Extends High-Grade Gold Mineralisation Beneath Pit
Manuka Resources Limited (ASX:MKR) continues to extend the zone of high-grade gold mineralisation beneath the design pit shell with ongoing drilling at the company’s Mt Boppy gold deposit in the Cobar Basin of central west New South Wales.
Four reverse circulation (RC) drill holes were designed to test the down-dip extents of high-grade gold mineralisation defined by previous RC grade control and surface drilling. Highlights include:
- MBRC019: 159m – 181m (22m) average 11.78 g/t Au (no stope fill included) Including 159m – 165m (6m) average 5.37 g/t Au
And 174m – 181m (7 m) average 30.98 g/t Au; and - MBRC020: 180m – 197m (17m) average 4.33 g/t Au (no stope fill included)
These intercepts are approximately 30m to 50m beneath the current planned pit floor.
Executive Chairman, Dennis Karp, said the results again confirm the existence of exciting grades of gold mineralisation below the current pit shell.
The reported drill holes were designed to follow up previously reported high grade intercepts in the hangingwall (west side) of back-filled stopes in the Mount Boppy gold deposit. High grade zones were encountered in historic drilling and mining higher in the deposit, associated with dip and strike flexures of the Mount Boppy Main Lode.
The zone of high grades corresponds with a strike and dip flexure of the Mt Boppy main lode, reflecting the strong structural controls on mineralisation.
“The ongoing drilling campaign into the existing Mt Boppy pit, targeting mineralisation beneath the current pit design, continues to deliver excellent grades,” Mr Karp said.
“This is the fourth set of drill holes the Company has reported on since August 2020, and all four sets significantly contribute to the thesis that Mt Boppy has potential to have a much longer life than currently planned.
“We are certainly incentivised to continue exploration to build our resource inventory for future exploitation. We have planned further drilling to intersect below the current pit design (again from surface) and expect these holes to be completed mid- March.
“The current strategy for Manuka is to conclude mining the current Mt Boppy pit design by May/June 2021, and process those mined Mt Boppy ores until around July. We then intend to commence the processing and production of the Wonawinta stockpiles, as we become Australia’s newest silver producer, and notably Australia’s largest primary silver producer.”
The Mt Boppy Gold mine and neighbouring tenements hosting an existing open pit Measured and Indicated Resource of 351,430 tonnes grading 4.62 g/t gold, based on a cut-off grade of 1.6 g/t for material within its current open pit design and a cut-off grade of 3.0 g/t for material below the current pit design, and an inferred resource of 11,000 tonnes grading 6.7 g/t below the designed pit reported at a 3.0 g/t cut off, The Mt Boppy project is currently in production and processing its gold ore through the company’s processing plant at Wonawinta.
The Wonawinta silver project, with mine, processing plant and neighbouring tenements, hosting 52 million ounces of silver in an inferred JORC compliant silver resource grading 42 g/t silver at a cut-off grade of 20 g/t silver. The Wonawinta processing plant has a nameplate capacity of 850,000 tonnes per year. The Company expects to announce a Resource Update during March/April 2021.
The Wonawinta silver project was previously the largest producer of primary silver in Australia. Manuka intends to resume the production of silver doré in mid-2021, following the completion of mining at Mt Boppy.
