Godolphin Resources’ evaluation of its Lewis Ponds project in New South Wales has presented some intriguing possibilities for the company, with an assessment of the historical drilling pushing out thick intersections of gold and silver-rich mineralisation.
The company’s assessment of the deposit has unearthed a number of outstanding drill holes including TLPD-12 which returned an impressive 91m at 2.30 g/t gold and 79 g/t silver from 427m, including a high-grade core of 10m at 8.82 g/t gold and 255 g/t silver.
Godolphin is currently undertaking a detailed review of its Lewis Ponds volcanogenic massive sulphide, or “VMS” deposit in New South Wales, which in light of the meteoric rise of precious metal prices is beginning to reveal its true potential.
Historically, Lewis Ponds has been viewed as a polymetallic base metal deposit, being composed of predominantly zinc and lead-rich ores that exhibit anomalous levels of copper mineralisation.
However, the company’s recent reinterpretation of the ore system has revealed eye-catching gold and silver results which is certainly serendipitous, with gold prices continuing to bump along at around US$1,900 an ounce and silver sitting just off a 5-year high at over US$24 per ounce.
Godolphin’s Chief Executive Officer, David Greenwood said:
“Godolphin sees major unrealised potential in the Lewis Ponds mineral resource with the project economics being primarily driven by the gold and silver content and less by the lead and zinc content as has historically been the case. “
“The current high gold and silver prices are game changers for Lewis Ponds. In our remodelling of the mineral resource we are focussing on the ore lenses with higher precious metal values and these results will assist in planning and executing future exploration and work programmes at Lewis Ponds.”
Lewis Ponds is located 15km east of Orange in central New South Wales. The project covers 148 square kilometres of mineralised VMS stratigraphy and covers a swag of historic gold and base metal mine workings, many of which date back to the late 19th century.
The project is in the right real estate, sitting within the Lachlan Transverse Zone which hosts a wealth of deposits in central New South Wales including the colossal Northparkes and Cadia-Ridgeway copper-gold deposits, in addition to the recent 2 million-ounce McPhillamy’s gold discovery.
Lewis Ponds is interpreted to be hosted by a splay, or offshoot of the same fault structure that hosts McPhillamy’s adding yet another incentive for the company to take a closer look at the potential of the deposit.
The project already hosts a base metal-oriented mineral resource that tips scales at weighty 20.24Mt grading 1.5 per cent zinc, 0.7 per cent lead, 0.1 per cent copper and 0.5 g/t gold and an intriguing 33.3 g/t silver, with the company set to build on this total as exploration continues across the project.
Godolphin’s ongoing work program includes a detailed interrogation of the entire exploration database and remodelling of the deposit with a particular emphasis on the gold and silver mineralisation. Initial work has revealed that the deposit occupies a far larger than previously recognised geochemical footprint, with surface sampling outlining anomalous gold mineralisation over more than 1,300m of strike.
In the sub-surface environment, the argentiferous and gold-bearing lodes at Lewis Ponds have been modelled on several sections which suggest the main mineralised lode varies in thickness from 20m to more than 50m and extends to more than 600m below surface. The mineralisation at the deposit appears to be only limited by the current drill pattern and remains open along strike and at depth, pointing to the tremendous potential of the ore system.
Additional drill hole intercepts from the deposit include 21m at 3.68 g/t gold and 122 g/t silver from 178m, 22m at 2.75 g/t gold and 183 g/t silver from 192m, 56m at 1.26 g/t gold and 57 g/t silver from 409m and 22m at 2.24 g/t gold and 28 g/t silver from 575m. Curiously, these intersections also contain higher-grade cores, grading at over 5 g/t gold, which hints at the potential of the deposit to support an underground mining scenario.
Godolphin’s ongoing work program has clearly elevated the status of the project which now ranks as one of the company’s top priorities. Modelling of the deposit continues, with drilling being planned to further test the extent of the precious metal mineralisation and build upon the existing resources with exploration expected to kick off in the coming weeks.
Lewis Ponds already hosts more than 21.6 million ounces of silver and 325,400 ounces of gold providing a perfect springboard for ongoing exploration work over the multifaceted deposit. With exploration set to begin in earnest in the coming months, Godolphin may find it has had a potentially company-making asset hiding within its portfolio from the outset.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
