Gibb River’s maiden drilling program at Edjudina confirms gold discovery
Drilling at Gibb River’s recently acquired Edjudina project has returned 36m at 3.97g/t gold.
A maiden drilling program at the historic Edjudina gold mining ground in Western Australia has produced a “major” discovery for Gibb River Diamonds (ASX: GIB).
Gibb River’s shares spiked more than 400% after the release hit the ASX this morning.
One hole returned 36m at 3.97 grams per tonne gold.
Other intersections included 18m at 3.10g/t, 24m at 1.44g/t and 8m at 2.91g/t.
The mineralisation is open to the north, south and at depth.
Edjudina lies on a greenstone mineral belt that also hosts the Granny Smith and Sunrise Dam mines and lies in what the company calls the heart of the eastern goldfields.
The maiden program has now confirmed a “major” new high-grade, shallow (and at surface) gold discovery at its Neta prospect within the Edjudina gold project.
Edjudina has been prospected and explored over the past 120 years, including steam-powered diamond drilling at Neta which dates back to the 1930s.
Discovery less than three months after acquisition
“For the company to make a major new discovery on this field, including wide intersections of high-grade mineralisation from surface, in under three months from acquiring the project option, is a testament to the hard work and abilities of the team,” the company stated.
Gibb River acquired its option over the field on 15 July and since then the field team has completed the database, selected targets, undertaken field mapping and drilling, and progressed permitting and assaying.
A field crew is mobilising to Edjudina early next week to survey the drill hole collars and carry out further grab sampling.
Planning for a phase two drilling program is underway, with the Neta Lodes discovery being the primary focus.
“The company is very excited by this discovery and is looking forward to further drill testing at Edjudina.”
Extreme strike length a challenge
Gibb River says one of the challenges at Edjudina is the extreme strike length of the historic workings which — at 13km — presents issues with the selection and prioritizing of target areas.
The best of the historic mines along this strike was Neta, which produced 16,710oz gold at an average grade of 47.4g/t, with most of that output occurring in the early 1900s.
This Neta Lodes discovery is centred on a series of lodes, mainly to the west of the historic mine shaft.
Neta Lodes is, Gibb River claims, markedly different from the material produced at the old mine.
While the length of the strike is a challenge, the Edjudina field is what the company calls “remarkable” for its structural uniformity.
However, the Neta Lodes appear to be more structurally complex.
The maiden program involved 66 holes for a total of 2,755m.