Middle Island firms up gold potential at McIntyre
Latest assays from the McIntyre target within Middle Island’s Sandstone project included 24m at 1.66g/t gold.
Gold explorer Middle Island (ASX: MDI) has continued the run of positive exploration news at its Western Australian Sandstone project, with drilling firming up the potential of the McIntyre prospect.
The company has now received further assays from a 172-hole 13,400m phase one drilling program that has tested 14 gold deposits and prospects within 4km of its wholly-owned processing plant and on existing mining leases.
Of that program, 12 holes for 744m were completed at the McIntyre, with latest assays revealing new, consistent and shallow intercepts at the prospect.
Highlight assays from McIntyre were 24m at 1.66 grams per tonne gold, 23m at 1.4g/t gold, 11m at 1.39g/t gold and 18m at 1.35g/t gold.
“The broad, consistent gold intercepts returned from phase one reverse circulation drilling at the McIntyre prospect provide further exciting encouragement that the prospect may well prove to represent a second new, low strip ratio, open pit deposit to supplement the planned Sandstone mill recommissioning inventory,” Middle Island managing director Rick Yeates said.
“This follows close on the heels of significant intercepts of 4m at 90.6g/t and 8m at 3.35g/t gold from the adjacent McClaren prospect as announced last week.”
Mr Yeates said recently completed geological mapping at the proximal McIntyre, McClaren and Ridge prospects has revealed a structural link between McIntyre and McClaren – offering resource extension opportunities to both.
Additionally, McIntyre and McClaren also lie within a granted mining lease and are only 2.5km from the 600,000t per annum plant.
Two Mile Hill gold deposit
Two Mile Hill is the most advanced deposit at Sandstone, with Middle Island unveiling an updated resource for the asset earlier this month.
Two Mile Hill’s resource contains 500,000 ounces of gold, comprising 480,000oz within the tonalite-hosted portion of the deposit and 20,000oz within the banded iron-formation.
Global resources at Sandstone now total 624,000oz of contained gold.
Recent infill and extension drilling at Two Mile Hill returned 16m at 1.64g/t gold, 4m at 8.04g/t gold and 3m at 7.81g/t gold, which could be included in further resource updates.