Strickland Metals is finishing off an already prosperous 2023 in style, today revealing new assay results from air-core (AC) drilling at its Horse Well prospect in Western Australia’s Mid West region, that include a highlight hit of 36m at 1.2 grams per tonne gold from 24m, with 16m going 2.5g/t from 32m.
The latest results add to the impetus of a year where the company’s share price got as low as 3.2 cents in February and touched as high as 20c earlier this month – a rise of a whopping 525 per cent.
Management says its most recent intersection highlights new mineralisation potential between the two mainly oxide mineral resource zones at its Filly SW and Warmblood deposits. Centre to centre, the resources are separated by about 500m, the middle 120m portion of which was only thinly tested at shallow depths and had previously been discounted as closed off.
So, the new hit, in addition to other scattered intercepts along the trend, raises the possibility that gold mineralisation may extend between the two resource targets through a strike distance of at least 1km.
Management says the style of mineralisation in the new zone is distinct from that discovered elsewhere at Horse Well, with both oxide resources sitting on a granite contact and mineral studies showing it to be characterised by a silver-arsenic-bismuth-copper-molybdenum-tellurium-sulphur-tungsten signature.
The observation adds to Strickland’s understanding of the local structural and mineralisation regime and the structural hierarchy. The signature is similar to that noted at the company’s Great Western target about 6km to the north-west and all three mineralised zones (Great Western, Filly SW and Warmblood) are associated with a major north-west/south-east shear along a granite margin that is likely to be the signature source.
It contrasts with other prospects such as Bronco, Konik, Clydesdale, Palamino and Filly Central, which respectively are associated with two north-east/south-west-trending faults. It also differs from Marwari and Filly North, which are located on north/north-east, south/south-west dilational sigmoidal shears that link the two faults.
Strickland Metals chief executive officer Andrew Bray said: “The air-core program continues to yield promising results, this time intersecting significant gold mineralisation in an area previously thought to have been closed off to mineralisation. The position of the new discovery strongly suggests potential to link both mineral resources together and drilling at depth, and to the north and south, will be an early priority for 2024 drilling programs.”
Bray said samples from the company’s first seven reverse-circulation (RC) holes were delivered to the laboratory yesterday for priority assaying and the company is also still waiting on results from AC and diamond programs, with further assays from Great Western expected early in the New Year. Bray said the balance of results from RC and diamond drilling at Marwari would assist Strickland in refining its mineralisation model and provide for more targeted and effective drill programs next year.
Given the existing oxide resources, the 350m of surficial laterite-hosted gold at Warmblood, the common style, the strike continuity and tenor of the string of intercepts, and the as-yet untested mineralisation potential down-dip, the entire zone represents more than just “interesting anomalism” and is screaming to be tested further.
The inferred oxide resource at Filly SW comprises 302,400 tonnes at 1.8g/t gold for 17,200 ounces gold. At Warmblood, the inferred resource amounts to 788,000 tonnes going 2.1 g/t gold for 53,900 ounces.
The new discovery comes on top of the two hits at nearby Marwari that Strickland reported just two days ago. It saw two RC holes produce intersections of 24m at 7.4g/t gold from 19m, including 5m going 28g/t gold from 29m and a second hole intercepting 3m running a gold grade of 8.9g/t from 71m.
Horse Well is in the Yandal greenstone belt, about 85km north-east of Wiluna. The latest discovery opens yet another new avenue for Strickland to explore at the project, which seems to be the gift that keeps on giving and perfectly timed for Christmas.
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By Doug Bright
