Zenith Minerals commences drill testing of key targets at Split Rocks gold project
100孔空芯钻井计划将测试包括Dulcie Far North和Estrela勘探北部的关键目标。
Perth-based Zenith Minerals (ASX: ZNC) has commenced first pass drill testing of high-priority targets at its wholly-owned Split Rocks gold project in Western Australia.
The company announced today that a 100-hole aircore program will test key targets primarily at the Dulcie Far North prospect and another along strike to the north of the Estrela gold prospect.
Drilling is expected to take up to three weeks, with assay results due around three weeks after completion.
Chairman Peter Bird hoped drilling would yield strong results along the lines of earlier exploration efforts at Dulcie North, Dulcie Laterite, Water Bore and Estrela.
“This aircore program is a very cheap and effective way to advance this highly-prospective gold project,” he said.
“Split Rocks has the potential to deliver gold resources in a very short timeframe.”
High-quality targets
A major targeting exercise by Zenith’s geological team in September identified 12 high-quality gold drill targets at Split Rocks, which was subsequently expanded to 18 in the north-eastern sector of the tenure.
Drilling to date has tested 11 anomalies with best results of 32m at 9.4 grams per tonne gold, including 9m at 31.4g/t from Dulcie North; 2m at 9.8g/t gold from Estrela; and 3m at 6.6g/t gold from Water Bore.
Dulcie Laterite Pit has previously returned assays of 2m at 14.5g/t gold including 1m at 20.8g/t; 18m at 2.0g/t gold to end of hole, including 1m at 23.7g/t; 14m at 3.5g/t gold; and 3m at 17.9g/t gold.
A further eight targets extending over 18km of strike will be the subject of the first pass aircore drill program.
This will be progressed alongside follow-up reverse circulation drilling on significant near-surface results from the Dulcie targets.
Under-explored location
Split Rocks is located across 650 square kilometres of the under-explored Forrestania greenstone belt, south of the Marvel Loch 3 million ounce mine and the 2Moz Yilgarn Star deposit, and north of the 2Moz Bounty discovery.
In March, Zenith said new gold zones along the project’s existing Dulcie laterite pit would extend the gold mineralisation by 500m, taking the cumulative strike length to 2000m.
Later that month, the company announced initial metallurgical testwork had returned high gold recoveries considered representative of mineralisation drilled to date at Dulcie laterite pit.