Rox Resources delivers high-grade gold hit at Youanmi after heavily oversubscribed raising

Just days after moving to a 70% stake in its Youanmi project in Western Australia, Rox Resources (ASX: RXL) has reported a gold hit of 25m at 34.79 grams per tonne of gold at the Grace prospect.

The intercept, which began at 143m from surface, included a 6m section assaying at 140.7g/t gold. Rox said this is the deepest intercept to date, extending mineralisation both along strike and down-dip.

In addition, it found visible gold in drilling chips 20m down-dip from this latest hole.

Last week, Rox exercised its option to acquire from Venus Metals Corporation (ASX: VMC) an additional 20% interest in the Youanmi mine area. Venus retains a 30% interest.

The Youanmi gold mine is located 480km northeast of Perth and to the east of Geraldton, WA.

The current mineral resource estimate for Rox’s project now stands at 2.4 million tonnes at 2.97g/t, for a contained 1,190,600 ounces of gold.

The deepest drilling results

Rox said assays from the current drilling program, which began last month, are now beginning to flow in.

The 3,000m drill program is testing depth and strike extensions to the Grace prospect, together with infill on some sections, where a higher drill intensity was needed due to the very high gold grades reported from earlier drilling.

Rox managing director Alex Passmore said the latest results are “very impressive” and the best the company has seen. Significantly, they are from the deepest drilling at Grace to date.

“The exploration model we are applying at Grace is continuing to work well, delivering what is shaping up to be a substantial high-grade deposit,” he said.

The company said recent step-out (down plunge) results received show the continuation of a second high-grade zone beneath the present discovery zone.

“It is a clear demonstration of the rich prospectivity of the Youanmi granite margin,” it stated.

On Monday, Rox reported its share purchase plan had been oversubscribed, the target of $4 million being surpassed by $1.3 million. Applications are to be scaled back to total the original $4 millionfigure.

Youanmi’s rich gold history

The Youanmi mining centre has produced an estimated 667,000oz of gold (at an average grade of 5.47g/t gold) since its discovery in 1901. It has been mined over three periods: 1908-21, 1937-42 and 1987-97.

Most of that gold was produced from the Youanmi mine itself, with 96,000oz produced from various satellite prospects.

In early 1908, just before the first mining operation began, a correspondent filed a report to the Kalgoorlie Western Argus newspaper predicting the Youanmi field held promise.

“About a month’s acquaintance with the central portion of the Youanmi field … has convinced me it is the nucleus of a very great auriferous tract, which in the near future will be one of the great gold-producing areas of West Australia,” he wrote.