Lodestar Minerals surges higher on golden assay results from the Pilbara

Junior gold explorer Lodestar Minerals (ASX: LSR) received significantly propulsive exploration results at its flagship Ned’s Creek gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia earlier today.

Ned’s Creek is merely 35 kilometres east of Superior Gold’s 5-million-ounce Plutonic gold mine, considered as one of WA’s most prolific mines, operating since 1990 and still producing around 100,000 ounces per year.

The explorer has just received final assay results for its 23-hole, 4,240 metre RC drilling program at the Contessa and Gidgee Flat gold discoveries and said that all holes intersected shear-related and/or syenite-host gold mineralisation. Crucially, Lodestar added that the “system remains open along strike and at depth.”

The assay results and resulting share price performance comes less than 6 months after Lodestar discovered a major gold system at Ned’s Creek towards the end of last year.

Lodestar said it completed 11 RC drill holes for 1,969 metres of drilling at Gidgee Flat with the other 12 drill holes completed Contessa, a “partly-explored gold anomaly” which Lodestar hopes could become a significant part of its future exploration plans at Ned’s Creek.

The results also confirmed that gold mineralisation extends to depth with Lodestar reporting the highest gold grades to date from Gidgee Flat, a key prospect within the Ned’s Creek project.

Lodestar reported a series of encouraging samples including 11m at 5.8g/t gold and 28.5g/t gold from 202m from one of its drill holes. Lodestar said that its results demonstrate the strong potential for economic gold mineralisation at not only the Gidgee Flat discovery but within the wider Ned’s Creek terrane.

Golden future via Ned’s Creek

Clearly buoyed by the strong assay results, Lodestar added that “it is an emphatic demonstration of the potential for high-grade gold associated with the intrusion-related style of mineralisation being sought by Lodestar and has been achieved in only the second phase of drilling at Gidgee Flat.”

Exploration across its primary focus – Ned’s Creek – remains ongoing with aircore drilling is currently underway targeting the granite contact position at Central Park, Brumby and Gidgee Flat. Lodestar estimates that its aircore program will be completed by the end of May with assay results expected approximately three weeks later.

Furthermore, Lodestar has also completed a detailed aeromagnetic survey over the Yowereena farm-in tenements and surrounding Lodestar tenure and says it is currently processing the data with a view of it “underpinning the geological interpretation and targeting of the greenstone north of the Contessa granite.”

Following today’s highly encouraging assay results, Lodestar said Gidgee Flat “requires immediate follow-up,” with diamond drilling already planned to identify “key structural controls,” followed by “additional RC drilling to extend testing along strike.”

According to Lodestar, only 100 metres of the 800 metre total of prospective granite contact has been drill tested to date, which raises hopes of additional high-grade assay results to be forthcoming from future explorative drilling.

At Contessa, Lodestar is planning systematic drilling of the 2km of granite contact it has detected previously, saying that the prospect has “significant potential at depth.”

The explorer reported that “detailed analysis of results will be required to plan the next targets for drill testing within this extensive, mineralised system.”

The “outstanding” results helped Lodestar shares post a 56% gain in trading this morning to reach A$0.036 a share.