High-Grade rock samples confirm further broad surface gold zones at the Train and Shoeshine
Nova Minerals Limited (ASX: NVA, OTC: NVAAF) has identified another major mineralised zone within the company’s flagship Estelle Gold Project located in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt in Alaska.
The Train Prospect area is located in the central portion of the claim block along the flanks of Mount Estelle.
The gold mineralisation is hosted in a granodiorite phase of the Estelle Pluton. The goals of these sampling traverses were to collect representative chip samples of what appeared to be high-grade sheeted vein style gold mineralization typical of Intrusive Related Gold Systems found at the Estelle Gold Project.
CEO, Christopher Gerteisen, said the extent of mineralisation shows an inferred ~1km strike length, and 500m wide at the Train Prospect, and ~1km strike length at Shoeshine Prospect.
Similar style of mineralised veining was also observed at nearby Shadow and Discovery Prospects. These prospects are interpreted to be surface exposures of a massive IRGS deposit.
“More exciting news from the Estelle Gold project. The second rock chip sampling program as part of the 2021 reconnaissance exploration programme has delivered more high-grade results in what appears to be another massive IRGS gold system at Train, within Estelle,” Mr Gerteisen said.
“There exists significant potential to add to global resource inventory moving forward, in addition to the existing 4.7Moz gold resource already delineated at the Korbel deposit, the high-grade drill results we are reporting from the RPM gold deposit, and the recent exciting discovery of an extensive outcropping Polymetallic Au-Ag-Cu mineralized vein system at Stoney.
“ The combination of historic sampling and our recently completed sampling campaigns in the Train Prospect area have identified two discrete zones of high-grade gold mineralisation which are interpreted as part of the same very large IRGS mineralised system.
“Two of these areas cover several kilometres squared and highlight potential for large-scale, high-grade gold mineralisation.”
Nova Minerals sampled the gold rich Train prospect during the 2021 reconnaissance programme and discovered anomalous gold in outcrop rock samples and talus fines samples throughout a 6km traverse extending into the Shoeshine prospect.
Train is hosted in a biotite-quartz monzonite which intrudes the hornfels sediments of the Kahiltna flysch sequence.
Gold mineralisation is dominated by a northwest striking sheeted quartz-arsenopyrite vein set dipping roughly 50 degrees to the northeast. These gold bearing veins were found throughout the traverse at Train.
Nova achieved three goals at Train during the 2021 field season:
- Followed up anomalous rock samples from 2020 with additional rock sampling.
- Gained a better understanding on the controls of mineralization to aid drill targeting for 2022.
- Conducted talus fines sampling from Train towards Shoeshine to better understand mineral trends between these two prospects.
A total of 39 samples were collected, 14 of which were over 0.5 g/t, and 6 samples were over 1.0 g/t Au. Mineralisation was strongest within 1km of the Train and Shoeshine prospects. Rock sampling at Train returned three samples over 20 g/t Au all of which were associated with the northwest striking, northeast dipping, quartz-arsenopyrite veins.
Two prominent veins, each about 0.3m thick, were found approximately 4m from each other and contained massive arsenopyrite with quartz.
A third vein was found 130 m south that also contained massive arsenopyrite and was up to 0.3m thick. From north to south, samples of these three veins ran 2.8 g/t Au, 24.5 g/t Au, and 1.4 g/t Au, respectively.
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