Siren Gold Limited (ASX: SNG) has applied for a new prospecting permit over Langdons Reef near Reefton in New Zealand.
Highlights
• The Langdons area contains a number of high-grade Au-Sb reefs ranging from 0.6 to 2.7m wide that were mined with a recovered grade of 60g/t Au.
• Early reported grades were up to 2,610g/t Au and 1,120g/t Ag.
• Only one hole has been drilled in the area to date (in 1936) and it intersected the Victory Reef (1m @ 30g/t).
• Thin quartz veinlets with stringers of stibnite were also found at Langdons Reef and were reported to return “no less than two ounces of gold”.
• Anomalous gold, stibnite and arsenic soil geochemistry have been found over a strike length of 500m to date.
• Gold and arsenopyrite were also found in the wall rock, suggesting a similar AsAu relationship to that observed at Siren’s Alexander River Project.
Background
The prospecting permit application (PPA) area located on the West Coast of the South Island, approximately 50km SW of Reefton. The Greenland Group rocks that host the mineralisation in the Reefton Goldfield also outcrop in a NE trending belt, 25km to the west of the goldfield. This belt of Greenland Group rocks hosts the historical Langdons and Croesus gold mines.
The PPA area contains Langdons Reef, which is exposed in a 5km long by 1km wide block of exposed Greenland Group rock, which is surrounded, and unconformably overlain, by younger tertiary mudstones and coal measures.
The main target is the Langdons Reef, but other mineralised Greenland Group rocks could be hidden under the cover.
Mining History
The Langdons Reef, or Langdons Antinomy Lode was discovered in 1879. Several mines were opened on various reefs, including Langdons, Victory, Julian, Bonanza, Antimony and Wilsons. A battery was established in Langdons Creek in 1885.
Early reported grades were up to 2,610g/t Au and 1,120g/t Ag. The Langdon and Victory reefs were mined successfully for five years with a reported production of 1,586oz of gold from 809 tons of ore for an average grade of 60g/t Au.
A second battery was constructed in Stoney Creek to the SW of the reefs in 1890. This processed ore was conveyed by an aerial ropeway, but no production figures are available.
After WWII, the Langdons and Victory mines were revitalised. A new aerial ropeway was constructed, 60m of new drive mined and 105m of existing drive rehabilitated. Work ceased in 1952 due to insufficient ore. No production data is available from this period.
Early descriptions described a 0.6m – 2.7m thick quartz vein intruding Greenland Group metasedimentary rocks. This included up to 0.6m thick massive stibnite mineralisation that could exceed 20%. A description of the nearby Victory Reef noted that gold could be observed in white quartz, stibnite and pyrite.
Thin quartz veinlets with stringers of stibnite were also found at Langdons Reef and reported to return “no less than two ounces of gold”.
Gold and arsenopyrite were also found in the wall rock suggesting a similar As-Au relationship to that observed in the Reefton Goldfield. Some unnamed reefs mined around Langdons Reef also contained Cu sulphides.
An outcrop of the Langdons Lode was sampled by Morgan in 1911 and Dominion Laboratories in 1933. No thickness was given but Morgan’s sample assayed 8.8g/t Au, 2.9g/t Ag and 14.1% Sb, and Dominion Laboratories’ sample assayed 89.9g/t Au, 6.9g/t Ag and 64.1% Sb.
The Victory Reef was mined over three levels. A 1936 plan shows a drillhole into the No 3 Level that intersected a 1m thick reef assaying 30g/t Au.
Exploration History
Outcrop in the area is sparse and only minor quartz vein development not removed by historic mining can be identified. Since mining finished in 1952 there has only been very limited exploration in the 1980’s, which included mapping, rockchip, stream sediment and soil sampling completed by Tasman Gold Developments.
Anomalous gold, stibnite and arsenic soil geochemistry have been found over a strike length of 500m. Gold and arsenopyrite were also reported in the wall rock. Tasman sampled silicified sheared sandstone with miner quartz stringers and sulphide that assayed 1.1m @ 7.0g/t Au, which may be similar to the disseminated arsenopyrite gold mineralisation found Siren’s Alexander River project. Exploration – Next Steps
Once the permit is granted Siren intends to conduct mapping and rock chip sampling over the exposed reefs as well as conducting a UFF Soil sample programme over the 5km x 1km area of exposed prospective Greenland Group rocks.
The company is very excited to have been able to include the historical and very high-grade Langdon’s reef tenement package into Siren Golds overall Reefton Goldfields Project. The potential of this area which includes very high-grade gold as well as high grade stibnite, bodes well for future exploration success.
For further information please visit: https://www.sirengold.com.au/site/content/
