ASX-listed gold explorer, Venus Metals, has unveiled a 29 per cent increase in the contained gold component of its historic 90 per cent-owned Bellchambers project 23km south-west of Sandstone in WA less than 100km from its joint-ventured flagship Youanmi gold project in the Yilgarn Craton.
The Perth-based company lifted the JORC-compliant indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate for Bellchambers to 536,000 tonnes grading 1.27 grams per tonne gold for 21,800 ounces of contained gold, representing a 29 per cent jump in ounces.
Assays from Venus’ recently completed round of RC drilling comprising nine holes totalling 1,176m were incorporated into the new resource. Notable wider intersections from that program included 26m at 1.47 g/t gold from 79m, 20m at 1.41 g/t from 71m, and 11m at 1.42 g/t from 85m.
Other encouraging results were 1m at 6.82 g/t from 85m, 1m at 4.04 g/t from 89m, 2m at 5.87 g/t from 54m including 1m at 9.16 g/t, 2m at 4.18 g/t from 59m including 1m at 6.04 g/t, and 1m at 7.28 g/t from 67m.
Venus is planning further RC as well as reconnaissance aircore drilling at Bellchambers that will test geophysical targets identified from a recent airborne electromagnetic survey.
The drilling will also probe what it says are prospective areas around the intersection of the Western Ridge-Mickey Well gold trend with an interpreted south‐easterly trending gold corridor delineated by significant historical gold mines at Bulchina and Twin Shafts/Goat Farm.
Bellchambers has a prospector mining history from the early 1900s that saw production of 3,688 ounces of gold from 5,620 tonnes of ore at an enviable average grade of 21 g/t. The company’s tenement covers most of the old Bellchambers mining area.
Meanwhile, high-grade gold hits continue to roll off the drill bit at the Youanmi project where Venus and JV partner Rox Resources have more than a half a dozen or so prospects either along strike or not far away from the old Penny West mine and Penny North discovery that led to the stonking Spectrum Metals takeover by Ramelius Resources earlier this year.
Venus-Rox’s prospects include Sovereign, Taylor’s Reef, Currans North and Red White and Blue and the dynamic duo are planning follow-up drilling on these targets.
Spectrum had delivered a maiden indicated and inferred resource for the Penny North deposit of 569,000 tonnes of ore at an eye-watering grade in contemporary termsof 16.8 g/t for 306,800 ounces of contained gold within the Penny West resource of 799,000 tonnes at 13.8 g/t for 355,000oz of contained gold before Ramelius pounced.
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