West Australian gold explorer Artemis Resources Limited (ASX:ARV; Frankfurt:ATY; OTCQB:ARTTF) is planning to step up activities at its 100%-owned Paterson Central Project in the East Pilbara.
Paterson Central, on tenement E45/5276, covers 605 sq. km and is located approximately 40km east of Newcrest Mining’s multi-million-ounce Telfer Gold-Copper Mine and is contiguous to the Havieron gold and copper discovery made by Greatland Gold Plc and being worked over by Newcrest.
Artemis Resources Executive Director, Alastair Clayton, said gravity and airborne magnetic surveys have identified 13 targets within a 22km radius of the Havieron discovery.
He said Artemis has assessed these targets based on a combination of magnetic signature, density contrasts and structural character/complexity.
Artemis has designed a soil sampling programme for the area and will be split into parts:
- Over the known magnetic and gravity targets, a short set of X-Y traverses will be completed over three of the targets; and
- The samples will be dispatched for analysis using both the MMI and Ionic Leach techniques.
“Our 100%-owned Paterson Central Project, in Western Australia’s East Pilbara, is a rare opportunity to explore virgin ground surrounding and proximal to Havieron, which some analysts are already labelling a Tier 1 gold-copper discovery,” Mr Clayton said.
“Artemis is pursuing this highly prospective greenfields opportunity on a 100% basis to provide shareholders maximum leverage to exploration success. Havieron has a pre-resource implied valuation of more than A$1.5B so, despite the obvious exploration risks involved in drilling through approximately 400m of cover, we can clearly see the rewards on offer at Paterson Central are potentially enormous.
“Our geological model contends that mineralisation in and around Paterson Central is not just associated with the discrete Havieron intrusion ‘bullseye’. It is our belief that multiple mineralising events have been channelled into locally folded meta- sedimentary rocks via regional fault and splay structures that are indicated via geophysics and seismic data to continue through Artemis’s Paterson Central ground.
“We are watching with interest the on-going results from the nine-rig drilling campaign being carried out by Newcrest Mining and Greatland Gold at Havieron for indications of potential multiple deposits, and will adjust our Paterson Central drill programme design accordingly.”
