Siren Gold’s latest infill drilling campaign has kept the solid gold hits coming at its Sams Creek gold project, sitting at the top of New Zealand’s South Island in the picturesque Golden Bay.
Initial assays received for the first six holes of a near-20-hole program at the company’s SE Traverse and Carapace deposits have returned several solid numbers from SE Traverse, including 4.8 metres grading 4.39 grams per tonne (g/t) from a depth of 53.6m and a 4.2-metre slice running at 3.25g/t from 21.9m.
The drill program is designed to bolster the existing SE Traverse inferred mineral resource of 146,100 ounces of gold, holding an impressive 3.56g/t grade, converting the resource into the higher-confidence indicated category.
The SE Traverse deposit is part of the wider Sams Creek project, currently housing an 824,000-ounce resource at 2.82g/t gold, across its Main Zone, SE Traverse, Carapace and Bobby Dazzler deposits.
Main Zone provides the bulk of the ounces, containing 625,600 ounces within the inferred and indicated classifications. Earlier drilling returned several stellar gold intervals, including 37m at 3.26g/t and a 25.8-metre hit at an impressive 4.41g/t.
Siren Gold says the drilling was infill in nature and set entirely within the mineral resource footprint, with no extensional holes drilled. The program will provide geotechnical and metallurgical data to support future technical studies and enable an updated scoping study.
Management anticipates wrapping up drilling by the end of April and will report further results once the program is complete. Both an upgraded resource and a scoping study are expected to be revealed by the end of September.
Siren Gold chief executive officer Zane Padman said: “SE Traverse is a large, shallow‑dipping part of the ore system that is amenable to open pit mining. It is encouraging to see drilling progressing well and assay results being received as planned.”
Padman said two rigs are currently in operation at Sams Creek as it pushes towards its next mineral resource upgrade.
A total of 15 drillholes for 893m have been completed at the SE Traverse and Carapace deposits, comprising more than half of the planned drill program.
The company is now planning a follow-up drilling blitz at site to explore further the potentially significant Doyle’s fold, 500m west of the Main Zone fold, as it looks to unlock a fresh slice of the system. The program will aim to nail down the dyke geometry and pinpoint the fold hinge, sharpening its structural model and guiding the next phase of exploration.
Doyle’s forms part of the 7km-long Sams Creek Dyke and sits beyond the current mineral resource envelope. Previous deep drilling proved the fold may have plenty to offer, confirming mineralisation 700m below surface and 1.5km from the mapped outcrop. It ranges in thickness from 10m to 60m.
Results revealed in July last year highlighted the gold prospectivity at depth, with 11m running at 2.01g/t, 3m returning 3.14g/t and a 4m block going at 2.28g/t.
Recent diamond drilling at the prospect intersected a 19m stretch assaying 1.3g/t gold from 78.3m depth, including a solid 9m section going at 1.86g/t from 88m.
A second hole drilled 75m to the northwest coughed up a 20m run grading 0.51g/t from 106m, signalling the company may be on to something.
Siren believes it has a suite of add-on prospects in the form of its Riordan’s, Western Outcrops, Anvil and Barron Flats folds, potentially boosting the Sams Creek mineralised inventory.
With development firmly in its sights, the company has already lodged its mining permit application – a pivotal milestone that could unlock the next phase of the project and mark its transition from explorer to producer.
Siren’s Langdons gold and antimony project, 50km southwest of Reefton, is also worth keeping an eye on. Recent fieldwork returned channel sampling up to 38.5g/t gold and 5.7 per cent antimony, in addition to float samples producing a spectacular 506g/t gold and 21 per cent antimony.
The Sams Creek project is a joint venture between Siren and Canadian-listed Oceana Gold Corporation. Siren holds an 81.9 per cent stake in the partnership with Oceana, sitting on an 18.1 per cent interest.
Upgrading the SE Traverse and Carapace resource at Sams Creek might be only the first step in highlighting to the market a potentially serious project in New Zealand’s growing gold sector.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Craig Nolan
