Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED) has obtained high-grade results from multiple locations from drilling completed in 2021 at the Darlot Underground Mine, located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
The drilling forms part of an ongoing exploration and Resource development programme at Darlot focused on extending new mining areas such as Middle Walters South and reducing the dependency on remnant mining.
Latest results include strong intercepts from Middle Waters South and positive results from Dar-Cent, Oval 1300 and Pedersen Lower, all of which offer the opportunity for Resource growth.
Middle Walters South
Middle Walters South is a structurally controlled narrow, high-grade orebody that forms part of the larger Centenary orebody, one of the primary sources of ore at Darlot. Mineralisation is hosted by the Walters Fault and in cross-linking structures between the Walters and Lords Faults. It is hosted within magnetic and non- magnetic dolerite horizons of the Mount Pickering Dolerite Sill.
Phased grade control and extensional Resource drilling programmes totalling 28,500m have been completed at Middle Waters South since July 2020. As expected, higher grades are seen within the magnetic dolerite, with more variable grades associated with the non-magnetic dolerite.
Extensional drilling of the Hookes Lode (a transfer structure between the Walters and Lords Fault, down-dip of currently planned stoping) has the potential to deliver additional Mineral Resources at Centenary, with further infill drilling planned.
Drilling in the earlier stages of the current program successfully extended and upgraded the Middle Walters South component of the Centenary Resource, delivering a 44% increase in contained ounces since Red 5 took over in October 2017 with the potential for further growth. Mineralisation remains open along strike to the west, and further infill drilling is planned.
Access development to Middle Waters South is now underway, with first ore intersected in development in January 2022.
Key drilling results at Middle Walters South include:
- 4.8m @ 13.3 g/t from 250.7m (CAD0666)
- 6.4m @ 81.7 g/t from 264.5m (CAD0667)
- 2.8m @ 21.4 g/t from 189m (GC3812)
- 6.7m @ 8.0 g/t from 223.3m (GC3812)
- 4.4m @ 11.9 g/t from 207.6m (GC3814A)
- 12.5m @ 8.9 g/t from 202m (GC3824)
- 6.2m @ 5.1 g/t from 204m (GC3828)
“These drilling results demonstrate the significant potential to both grow the existing Darlot underground Resource and to extend the new mining areas we are targeting within the Darlot underground mining system,” Managing Director, Mark Williams, said.
“Middle Walters South is the first significant new underground mining area accessed at Darlot since the Oval development commenced in 2016. Accessing this area opens up new exploration platforms from which we can target the Oval and Walters structures, with this region expected to be the primary driver for Resource and Reserve growth at Darlot in the near term.”
Pedersen/Moses
3,200m of drilling was completed within the Pedersen and Moses area to test remnant stopes on the 1120 and 1130 levels on the Pedersen Main Lode. Whilst drilling this programme, holes intersected the Moses Splay Fault, a known mineralising structure that variably hosts economic grade. Strong intercepts returned from the Moses Splay and associated hanging wall lodes included 7.8m at 6.17g/t Au in GC4135.
As a result of the successful drilling on the Moses Splay, a further 2,800m of additional drilling was completed, testing the extents of the mineralisation up-dip and along strike.
Pedersen Lower Extension
2,000m of extensional drilling has been completed on the Pedersen Lower area, which represents the down-dip extension of the main Pedersen Lode within the favourable magnetic dolerite host. The aim of the drilling was to infill the Pedersen Lower Resource to the east of the Moses Fault, below the current mining area.
The Lower Pedersen area represents the only section of the Darlot Thrust identified within magnetic dolerite and is adjacent, and to the south, of the regional lamprophyre and the El Dorado Shear. Historically, mineralisation adjacent to both the lamprophyre and the El Dorado Shear within magnetic dolerite has been well mineralised at Darlot (e.g. the Oval West, Border and Lords South Lower).
The drilling results supported the interpretation of lode continuity and largely confirmed the current Resource model. Drilling also intersected the Dar-Cent bulk mineralisation zone, with encouraging assay results including 47m at 1.1g/t Au in GC4252 and 14m at 2.6g/t Au in GC4253.
Oval 1300
Drilling during FY22 has targeted the upper levels of the Oval Fault proximal to the lower contact of the western magnetic dolerite. Multiple splay structures can be seen in the core and intersecting the Millennium decline.
An initial four diamond holes were drilled at Stockpile 7 on the Millennium Decline in August 2021, designed to follow up a strong intercept of 5m at 3.05g/t Au from historical hole MCD0629 on the Oval Fault at the 1320 level.
From the latest drilling, a moderate to strongly-mineralised fault logged in the core was intersected in GC4207, GC4275, GC4279, GC4281 and GC4283. The best grades are associated with the lower contact of the magnetic dolerite horizon.
Mineralisation is well-positioned relative to current development, with only 100m of development directly off the Millennium Decline required to access the area.
The 1,500m of drilling undertaken to date shows mineralisation remains open along strike to the north-east, with planned extensional drilling from access development having the potential to deliver Resource growth in this area.
Dar-Cent Bulk Area
Dar-Cent is a bulk area of mineralisation that has been progressively drilled out. The drill program for this area totalled 4,700m and was completed in FY21. The bulk-style mineralisation at Dar-Cent is situated between the Burswood and Moses Faults, in the hanging wall of the Pedersen Lode.
The Dar-Cent mineralisation comprises a series of shallow dipping, stacked quartz veins, hosted within the favourable magnetic dolerite horizon.
Upgrading intercepts include CAD0675 (26.8m at 4.08g/t) and CAD0676 (20.2m at 2.29g/t) (downhole lengths). Results received to date indicate the potential for Resource extension to the south with additional drilling.
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