Mining

Azure Minerals begins exploring recently granted Barton project within Kookynie gold district

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By Lorna Nicholas - 
Azure Minerals ASX AZS Kookynie gold Barton project

Azure Minerals’ Barton tenement adjoins Genesis Minerals’ Puzzle North gold find where mineralisation remains open.

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With its ongoing nickel exploration success at Andover, Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) is now firming up its gold potential with activities underway at the recently granted Barton tenement in the Western Australia’s eastern goldfields.

The company now owns 100% of the 200 square kilometre tenement within the region’s Kookynie gold district.

Azure managing director Tony Rovira noted the Kookynie gold district has recently seen “substantial increases in gold resources” with discoveries also being made close by including the adjoining Genesis Minerals’ (ASX: GMD) Puzzle North gold find, which has an initial resource of 59,000 ounces and is growing.

“Given recent exploration successes by other companies in the Kookynie district, Azure is confident that comprehensive and targeted exploration on the largely unexplored 200sq km landholding has good potential for the discovery of significant gold mineralisation,” Mr Rovira added.

Barton gold tenement

Azure has now kickedoff its maiden exploration program at Barton with an airborne magnetic survey in progress.

Mr Rovira said the project contained “several very exciting gold targets” with the aeromagnetic survey to be followed by aircore and reverse circulation (RC) drilling.

Barton is mostly soil-covered and has had limited previous exploration. However, historic drilling did intercept 18m at 0.77 grams per tonne gold, including 7m at 1.26g/t gold from 42m, along trend of the Puzzle North discovery.

The aircore and RC drilling will follow up on historical drill holes including the 7m at 1.26g/t gold interval.

This interval was uncovered between 1995 and 1997 at the project’s Daisy Corner prospect. Other gold intercepts at Daisy Corner were 40m at 0.2g/t gold from 20m, and 8m at 0.53g/t from 48m.

Drilling will also test for extensions of gold mineralisation currently being uncovered at nearby tenements.

Puzzle North and other nearby discoveries

Azure noted the Puzzle North prospect hosts wide zones of shallow gold mineralisation with a strike length exceeding 400m.

The closest mineralised drill hole at Puzzle North to Barton is 300m south of the boundary.

Azure pointed out the mineralised zone remains open and trends directly towards Barton.

Historically, the Kookynie district has produced more than 1.1 million ounces of gold from open pit and underground operations.

A handful of the larger mines are within a 15km radius of Barton.

Meanwhile, recent exploration in the region has firmed up 1.6Moz of gold at Genesis’ Ulysses gold project (including Puzzle North) and 944,000oz of gold at Saturn Metals’ (ASX: STN) Apollo Hill project.

Metalicity (ASX: MCT) has also made a nearby high-grade discovery within its Kookynie gold project.