Kalamazoo Resources says Lightning drilling indicates likeness to nearby historic high-grade mine
Lightning is 5km from the historic Wattle Gully mine which produced 411,000oz gold between 1934 and 1969.
Gold explorer Kalamazoo Resources (ASX: KZR) has completed drilling at its Lightning prospect in Victoria and preliminary interpretation of results indicate a similar structure to the nearby historic Wattle Gully mine.
Lightning is less than 5km north of Wattle Gully which, between 1934 and 1969, produced 411,000oz of gold at an average grade of 11.1 grams per tonne, from a mined 1.1 million tonnes.
This new drilling program consisted of six diamond holes for 1,819m.
Lightning is located in the northern section of Kalamazoo’s Castlemaine gold project, the field having already yielded 8Moz of gold from several historic mines.
It is also 2km south of the company’s Mustang prospect where a maiden drilling program was completed last April.
“Preliminary geological interpretations of the drilling results have confirmed a ‘Wattle Gully’ style structure demonstrating good widths of quartz veining and alteration typical of the Castlemaine gold fields,” the company says.
However, final drill core assays are still pending.
Lightning one of 10 top targets
Lightning was in 2019 identified as one of Kalamazoo’s top 10 prospects at Castlemaine.
This assessment was based on historical gold production and records, previous drilling, and the results from Kalamazoo’s own groundwork, geophysical and geochemical surveys, along with 3D structural modelling.
“The target model for the Lightning prospect is similar to both Fosterville and Wattle Gully mines which contain high grade mineralisation associated with shallow-dipping ramp structures that cross-cut anticline-syncline folds,” the company noted.
The nine million-ounce Fosterville mine, owned by Kirkland Lake Gold (ASX: KLA), is currently the highest grade gold mine in the world with an average grade of 12g/t in resources and milled grade of 41.4g/t.
The Lightning drill program was smaller than originally planned, Kalamazoo announcing in October that it would be a minimum 2,700m and possibly as high as 4,000m of diamond drilling.
The Lightning area contains historical workings and infrastructure which Kalamazoo has previously said indicate the prospect was the subject of extensive mining during the mid to late 1800s.