More Than 50,000m Drilling Completed To Date
Middle Island Resources Limited (ASX:MDI) has received further significant gold results from the company’s Phase 2 reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Sandstone gold project in the central goldfields of Western Australia.
Middle Island has completed more than 50,000m of drilling in Phase 1 and Phase 2 to date in 2020, extending several existing Sandstone deposits and identifying five new satellite open pit deposits.
The Phase 2 RC and diamond drilling programme was predominantly focussed on upgrading existing deposits and infilling and extending the five new satellite open pit deposits, McClaren, McIntyre, Ridge, Old Town Well and Plum Pudding, identified by the Phase 1 RC drilling campaign in the first half of CY20.
All new deposits are located on existing Mining Leases within 2.5km of the company’s 100%-owned gold processing plant.
The Phase 2 drilling campaign was designed to upgrade existing deposits and infill and extend the five new satellite open pit deposits to an Indicated Mineral Resource classification (nominal 20m x 20m drill pattern).
Reconnaissance RC drill traverses were also completed across elements of the 1.1km-long Shillington Gap target, interpreted from high resolution airborne magnetic data to lie beneath shallow transported cover between the Shillington and Ridge gold deposits.
Phase 2 infill RC drilling on a nominal 20m x 20m pattern at the Ridge deposit comprised a further 90 RC holes (3,492m) designed to quantify mineralisation to a predominantly Indicated Mineral Resource classification, and confirm a mineralised northern extension to the deposit.
A further two HQ3 diamond core holes have also been completed at the Ridge to provide additional material for bulk density determinations, and geotechnical and metallurgical testwork.
Highlight intercepts derived from the Ridge deposit include 7m @ 6.49g/t Au and 4m @ 5.32g/t Au.
Reconnaissance drill traverses that were extended well to the southwest of the main mineralised zone have identified an extensive, thin surficial lag gold horizon at or near surface that is interpreted to result from deflation of the shallow dipping mineralised BIF units that would have projected above the current topographic surface.
These extended traverses also intercepted a solitary zone of strong saprolite mineralisation, comprising an intercept of 7m at 6.49g/t Au from 60m that is interpreted to be associated with a northeast trending fault (and coincident zone of magnetite destruction) that will be investigated further as part of the imminent Phase 3 exploration drilling campaign.
Managing Director Rick Yeates said that given the significant success of drilling to date in 2020, plans for a further (Phase 3) exploration drilling campaign are being finalised. This campaign will focus on extensions to and repetitions of the Ridge and McIntyre deposits, and further assessment of the Shillington Gap target. The Phase 3 exploration campaign will immediately follow extensive RC sterilisation drilling required for planned new waste dumps and the TSF expansion, which is anticipated to commence late in October once programme of work (POW) approvals have been received.
