 5.35g/t from 48m.
Old records indicate that while previous production at the historic Aspacia mine area was modest in tonnage, the ore mined was of exceptional grade, with more than 10,000 ounces of gold production reported at a head grade of 35.7g/t.
The area’s recognised high-grade mineralisation style comprises a strong structural component. In 2016, Intermin Resources revealed an historic drillhole intercept of 2.5m at 113.32g/t gold from 105.6m, including 0.90m at a stunning 240g/t from 105.6m downhole.
Brightstar Resources managing director Alex Rovira said: “This program has targeted areas of higher grades that have the potential to form possible ‘early-stage’ mining opportunities and for JORC mineral resource growth. The increased geological understanding from the Lady Irene program will allow us to refine drilling targets in the Northern Trend of our Menzies Gold Project, with several targets already identified for further investigation along the 7km of under-explored tenure, including our recently acquired tenement package from Ardea Resources Ltd.”
Lady Irene assays have been received from a 10-drillhole program through 1965m. The best intercepts include 1m at 17.12g/t gold from 124m, which is included in a longer section of 3m at 6.25g/t from 123m. Two other drillholes yielded hits of 8m at 4.09g/t from 138m and 5m at 1.15g/t from 140m.
Brightstar says the results demonstrate that the mineralised system is not closed off at depth and presents a shallow southerly-plunging target for potential further drilling campaigns. It says it has confirmed its geological interpretations at Lady Irene, presenting attractive targets for follow-up drilling not only within the prospect, but also along the largely-untested 7km-long northern trend which separates it from Aspacia.
The northern trend projects further to the north-west from Lady Irene to include additional strike along the Menzies shear zone that was gained in a recent tenement swap with Ardea Resources. The deal saw Brightstar grab an extra 12 square kilometres of highly-prospective ground next to its Menzies gold project, while also divesting non-core assets.
The company is also waiting on assays from eight holes comprising the 481m of drilling it put into its Lady Shenton-Lady Harriet “Link Zone” that is about 2km south of Aspacia.
With the increased geological understanding delivered by its RC program, Brightstar will conduct further exploration along the northern trend to target gold mineralisation along about 7km of the Menzies shear zone between Lady Irene and Selkirk, in addition to new greenfields exploration in the tenements acquired from Ardea.
With updates imminent on the back of the outstanding results from Aspacia and the Link Zone, Brightstar will continue its exploration activities in conjunction with project development focused on near-term production through the Selkirk joint venture it shares with BML Ventures. It will also continue its scoping study on the development potential of its more than 1-million-ounce combined gold resource base at its Menzies and Laverton project areas.
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