Youanmi gold project delivers more high-grade results for Venus Metals and Rox Resources

Venus Metals Corporation (ASX: VMC) and joint venture partner Rox Resources (ASX: RXL) have reported high-grade results from near-mine drilling at the Youanmi gold project near Mt Magnet in Western Australia.

The grades were generated from near pre-1942 stopes, the Link prospect area and the hanging walls at the Junction target.

Drilling at the stopes aimed to test for extensions and confirmed there is potentially a “significant source of material” down plunge to the northwest.

Highlights from the pre-1942 area were 3.25m at 32.22 grams per tonne gold from 282m and 4.38m at 3.65g/t gold from 286.82m; 4m at 10.91g/t gold from 196m and 2.66m at 11.6g/t gold from 307.15m; 1.12m at 48.01g/t gold from 299.78m; 2.09m at 5.71g/t gold from 281.82m and 3.51m at 3.54g/t gold from 294.3m; and 3m at 3.33g/t gold from 273m and 4m at 4.78g/t gold from 284m.

Rox noted the results define an area of high-grade material within proximity to the existing underground development and serve to convert the inferred resource to indicated status, which is likely to contribute to early production plans.

Unmined pillars

Additionally, drilling was completed to evaluate the potential to extract the pillars left unmined during pre-1942 mining operations.

The results from pillar drilling included 0.73m at 38.65g/t gold from 266.6m; 1.2m at 5.84g/t gold from 149.6m; and 0.35m at 9.13g/t gold from 154.27m.

Rox said significant grade remains in-situ in the pillars and potential exists to apply modern mining techniques to extract remnant material in zones previously considered to be not technically feasible.

Link drilling

Drilling at Link is focused on growing the Youanmi inventory of 3 million ounces at 3.78g/t gold through resource conversion and extensional drilling.

Results received from an additional infill diamond hole at Link intersected 2.7m at 6.09g/t gold from 206.3m; 3m at 4.12g/t gold from 309m; 3.24m at 3.67g/t gold from 323.76m; and 3m at 6.09g/t gold from 348m.

The hole is positioned between earlier ones, which returned 7.25m at 15.02g/t gold from 315.8m; 6.8m at 11.98g/t gold from 264m; and 8m at 6.24g/t gold from 249m with the aim of achieving indicated resource status in the area.

Drilling to-date at Link has defined an area of high-grade mineralisation more than 200m from the current resource envelope with extensive down-plunge continuity of high-grade ore zones.

Junction lodes

Drilling at the Junction target returned multiple high-grade results in hanging wall shear zones.

Highlights included 2.33m at 17.38g/t gold from 247.93m; 0.7m at 7.33g/t gold from 400.6m; 0.92m at 20.86g/t gold from 429.39m; 0.45m at 7.84g/t gold from 411.3m; 1.24m at 27.67g/t gold from 490m; 1.26m at 13.29g/t gold from 679.78m; 1m at 12.25g/t gold from 741m; and 0.37m at 25.38g/t gold from 791.13m.

Rox said the hanging wall lodes at Junction were commonly overlooked by historical operators and left unsampled, with assays often occurring only on the Mine Shear along the granite margin.

“Recent results demonstrate the potential for further economic mineralisation in the area,” the company said.

“The new hanging wall positions are open at depth and along strike and follow-up drilling is likely to add to growth in overall resource inventory.”