Astral confirms high-grade gold zone outside of Mandilla gold resource
St George holds hope for the projects which lie in an area that has delivered significant lithium results for other explorers.
Reverse circulation drilling at the Hestia prospect within Astral Resources’ (ASX: AAR) wholly-owned Mandilla gold project has confirmed a high-grade gold zone extending over 300 metres outside of the current mineral resource.
Global resources for Mandilla sit at 30 million tonnes grading 1.1 grams per tonne gold for 1.03 million ounces.
Astral has now received assays for 51 holes over 7,452m of drilling, which contained mineralisation outside of the maiden mineral resource estimate for the Hestia deposit released in December of 500,000t at 0.8g/t gold for 12,000oz.
The initial Hestia estimate is believed to represent only 200m of a total 800m identified mineralisation at the prospect.
Best Hestia assays
Better assays from latest drilling at Hestia were 10m at 6.35g/t gold from 133m; 6m at 6.07g/t gold from 85m; 8m at 3.61g/t gold from 95m; and 9m at 3.21g/t gold from 192m.
Other highlights were 6m at 3.02g/t gold from 97m; 3m at 5.20g/t gold from 176m; 2m at 5.47g/t gold from 52m; and 9m at 2.11g/t from 44m.
Astral noted significant mineralisation was recorded in more than 70% of holes in the program.
Bigger ounces and grade
Managing director Marc Ducler said the Hestia results provide confidence that an updated mineral resource estimate will “delivera significant increase” in ounces and grade.
“Our focus for this year is to increase the resource base to a critical mass that will support a robust standalone mine development at Mandilla,” he said.
“The results at Hestia are strongly supportive of this aim.”
Project targets
The Mandilla project includes the Theia, Iris, Eos and Hestia targets.
Gold mineralisation at Theia and Iris is comprised of structurally-controlled quartz vein arrays and hydrothermal alteration close to the western margin of the Emu Rocks Granite and locally in contact with sediments of the Spargoville Group.
Significant northwest to west-northwest-trending structures along the western flank of the project cut through the granitic intrusion and are considered important in localising gold mineralisation at Theia, which now has a mineralised footprint extending over a strike length of more than 1.5km.
Iris footprint
A second sub-parallel structure hosts gold mineralisation at the Iris deposit, where the mineralised footprint extends over a 700m strike length.
It combines with Theia to form a mineralised zone extending over more than 2.2km.
Hestia growth
Located approximately 500m west of Theia, the Hestia target is associated with a shear zone interpreted to be part of the major north-south trending group of thrust faults known as the Spargoville Shear Corridor.
The mineralisation, which is present in a different geological setting to the primary mineralisation at Theia and Iris, remains open down-dip and along strike with the recent drilling pointing towards Resource growth both in terms of ounces and grade.
Feysville drilling
Astral has also returned a broad high-grade zone from drilling at the Kamperman target within the Feysville gold project along the Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt.
Drilling was completed in January and is the first exploration conducted in the area in three years.
Nine diamond holes for an aggregate 1,411.9m and 26 reverse circulation holes for 2,446m were completed across nine prospects.
Results from this program was first released on 15 March 2023 and included best intersections of 17m at 2.98g/t gold from 39m at Rogan Josh, 2m at 16.09g/t gold from 45m at Hyperno and 8.25m at 3.43g/t gold at Ethereal.
This latest hole at Kamperman intersected 10m at 4.57g/t gold from 148m on a historically untested sheared ultramafic/dacitic porphyry. Previous mineralised intersections have been located on a similar contact and includes a historical result of 13m at 9.06g/t gold from 24m.
Feysville hosts a mineral resource estimate of 3Mt at 1.3g/t gold for 116,000oz at the Think Big deposit.
Mr Ducler said it provides a foundation for the project to potentially become a source of satellite ore feed to a future operation based at Mandilla.