Classic Minerals starts deep drilling at Kat Gap gold project
Classic Minerals will complete 3,000m of deeper drilling at Kat Gap, which it says could potentially add mineable tonnage to the final pit design.
WA-focused gold exploration and development company Classic Minerals (ASX: CLZ) has commenced a deep drilling program to complement infill work being done at its Kat Gap project in Western Australia.
The newly started reverse circulation program comprises 20-holes for a total 3,000 metres to test deeper at the northern area of infill drilling where high-grade, near-surface mineralisation was recently encountered.
Those intercepts included 3m at 13.23 grams per tonne gold from 32m; 5m at 7.36g/t gold from 42m; 3m at 7.04g/t gold from 43m; and 2m at 21.07g/t gold from 33m.
Holes will be spaced on 40m sections with 20m spacings.
Classic’s overall infill and reverse circulation work will comprise 109 holes for 7,110m.
Of this, 85 holes for 5,085m have been completed to date with the remainder scheduled to be finished within the coming weeks.
High-grade hits
Earlier this month, Classic reported new high-grade hits including 1m at 47.50g/t gold from 20m; 1m at 23.90g/t gold from 64m; 2m at 14.86g/t gold from 29m, including 1m at 25.50g/t from 29m; and 6m at 4.08g/t gold from 48m, including 1m at 11.50g/t from 52m.
Once infill and deeper drilling data has been compiled and added to the current mineral resource at Kat Gap, a new block model will be generated and a final open pit design completed.
If gold mineralisation continues at depth in the undrilled area, it could add additional mineable ounces to the resource and potentially result in a larger open pit.
In the meantime, Classic is conducting a three-hole geotechnical diamond drilling program for a total 336m for pit wall angle optimisation.
The holes will be included in the final open pit design work.
Shallow deposit
The Kat Gap project contains a shallow unmined gold deposit, 170 kilometres south of Southern Cross.
It was discovered in the 1990s and was the subject of a scoping study by the former Sons of Gwalia in 2003.
It is located 50km south of Classic’s Forrestania gold project.