Lightning WA gold play strikes as Terrain rolls out diamond rig

Terrain Minerals Limited has kicked off a round of diamond drilling at its wholly owned Smokebush gold and silver project, about 350km north of Perth in Western Australia's prospective Yalgoo mineral field. 

The program will zero in on the company’s emerging Lightning prospect, now sitting inside its own freshly granted mining lease at the northern end of the broader Smokebush project. 

The company says the drilling aims to tighten up the geological picture and deliver the key data needed for Terrain’s maiden JORC resource, which is pencilled in for the second quarter of this year.

Four diamond holes have been planned for a total of 660m, including 340m allocated to reverse-circulation (RC) pre-collars. The pre-collars and pads are already complete, having been prepared in addition to the ongoing RC drilling program at Lightning. 

The diamond core will deliver essential rock density data and detailed geological logging, both of which will serve as key inputs for the company’s planned resource estimation, modelling, and support documentation for the JORC-compliant resource.

In parallel with the new diamond drilling program, the RC drilling at Lightning – involving 21 holes for about 4500m -  is nearing completion.

Results from earlier RC drilling phases have already started coming back from the assay lab, while results from later drill samples are still being processed. 

Once the Lightning program is completed, the RC drill rig will move on to the company’s Wildflower prospect in the central west portion of the Smokebush project,  with 13 holes planned for a total of 2300m.

These holes will cover three priority induced polarisation (IP) targets that have lit up beneath encouraging gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies. Drilling here should be wrapped up in the next two weeks, with results expected in April.

Interestingly, Wildflower shows strong geological and geophysical parallels with Lightning, with both targets sharing similar structural positions around the margins of the same granite intrusion.

IP and geochemical anomalism at the prospect appears to extend along a curved east to northeasterly strike trend of about 800m, raising the possibility of new discovery potential for both gold and silver mineralisation. 

Terrain says it has been handed a major tenure boost, with the newly granted mining lease that wraps neatly around its fast-growing Lightning prospect, ensuring long-term security and locking in a more straightforward development pathway.

With diamond drilling underway to provide critical data for resource calculations and RC drilling wrapping up at its newly-secured ground at Lightning before shifting to the high-potential Wildflower targets, Terrain Minerals looks likely to deliver a pivotal maiden JORC resource estimate at Smokebush by mid-year. 

Positive assays and big hits from either drilling program could spark serious interest, putting Terrain firmly on a watchlist as results roll in over the coming months.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au