Neometals has landed a fresh set of barnstorming gold assays from the latest reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign, stacking up wide, high-grade gold intercepts at its historic Ironclad and Mystery mine sites within the company’s sprawling 505-square-kilometre Barrambie gold project in Western Australia’s Mid West.
And the market seemed to agree, with Neometals’ share price up almost 20 per cent at one point to 7.5 cents on the highest turnover in more than six months.
The drill program homed in on the old Ironclad deposit and the historic Mystery mine area, punching out 82 holes for over 8457m across the project, comprising 42 holes for 3547m at Ironclad and 14 holes for 1652m at Mystery. The latest results flowed from 56 holes across both sites.
At Ironclad - the more advanced target with a maiden 13,000 ounce inferred gold resource - the intercepts confirmed broad zones of mineralisation and highlighted a strong northerly plunge to the higher grades.
Standout results from four holes included 19m at 4.16 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 106m, including 9m going 7.19g/t gold. The second hole came in with 26m grading 2.50g/t gold from 69m and included a hefty 5-metre slice of 5.84g/t and another 6-metre section running at 4.36g/t.
Other hits shone with 26m at 4.04g/t gold from surface, including 15m at 6.58g/t gold alongside a shallower hit of 10m at 3.29g/t gold from 11m, which included a 4-metre chunk grading 5.09g/t gold.
The results support the company’s geological model of a wide upper stockwork zone, which appears to be fed by shear-controlled higher-grade shoots that remain open at depth, particularly to the north.
At nearby Mystery, the historic high-grade mine northwest of Ironclad, the latest results delivered a cracker of an intercept in one hole with 14m at 11.74g/t gold from 82m, including 6 metres grading a whopping 26.56g/t gold.
That intercept confirmed a steeply dipping, high-grade quartz vein structure within a broader halo of gold mineralisation, pointing to a shallow, northerly plunging high-grade trend that remains wide open below the historic underground workings and ripe for extension.
Neometals Limited managing director Chris Reed said: “This new drill data supports our current understanding of controls and continuity of gold trends, thus providing further confidence in the Barrambie gold project as we transition to the development of the Ironclad deposit.”
At both prospects, gold sits within classic Archean greenstone rocks, tied to shear zones and stacked sets of quartz veins that host the mineralisation, with the higher-grade cores of these broader zones often flashing visible gold.
Neometals says the results have bolstered its understanding of continuity, grade potential and distinct structural controls at Barrambie, boosting the upside potential of a project that has barely seen a drill bit since the 1990’s.
Neometals is now updating the Ironclad inferred resource estimate and mine plan, with results expected by April, while it advances other studies needed for mining approvals.
The company says the remaining assays from the Barrambie Ranges trend should land on the company’s desks later this month and planning is underway for the next phase of drilling to probe deeper into the secrets of Mystery, the Ranges prospects and other high-priority targets.
With the Barrambie tenure covering a 40km-long strike of prospective greenstones in the belt and historic high-grade production with a combined average historic production grade of 24.8g/t gold, the incentive for a renewed gold push is compelling.
After more than 20 years of quiet on the gold front, Neometals’ Barrambie gold project is beginning to shine, delivering solid high-grade potential across multiple zones in a proven greenstone belt.
Combined with its nearby world-class titanium deposit, Neometals is quietly building a dual-commodity story, with near-term catalysts and plenty of exploration firepower left in the tank.
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By Doug Bright
