Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX: VTX) has commenced drilling at its Red Hill Gold project in NSW, Australia.
The Red Hill Resource forms 1km of the 14km strike length at the Hill End Gold Project located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW.
The project has seen extensive historical mining, however, most of the previous workings were impeded by a high-water table. Work undertaken in 2015 by Hill End Gold Limited (HEG) culminated in a JORC 2012 resource estimate at the Red Hill Resource of 80,000 oz Au @ 1.7 g/t to 150m depth.
The Red Hill metallurgy is believed to be amendable to gravity recovery methods, with previous test work reporting recovery rates greater than 90%. The project boasts an existing 100% owned and permitted processing plant.
Easy access to the existing plant and high metallurgical recovery presents Vertex with the opportunity to develop a gold mine with a very small environmental footprint.
The planned 1,500m RC drill program will focus on targeting the stockwork and halo zones that have the greatest potential to add significant tonnage to the resource whilst improving amenability to bulk mining methods.
Deeper targets identified at the prospect which will be examined during the program include the Frasers zone.
The planned drilling will be the company’s maiden drill programme undertaken at the Hill End Project.
Red Hill presents significant potential for exploration and resource growth in a neglected mining district of significant size, gold grade and unique amenability to gravity processing techniques.
The drill rig is expected to be on site for up to three weeks.
“We were pleased to have the rig on site and the rods spinning. This drilling programme is designed to expand the existing resource ounces at Red Hill and hopefully zero in on some of the bonanza grade zones that have previously been sliced in past drilling programmes,” Executive Chairman, Roger Jackson, said.
“Red Hill is a few kilometres long and forms only part of the greater Hill End Corridor and the global resource.”
For further information please visit: https://vertexminerals.com/
