- 0183m at 1.27g/t Au from 6m; includes 42m at 2.23g/t.
- 02Goldenclad adds a fourth position to Spur’s 6km corridor.
- 03Most of planned 500m hole awaits assays.
Waratah Minerals (ASX: WTM) has intersected broad, near-surface gold mineralisation in its first drill hole at Goldenclad, extending the exploration footprint of its Spur project in New South Wales.
Partial assays from the upper 100 metres of the hole returned 83m at 1.27 grams per tonne gold from just 6m below surface, including a higher-grade 42m interval at 2.23g/t from 12m.
The Goldenclad target sits among numerous historical gold workings near the margin of the Cargo Intrusive Complex, where Waratah is examining a series of mineralised structures.
Goldenclad lies approximately one kilometre along strike from the Consols Zone, where Waratah has concentrated recent drilling.
The result adds a fourth mineralised position to a 6km corridor encompassing Spur, Consols, Ironclad, and Goldenclad, strengthening the company’s interpretation of a potentially linked gold system.
Shallow Intercepts at New Target
The broad intercept was recorded directly beneath historical surface workings, with narrower zones including 6m at 3.75g/t from 26m and 8m at 4.83g/t from 46m.
Visible gold was evident in veins associated with quartz, chlorite, pyrite, and carbonate-sulphide mineralisation, while strongly weathered material was encountered in the upper portion of the hole.
Goldenclad’s initial drilling was designed to confirm earlier shallow exploration and establish geological information unavailable from historical records.
A previous hole drilled approximately 5m away intersected 48.3m at 1.65g/t from 16.5m, including 35.26m at 2.19g/t, providing a comparison for the new results.
The intervals are downhole lengths rather than established true widths, although Waratah considers the generally subvertical mineralised zones likely to exceed 80% of the reported downhole thicknesses.
Wider Corridor Emerging
Managing director Peter Duerden described the maiden result as an “encouraging” starting point for assessing the new position.
“This is an outstanding result from Waratah’s very first drill hole at Goldenclad,” managing director Peter Duerden said.
“We are beginning to see compelling evidence of the broader opportunity across this gold system, with multiple mineralised positions extending from Spur through Consols and now Goldenclad.”
“With broad, near-surface mineralisation now demonstrated in our first hole, Goldenclad has immediately emerged as an important new exploration opportunity for Waratah and adds another dimension to the scale potential of the broader project.”
Mr Duerden’s comments came as the company continues to test the interpretation that gold-bearing structures extend between the established Spur and Consols targets and the northern prospects.
Deeper Drilling Underway
Only the first 100m of Goldenclad hole GCD001 has been assayed, leaving most of the planned approximately 500m drill hole yet to be evaluated.
Drilling is continuing beneath the shallow mineralisation to investigate additional interpreted structures associated with parallel historical workings and magnetic targets.
A second hole, GCD002, has been collared on the western side of the Goldenclad trend to test the previously undrilled Wollard’s Reef and continue south towards the Ironclad lease.
The wider Spur program also includes ongoing drilling at Spur and Consols, with several completed holes awaiting assay results.
Further results and geological interpretation will be needed to establish continuity, geometry, and the ultimate scale of mineralisation across the corridor, where no Mineral Resource has yet been defined.
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