Xpedra Resources has hit the broadest gold intercept yet from maiden reverse circulation (RC) drill campaign at its Springfield gold deposit in New South Wales.
The standout hole returned a stellar 55-metre intersection grading 1.32 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface and featured a higher-grade core of 6m grading 4.09g/t gold from 7m.
The latest batch of assays from the company’s ongoing program also delivered a 37-metre section grading 1.9g/t gold and a 16-metre hit running 2.66g/t gold, containing a high-grade 8-metre zone going a solid 5g/t from just 5m downhole.
The company says results stem from the first drilling program undertaken at Springfield in more than 25 years and continues to build a compelling case for a significant, shallow gold system hosted within a 1.7km-long mineralised intrusion. Drilling has now demonstrated the grade and continuity of mineralisation, confirming the prospect is rapidly emerging as a compelling, open-pit gold discovery.
The results from this outcropping mineralisation add to a growing list of strong intercepts at Springfield, which previously returned 52m at 1.35g/t gold from 20m and 36m at 1.84 g/t gold from 19m.
Xpedra Resources managing director Scott Funston said: “Together with previously reported results, the drilling continues to demonstrate the presence of broad mineralised zones containing multiple higher-grade intervals within a growing gold system, confirming that Springfield is rapidly emerging as a compelling gold discovery in the Lachlan Fold Belt.”
Springfield sits near the historic gold rush town of Gulgong in New South Wales, planted firmly within the richly endowed Lachlan Orogen, a belt renowned for hosting some of Australia’s most prolific gold systems, such as Newmont’s monster 40-million-ounce Cadia-Ridgeway Mine.
The company has been busily building its portfolio in the region, having recently acquired the high-grade Neeld gold project near West Wyalong. That project comes with a historical production record of 439,000 ounces of gold at an eye-watering average grade of 41g/t.
The latest drilling at Springfield has improved Xpedra’s understanding of the geology, confirming that the strongest gold mineralisation appears associated with structures within its 1.7-kilometre intrusion, rather than just on its margins.
With promising results from 15 of its initial 27 RC drill holes now received, a pipeline of news is yet to land. Confident in the growing Springfield, management says preparations are already underway for a follow-up program slated to begin this month.
After picking up Springfield late last year, Xpedra has wasted no time getting the drill bit spinning. The consistent wide, shallow gold intercepts are ticking all the right boxes, with the project rapidly shaping into something far more than just another prospect.
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By Andrew Todd
