Gateway Mining’s partner DiscovEx confirms bedrock gold at Spartan
DiscovEx is earning an 80% interest in the Edjudina gold project, which hosts Spartan, from Gateway Mining.
Gateway Mining’s (ASX: GML) partner DiscovEx Resources (ASX: DCX) has uncovered bedrock gold at the Spartan prospect in Western Australia with single metre assays returned grading up to 4.8 grams per tonne.
Composite assays have now been received from 151 aircore holes out of a 188-hole program, with three high-priority bedrock gold targets now identified.
Spartan is located within the Edjudina project that lies in the southern portion of the Laverton district, which is about 700km northeast of Perth.
Gold also in transported cover
Reconnaissance aircore drilling was carried out in two phases, the first being 37 holes, the second 151 – with both phases being designed to test down to the fresh bedrock beneath and along strike of a 1.3km gold in soil anomaly.
Highlight assays from drilling into weathered bedrock comprise 4m at 1.24g/t gold from 82m, including 1m at 3.42g/t gold from 82m; 1m at 1.35g/t gold from 62m; and 1m at 1.06g/t gold from 74m.
“Significant” gold was also intersected within transported overburden, with the best being 8m at 1.64g/t from 29m, including 4m at 2.82g/t from 32m.
“The relationship between the significant accumulation of gold in the transported cover and the bedrock gold at Spartan has not yet been resolved,” DiscovEx noted.
More analysis needed
Managing director Toby Wellman said there remains a “great deal” to unpack with regards to that relationship.
“One thing, however, remains certain and that is there is a significant amount of metal contained in the regolith.”
“Where this is being remobilised … remains unclear but the amount of gold intersected to date would certainly indicate it is being redistributed from a significant source,” he added.
Edjudina gold project
Edjudina lies in the same region that hosts several major gold deposits, including Sunrise Dam mine along with the 2 million ounce Carosue Dam gold mine.
Previous work on the Edjudina tenure in the 1980s and 1990s included soil sampling, geophysics (both airborne and ground-based), aircore drilling and some reverse circulation drilling.
Some of that exploration effort was undertaken at a time when the gold price was below US$300/oz – it is now currently hovering around US$1,870/oz.
DiscovEx is earning an 80% interest in Edjudina from Gateway.