New assays from drilling at Barton Gold’s (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) Tunkillia project in South Australia have provided indications of higher-grade vertical structures at shallow depth in the system.
The results infill the northern end of mineralisation at the S1 starter pit, which Barton has modelled for early recovery.
Drilling aimed to refine the modelling of this mineralisation in areas where vertical higher-grade structures may intersect the interpreted base of oxide and transitional zones.
The company said the new assays indicate potential for refinement of certain areas as more vertically-oriented mineralisation, rather than being purely flat-lying and ‘supergene’-style.
Latest Assay Highlights
Best assays were 8 metres at 4.74 grams per tonne gold from 41m, including 2m at 9.85g/t from 44m; 20m at 2.06g/t gold from 84m and 5m at 7.15g/t gold from 109m, including 2m at 9.15g/t from 85m, 3m at 5.19g/t from 90m, and 2m at 14.2g/t from 111m; and 6m at 4.46g/t gold from 120m, including 1m at 15.7g/t from 122m.
Other highlights were 7m at 4.13g/t gold from 83m, including 2m at 11.2g/t from 88m; 10m at 5.21g/t gold from 45m, including 3m at 9.7g/t from 49m; and 17m at 2.23g/t gold from 53m, including 3m at 8.97g/t from 58m.
Barton is expecting to receive the balance of Phase 1 infill drilling assays by January, and is looking to convert Tunkillia’s S1 and S2 optimised open pit mineralisation to measured and indicated resource categories by March 2026.
Previous Central Drilling
The latest assays follow results from previous drilling at the central portion of the S1 pit, which Barton had prioritised due to its anticipated higher-grade mineralisation, and to validate geostatistical modelling assumptions that will be used to inform the design of future upgrade drilling campaigns.
This area delivered numerous intersections with broad intervals of high-grade mineralisation, such as 23m at 2.25g/t gold from 62m, including 2m at 5.45g/t from 69m, 1m at 7.5g/t from 75m, and 1m at 8.9g/t from 81m; and 35m at 1.69g/t gold from 74m, including 1m at 10.9g/t from 90m and 2m at 6.6g/t from 106m.
Barton is targeting a second phase of diamond drilling through mid-2026 to convert resources to the Indicated category, as well as expand geotechnical and metallurgical data on hand to support further pit optimisation and feasibility studies.
