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Murray Ward
Augustus Minerals has confirmed and upgraded a series of wide gold intersections from its 1242-square-kilometre Music Well project near Leonora in Western Australia, with one-metre resample assays delivering higher grade hits, including a standout one-metre section grading a solid 7.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
The new results are from the one-metre re-splits of the company’s maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Clifton East prospect in March, which initially returned a raft of encouraging hits from broader four-metre composite samples.
The latest, more detailed assays have successfully defined higher-grade zones within the wider mineralised envelopes. The best result was an 11-metre intercept grading 2.41g/t gold from just 32m downhole, which included the impressive 7.9g/t gold hit.
Other significant results included a 34m-wide zone going 0.83g/t gold from 38m, and another 11-metre section assaying 0.92g/t gold from 69m.
‘The 7.90g/t single metre assay from 37-38m illustrates the potential of the prospect to host higher grade shoots.’
Augustus Minerals general manager exploration Andrew Ford
The company says the strong correlation between the initial composite samples and the more detailed one-metre assays is encouraging, as it indicates a uniform, non-nuggety style of gold distribution. Management believes this characteristic makes grade estimation less of an issue for potential future resource calculations.
Augustus Minerals general manager exploration Andrew Ford said: “The one metre sample assays have more clearly defined the wide zones of mineralisation – displaying higher grade intervals within similar grading broader mineralised zones. This reflects fairly uniform, non-nuggety gold, that makes estimation of grade less of an issue going forward.”
Augustus’ encouraging drill results have already caught the eye of one heavy hitter. In a significant vote of confidence, a subsidiary of heavyweight gold producer Gold Fields recently emerged with a 5.33 per cent substantial holding in Augustus after tipping A$550,000 into a placement.
The move is seen as a strategic, low-cost “toe-in-the-water” play by the major, securing it a foothold in Augustus’ vast ground holding in the heart of WA’s prolific Leonora-Laverton gold belt.
Anchoring a prolific geological system with a gold endowment of more than 28 million ounces, this sector of the Eastern Goldfields represents genuine elephant country. The company’s project area is tightly enveloped by a network of world-class deposits.
These include Vault Mineral’s operating Darlot mine 12km north and Northern Star’s 4.3-million-ounce Thunderbox deposit 20km west. Other notable nearby mines include Genesis Minerals’ flagship 9.6-million-ounce Leonora camp.
While Augustus is firmly focused on its WA gold hunt, it also holds the Ti-Tree project in WA’s Gascoyne region, which is considered prospective for copper, gold, lithium, uranium and rare earths.
The company also has a “second in line” application for the massive Mt Kare gold project in Papua New Guinea, which has previously thrown up some eye-watering drill hits, including 111m at 9.8g/t gold.
Back at Music Well, the drill rods are already turning on a follow-up 11-hole, 1650m RC program designed to build on the early success at Clifton East. Assays from that campaign have been dispatched to the lab, with results expected in five weeks.
With a pipeline of local news on the way, a shot at a giant New Guinea project and a gold major now watching from the register, Augustus appears to be rounding the corner at Music Well in one of WA’s most productive postcodes.
The market will likely be laser-focused on the next batch of assays to see if the company’s early success could be the start of something bigger.
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Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
